Judaism
Psalms 12
Text
For the Leader; on the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
They speak falsehood every one with his neighbour; With flattering lip, and with a double heart, do they speak.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaketh proud things!
Who have said: 'Our tongue will we make mighty; Our lips are with us: who is lord over us?'
'For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise', saith the LORD; 'I will set him in safety at whom they puff.' .
The words of the LORD are pure words, As silver tried in a crucible on the earth, refined seven times.
Thou wilt keep them, O LORD; Thou wilt preserve us from this generation for ever.
The wicked walk on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Text: The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication Society (1917), public domain, via Sefaria.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Dhammapada 2 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with pure intent you speak or act, happiness follows you like a shadow that never leaves.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“The Doors of Hell Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass, The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!”