Psalms 18
1 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.
For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord, who recited the words of this song to the Lord after the Lord had saved him from the power of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 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.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, deliverer, my God, my rock, where I take refuge, my shield, my defender, my tower.
3 I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
Worthy of praise is the Lord whom I call on, he rescues me from all my foes.
4 The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid.
The waves of death broke about me, fearful floods of chaos.
Sheol threw cords around me, snares of death came to meet me. (Sheol h7585)
6 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.
In distress I cried to the Lord, and shouted for help to my God; in his temple he heard my voice, into his ears came my cry.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook, because he was wroth.
Then the earth shook and quaked, mountains trembled to their foundations, and quaked because of his wrath.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals burned forth from it.
Smoke went up from his nostrils, devouring fire from his mouth, coals were kindled by it.
9 And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
Then he bent the sky and came down, thick darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he flew fast upon the wings of the wind.
He rode on a cherub and flew, darting on wings of wind,
11 He made darkness his secret place, his tent round about him: darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
with his screen of darkness about him, in thick dark clouds of water.
12 From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed forth: hail and coals of fire.
At the radiance before him there passed hailstones and coals of fire.
13 And Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice: hail and coals of fire.
The Lord thundered from heaven, the Most High uttered his voice.
14 And he sent his arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them.
He shot his arrows and scattered them, flashed lightnings, and routed them.
15 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.
The channels of the sea were revealed, the world was laid bare to its base, at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He reached forth from above, he took me, he drew me out of great waters:
He stretched from on high, he seized me, drew me up from the mighty waters,
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me; for they were mightier than I.
and saved me from those who hated me – fierce foes, too mighty for me.
18 They encountered me in the day of my calamity, but Jehovah was my stay.
In my day of distress they assailed me, but the Lord proved my support.
19 And he brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
To a spacious place he brought me, and, for love of me, he saved me.
20 Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
The Lord repays my innocence, he rewards my cleanness of hands.
21 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For I kept the ways of the Lord, nor have wickedly strayed from my God.
22 For all his ordinances were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me;
His commandments were all before me, his statutes I put not away.
23 And I was upright with him, and kept myself from mine iniquity.
And I was blameless before him, guarding myself from sin.
24 And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
So the Lord repaid my innocence, my cleanness of hands in his sight.
25 With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; with the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright;
With the loyal you are loyal, and with the blameless blameless.
26 With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; and with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary.
With the pure you show yourself pure, but shrewd with the devious.
27 For it is thou that savest the afflicted people; but the haughty eyes wilt thou bring down.
For the lowly people you save, but haughty eyes you abase.
28 For it is thou that makest my lamp to shine: Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness.
You are my lamp, Lord, my God who enlightens my darkness.
29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
With you I can storm a rampart, with my God I can leap a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of Jehovah is tried: he is a shield to all that trust in him.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is shield to all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God save Jehovah? and who is a rock if not our God?
For who is God but the Lord? And who is a rock but our God?
32 The God who girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect,
The God who arms me with strength, who cleared and smoothed my way.
33 Who maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], and setteth me upon my high places;
He made my feet like hinds’ feet, and set me up on the heights.
34 Who teacheth my hands to war, and mine arms bend a bow of brass;
He taught my hands how to fight, and my arms how to bend a bronze bow.
35 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.
The shield of your help you gave me, your right hand supports me, you stoop down to make me great.
36 Thou didst enlarge my steps under me, and mine ankles have not wavered.
In your strength I took giant strides, and my feet never slipped.
37 I pursued mine enemies, and overtook them; and I turned not again till they were consumed.
So I chased the foe till I caught them, and turned not, till I made an end of them.
38 I crushed them, and they were not able to rise: they fell under my feet.
I smashed them, they could not rise, they fell beneath my feet.
39 And thou girdedst me with strength to battle; thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.
You did arm me with strength for war, you did bow my assailants beneath me.
40 And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, and those that hated me I destroyed.
You made my foes turn their back to me, and those who did hate me I finished.
41 They cried, and there was none to save; — unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.
They cried for help, but none saved them; to the Lord, but he answered them not.
42 And I did beat them small as dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.
I beat them like dust of the market-place, stamped them like mud of the streets.
43 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.
From the strife of the peoples you saved me, you made me head of the nations, peoples I knew not did serve me.
44 At the hearing of the ear, they obey me: strangers come cringing unto me.
On the instant they hear, they obey me, foreigners come to me cringing.
45 Strangers have faded away, and they come trembling forth from their close places.
Foreigners lose courage, and come out of their strongholds trembling.
46 Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation,
The Lord is alive! Blest be my rock! Exalted be God, my protector!
47 The God who hath avenged me, and hath subjected the peoples to me;
The God who gave me revenge, and brought down nations beneath me,
48 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.
who saved me from angry foes, and set me above my assailants, safe from the violent.
49 Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, and will sing psalms to thy name.
For this I will praise you among the nations, making music, O Lord, to your name:
50 [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.
for great triumphs he grants to his king, and faithful love he shows his anointed, to David and his seed evermore.
