Psalms 18
1 For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
To the chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul. And he said, I will love thee, O Jehovah, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid.
The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me. (Sheol h7585)
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and I cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook, because he was wroth.
8 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals burned forth from it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.
And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
10 He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he flew fast upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
He made darkness his secret place, his tent round about him: darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced— hailstones and coals of fire.
From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed forth: hail and coals of fire.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.
And Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice: hail and coals of fire.
14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
And he sent his arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
And the beds of the waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered at thy rebuke, Jehovah, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
He reached forth from above, he took me, he drew me out of great waters:
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me; for they were mightier than I.
18 They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.
They encountered me in the day of my calamity, but Jehovah was my stay.
19 He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
And he brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.
For all his ordinances were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me;
23 And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
And I was upright with him, and kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; with the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright;
26 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; and with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary.
27 For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.
For it is thou that savest the afflicted people; but the haughty eyes wilt thou bring down.
28 For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.
For it is thou that makest my lamp to shine: Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness.
29 For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall.
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of Jehovah is tried: he is a shield to all that trust in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
For who is God save Jehovah? and who is a rock if not our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.
The God who girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect,
33 He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
Who maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], and setteth me upon my high places;
34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Who teacheth my hands to war, and mine arms bend a bow of brass;
35 You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.
And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand held me up; and thy condescending gentleness hath made me great.
36 You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
Thou didst enlarge my steps under me, and mine ankles have not wavered.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
I pursued mine enemies, and overtook them; and I turned not again till they were consumed.
38 I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.
I crushed them, and they were not able to rise: they fell under my feet.
39 You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
And thou girdedst me with strength to battle; thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.
And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, and those that hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.
They cried, and there was none to save; — unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.
42 I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets.
And I did beat them small as dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; thou hast made me the head of the nations: a people I knew not doth serve me.
44 When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.
At the hearing of the ear, they obey me: strangers come cringing unto me.
45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.
Strangers have faded away, and they come trembling forth from their close places.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—
Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,
The God who hath avenged me, and hath subjected the peoples to me;
48 who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
Who hath delivered me from mine enemies: yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; from the man of violence hast thou delivered me.
49 Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.
Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, and will sing psalms to thy name.
50 Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
[It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, and sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
