Psalms 18
1 To the chief music-maker. Of the servant of the Lord, of David, who said the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord made him free from the hand of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul; and he said, I will give you my love, O Lord, my strength.
I love thee, O LORD, my strength!
2 The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour; my God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
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 send up my cry to the Lord, who is to be praised; so will I be made safe from those who are against me.
I called upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And was delivered from my enemies.
4 The cords of death were round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear.
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 trouble my voice went up to the Lord, and my cry to my God: my voice came to his hearing in his holy Temple, and my prayer came before him, even into 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 trouble and shock came on the earth; and the bases of the mountains were moved and shaking, because he was angry.
Then the earth quaked and trembled; The foundations of the mountains rocked and were shaken, Because his wrath was kindled.
8 There went up a smoke from his nose, and a fire of destruction from his mouth: flames were lighted by it.
A smoke went up from his nostrils, And fire from his mouth devoured; Burning coals shot forth from him.
9 The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet.
He bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet;
10 And he went in flight through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly 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 the dark his secret place; his tent round him was the dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
And he made darkness his covering; His pavilion round about him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and fire.
At the brightness before him, his thick clouds passed away; Then came hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out: a rain of ice and fire.
The LORD also thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice, Amid hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled.
He sent forth his arrows, and scattered them; Continual lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the deep beds of the waters were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of your words of wrath, O Lord, because of the breath from your mouth.
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 sent from on high, he took me, pulling me out of great waters.
He stretched forth his hand from above; he took me, And drew me out of deep waters.
17 He made me free from my strong hater, and from those who were against me, because they were stronger than I.
He delivered me from my strong enemy; From my adversaries, who were too powerful for me.
18 They came on me in the day of my trouble; but the Lord was my support.
They fell upon me in the day of my calamity; But the LORD was my stay.
19 He took me out into a wide place; he was my saviour because he had delight in me.
He brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him.
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; I have not been turned away in sin from my God.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his decisions were before me, and I did not put away his laws from me.
For all his laws were in my sight; I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin.
I was upright before him, And kept myself from iniquity.
24 Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes.
Therefore hath the LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.
25 On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright;
To the merciful thou showest thyself merciful; To the upright thou showest thyself upright;
26 He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge.
To the pure thou showest thyself pure, And to the perverse thou showest thyself perverse.
27 For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but eyes full of pride will be made low.
For thou savest the afflicted people, But the haughty countenance thou bringest down.
28 You, O Lord, will be my light; by you, my God, the dark will be made bright for me.
Thou causest my lamp to shine; Jehovah, my God, enlighteneth my darkness.
29 By your help I have made a way through the wall which was shutting me in; by the help of my God I have gone over 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 completely good; the word of the Lord is tested; he is a breastplate for all those who put their faith 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 but the Lord? or who is a Rock but our God?
Who, then, is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?
32 God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way.
It is God that girded me with strength, And made my way plain.
33 He makes my feet like roes' feet, and puts me on high places.
He made my feet like the hind's, And set me in my high places;
34 He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms.
He taught my hands to war, So that my arm bent the bow of brass.
35 You have given me the breastplate of your salvation: your right hand has been my support, and your mercy has made me great.
Thou gavest me the shield of thy protection; Thy right hand held me up, And thy goodness made me great.
36 You have made my steps wide under me, so that my feet are kept from slipping.
Thou didst make a wide path for my steps, So that my feet did not stumble.
37 I go after my haters and overtake them; not turning back till they are all overcome.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And turned not back till I had destroyed them.
38 I will give them wounds, so that they are not able to get up: they are stretched under my feet.
I smote them, so that they could not rise; They fell under my feet.
39 For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who come out against me.
Thou didst gird me with strength for the battle; Thou didst cast down my adversaries under me.
40 By you their backs are turned in flight, so that my haters are cut off.
Thou didst cause my enemies to turn their backs, So that I destroyed them that hated me.
41 They were crying out, but there was no one to come to their help: even to the Lord, but he gave them no answer.
They cried, but there was none to help; To Jehovah, but he answered them not.
42 Then they were crushed as small as dust before the wind; they were drained out like the waste of the streets.
I beat them small, like dust before the wind; I cast them out as the dirt of the streets.
43 You have made me free from the fightings of the people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants.
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 From the time when my name comes to their ears they will be ruled by me: men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority.
They who have only heard of me obey me; Yea, men of a strange land submit themselves to me;
45 They will be wasting away, they will come out of their secret places shaking with fear.
Men of a strange land fade away, like a leaf, And come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The Lord is living; praise be to my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be honoured.
Jehovah is the living God; blessed be my rock; Exalted be the God of my salvation!
47 It is God who sends punishment on my haters, and puts peoples under my rule.
It is God who hath given me vengeance, And subdued the nations under me;
48 He makes me free from my haters; I am lifted up over those who come up against me: you have made me free from the violent man.
He delivered me from my enemies; Yea, thou hast lifted me up above my adversaries; Thou hast saved me from the violent man!
49 Because of this I will give you praise, O Lord, among the nations, and will make a song of praise to your name.
Therefore I will give thanks to thee, O LORD! among the nations, And sing praises to thy name.
50 Great salvation does he give to his king; he has mercy on the king of his selection, David, and on his seed for ever.
Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth mercy to his anointed, —To David and to his posterity for ever.
