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.
I love thee, O LORD, 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, my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I trust; My shield, my strong defence, and 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 called upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And was delivered from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
The snares of death encompassed me; The floods of destruction filled me with dismay;
The snares of the underworld surrounded me, And the nets of death seized upon 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 the LORD, And cried unto my God; He heard my voice from his palace, 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 quaked and trembled; The foundations of the mountains rocked and were shaken, Because his wrath was kindled.
8 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
A smoke went up from his nostrils, And fire from his mouth devoured; Burning coals shot forth from him.
9 He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.
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 did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
And he made darkness his covering; His pavilion round about him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced— hailstones and coals of fire.
At the brightness before him, his thick clouds passed away; Then came hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.
The LORD also thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice, Amid hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
He sent forth his arrows, and scattered them; Continual 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.
Then the channels of the deep were seen, And the foundations of the earth were laid bare At thy rebuke, O LORD! 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 stretched forth his hand from above; he took me, And drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.
He delivered me from my strong enemy; From my adversaries, who were too powerful for me.
18 They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.
They fell upon me in the day of my calamity; But the LORD was my stay.
19 He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
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.
The LORD hath rewarded me according to my righteous; 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 the LORD, 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 laws were in my sight; I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
I was upright before him, And kept myself from iniquity.
24 So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
Therefore hath the LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.
25 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
To the merciful thou showest thyself merciful; To the upright thou showest thyself upright;
26 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
To the pure thou showest thyself pure, And to the perverse thou showest thyself perverse.
27 For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.
For thou savest the afflicted people, But the haughty countenance thou bringest down.
28 For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.
Thou causest 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 through thee I have broken through troops; Through my God I have leaped over walls.
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.
The ways of God are just and true; His word is pure, tried in the fire; He is a shield to all who put their trust in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
Who, then, is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.
It is God that girded me with strength, And made my way plain.
33 He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
He made my feet like the hind's, And set me in my high places;
34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
He taught my hands to war, So that my arm bent the bow of brass.
35 You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.
Thou gavest me the shield of thy protection; Thy right hand held me up, And thy goodness made me great.
36 You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
Thou didst make a wide path for my steps, So that my feet did not stumble.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And turned not back till I had destroyed them.
38 I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.
I smote them, so that they could not rise; They fell under my feet.
39 You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
Thou didst gird me with strength for the battle; Thou didst cast down my adversaries under me.
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.
Thou didst cause my enemies to turn their backs, So that I destroyed them that hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.
They cried, but there was none to help; To Jehovah, but he answered them not.
42 I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets.
I beat them small, like dust before the wind; I cast them out as the dirt 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 assaults of the nations; Thou hast made me the head of the kingdoms. Nations whom I knew not serve me;
44 When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.
They who have only heard of me obey me; Yea, men of a strange land submit themselves to me;
45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.
Men of a strange land fade away, like a leaf, And come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—
Jehovah is the living God; blessed be my rock; Exalted be the God of my salvation!
47 the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,
It is God who hath given me vengeance, And subdued the nations under me;
48 who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
He delivered me from my enemies; Yea, thou hast lifted me up above my adversaries; Thou hast saved me from the violent man!
49 Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.
Therefore I will give thanks to thee, O LORD! among the nations, And sing praises to thy name.
50 Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth mercy to his anointed, —To David and to his posterity for ever.
