Testimonia — Early Christian Bible Commentary

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Psalms 12

1Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.

2Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.

3May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts,

4who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”

5“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in safety from those who malign him.”

6The LORD’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.

7You will keep them, LORD. You will preserve them from this generation forever.

8The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men.

Early Christian commentary

Late 1st century AD (traditionally c. 95–100) | Clement of Rome

Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness, and not to those who hypocritically profess to desire it. For [the Scripture] saith in a certain place, “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” And again: “They bless with their mouth, but curse with their heart.” And again it saith, “They loved Him with their mouth, and lied to Him with their tongue; but their heart was not right with Him, neither were they faithful in His covenant.” “Let the deceitful lips become silent,” [and “let the Lord destroy all the lying lips,] and the boastful tongue of those who have said, Let us magnify our tongue; our lips are our own; who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, and for the sighing of the needy, will I now arise, saith the Lord: I will place him in safety; I will deal confidently with him.”

Commentary · First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter XV · Original source · The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (T. & T. Clark, 1870), edited and translated by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson; independent electronic transcription: David King and the Online Proofreading Team, Project Gutenberg ebook 77576. · Licence · Source revision · Whitespace normalized; source pagination and footnote reference markers removed. English wording unchanged.

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