Psalms 18
1 For the end, [a Psalm] of David, the servant of the Lord; [the words] which he spoke to the Lord, [even] the words of this Song, in the day in which the Lord delivered him out the hand of all his enemies, and out the hand of Saul: and he said: I will love you, O Lord, my strength.
For the chief musician. A psalm of David, the servant of Yahweh, when he sang to Yahweh the words of this song on the day that Yahweh rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He sang: I love you, Yahweh, my strength.
2 The Lord is my firm support, and my refuge, and my deliverer; my God is my helper, I will hope in him; [he is] my defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my helper.
Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, the one who brings me to safety; he is my God, my rock; I take refuge in him. He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord with praises, and I shall be saved from mine enemies.
I will call on Yahweh who is worthy to be praised, and I will be saved from my enemies.
4 The pangs of death compassed me, and the torrents of ungodliness troubled me exceedingly.
The cords of death surrounded me, and the rushing waters of worthlessness overwhelmed me.
The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death trapped me. (Sheol h7585)
6 And when I was afflicted I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: he heard my voice out of this holy temple, and my cry shall enter before him, [even] into his ears.
In my distress I called to Yahweh; I called for help to my God. He heard my voice from his temple; my call for help went into his presence; it went into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains were disturbed, and were shaken, because God was angry with them.
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains also trembled and were shaken because God was angry.
8 There went up a smoke in his wrath, and fire burst into a flame at his presence: coals were kindled at it.
Smoke went up from out of his nostrils, and blazing fire came out of his mouth. Coals were ignited by it.
9 And he bowed the heaven, and came down: and thick darkness was under his feet.
He opened the heavens and came down, and thick darkness was under his feet.
10 And he mounted on cherubs and flew: he flew on the wings of winds.
He rode on a cherub and flew; he glided on the wings of the wind.
11 And he made darkness his secret place: round about him was his tabernacle, [even] dark water in the clouds of the air.
He made darkness a tent around him, heavy rainclouds in the skies.
12 At the brightness before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire.
Hailstones and coals of fire fell from the lightning before him.
13 The Lord also thundered from heaven, and the Highest uttered his voice.
Yahweh thundered in the heavens! The voice of the Most High shouted.
14 And he sent forth [his] weapons, and scattered them; and multiplied lightnings, and routed them.
He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; many lightning bolts dispersed them.
15 And the springs of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blasting of the breath of your wrath.
Then the water channels appeared; the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high and took me, he drew me to himself out of many waters.
He reached down from above; he took hold of me! He pulled me out of the surging water.
17 He will deliver me from my mighty enemies, and from them that hate me; for they are stronger than I.
He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of mine affliction: but the Lord was my stay against [them].
They came against me on the day of my distress but Yahweh was my support!
19 And he brought me out into a wide place: he will deliver me, because he has pleasure in me.
He set me free in a wide open place; he saved me because he was pleased with me.
20 And the Lord will recompense me according to my righteousness; even according to the purity of my hands will he recompense me.
Yahweh has rewarded me because of my righteousness; he has restored me because my hands were clean.
21 For I have kept the way of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For I have kept the ways of Yahweh and have not wickedly turned away from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, and his ordinances departed not from me.
For all his righteous decrees have been before me; as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.
23 And I shall be blameless with hem, and shall keep myself from mine iniquity.
I have also been innocent before him, and I have kept myself from sin.
24 And the Lord shall recompense me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.
Therefore Yahweh has restored me because of my righteousness, because my hands were clean before his eyes.
25 With the holy you will be holy; and with the innocent man you will be innocent.
To anyone who is faithful, you show yourself to be faithful; to a man who is blameless, you show yourself to be blameless.
26 And with the excellent [man] you will be excellent; and with the perverse you will show frowardness.
To anyone who is pure, you show yourself pure; but you are clever toward anyone who is twisted.
27 For you will save the lowly people, and will humble the eyes of the proud.
For you save afflicted people, but you bring down those with proud, uplifted eyes!
28 For you, O Lord, will light my lamp: my God, you will lighten my darkness.
For you give light to my lamp; Yahweh my God lights up my darkness.
29 For by you shall I be delivered from a troop; and by my God I will pass over a wall.
For by you I can run over a barricade; by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 [As for] my God, his way is perfect: the oracles of the Lord are tried in the fire; he is a protector of all them that hope in him.
As for God—his way is perfect! The word of Yahweh is pure! He is a shield to everyone who takes refuge in him.
31 For who is God but the Lord? and who is a God except our God?
For who is God except Yahweh? Who is a rock except our God?
32 [It is] God that girds me with strength, and has made my way blameless:
It is God who puts strength on me like a belt, who places the blameless person on his path.
33 who strengthens my feet as hart's feet, and sets me upon high places.
He makes my feet swift like a deer and places me on the heights!
34 He instructs my hands for war: and you have made my arms [as] a brazen bow.
He trains my hands for war and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.
35 And you have made me secure in my salvation: and your right hand has helped me, and your correction has upheld me to the end; yes, your correction itself shall instruct me.
You have given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand has supported me, and your favor has made me great.
36 You has made room for my goings under me, and by footsteps did not fail.
You have made a wide place for my feet beneath me so that my feet have not slipped.
37 I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; and I will not turn back until they are consumed.
I pursued my enemies and caught them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed.
38 I will dash them to pieces and they shall not be able to stand: they shall fall under my feet.
I smashed them so that they were unable to rise; they have fallen under my feet.
39 For you have girded me with strength for war: you have beaten down under me all that rose up against me.
For you put strength on me like a belt for battle; you put under me those who rise up against me.
40 And you has made mine enemies turn their backs before me; and you have destroyed them that hated me.
You gave me the back of my enemies' necks; I annihilated those who hated me.
41 They cried, but there was no deliverer: [even] to the Lord, but he listened not to them.
They called for help, but no one saved them; they called out to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
42 I will grind them as the mud of the streets: and I will beat them small as dust before the wind.
I beat them into fine pieces like dust before the wind; I threw them out like mud in the streets.
43 Deliver me from the gain sayings of the people: you shall make me head of the Gentiles: a people whom I knew not served me,
You rescued me from the disputes of people. You have made me the head over nations. People that I have not known serve me.
44 at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me: the strange children lied to me.
As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me; foreigners were forced to bow to me.
45 The strange children waxed old, and fell away from their paths through lameness.
The foreigners came trembling out of their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives; and blessed [be] my God; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Yahweh lives; may my rock be praised. May the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 [It is] God that avenges me, and has subdued the nations under me;
He is the God who executes vengeance for me, who subdues the nations under me.
48 my deliverer from angry enemies: you shall set me on high above them that rise up against me: you shall deliver me from the unrighteous man.
I am set free from my enemies! Indeed, you lifted me above the ones who rose against me! You rescued me from violent men.
49 Therefore will I confess to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.
Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name!
50 [God] magnifies the deliverances of his king; and deals mercifully with David his anointed, and his seed, for ever.
God gives great victory to his king, and he shows his covenant loyalty to his anointed one, to David and to his descendants forever.
