< Psalms 18 >

1 “To the chief musician, by the servant of the Lord, by David, who spoke unto the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the power of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul; And he said,” I ever love thee, O Lord, my strength.
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.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
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.
3 Praised, I cried, be the Lord, and from my enemies was I saved.
I will call upon the Lord with praises, and I shall be saved from mine enemies.
4 The bonds of death encompassed me, and the floods of destruction made me afraid.
The pangs of death compassed me, and the torrents of ungodliness troubled me exceedingly.
5 The bonds of hell encircled me: the snares of death seized on me. (Sheol h7585)
The pangs of hell came round about me: the snares of death prevented me. (Sheol h7585)
6 [When] in my distress I called upon the Lord, and unto my God I cried: he heard from his temple my voice, and my complaint came before him, even into his ears.
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.
7 Then shook and trembled the earth; and the foundations of the mountains were moved; and they were shaken, because he was wroth.
Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains were disturbed, and were shaken, because God was angry with them.
8 Smoke went up in his anger and consuming fire out of his mouth: coals flamed forth from him.
There went up a smoke in his wrath, and fire burst into a flame at his presence: coals were kindled at it.
9 And he bent the heavens, and came down: and thick darkness was under his feet:
And he bowed the heaven, and came down: and thick darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and flew along, and he flitted by upon the wings of the wind.
And he mounted on cherubs and flew: he flew on the wings of winds.
11 He made darkness his hiding-place, round about him as his pavilion, dark waters, thick clouds of the skies.
And he made darkness his secret place: round about him was his tabernacle, [even] dark water in the clouds of the air.
12 From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed away, [with] hail-stones and coals of fire.
At the brightness before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire.
13 And the Lord thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered forth his voice, [with] hail-stones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered from heaven, and the Highest uttered his voice.
14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them.
And he sent forth [his] weapons, and scattered them; and multiplied lightnings, and routed them.
15 And then were seen the channels of the waters, and there were laid open the foundations of the world, through thy rebuke, O Lord, through the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
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.
16 He stretched out from above [his hand], he took me; he drew me out from mighty waters.
He sent from on high and took me, he drew me to himself out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my enemy, the strong, and from those that hated me, when they were too mighty for me.
He will deliver me from my mighty enemies, and from them that hate me; for they are stronger than I.
18 They overcame me on the day of my calamity; but the Lord became my stay.
They prevented me in the day of mine affliction: but the Lord was my stay against [them].
19 And he brought me forth into a large space; he delivered me, because he had delight in me.
And he brought me out into a wide place: he will deliver me, because he has pleasure in me.
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the purity of my hands did he recompense me.
And the Lord will recompense me according to my righteousness; even according to the purity of my hands will he recompense me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For I have kept the way of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his ordinances were before me, and his statutes had I not put away from me.
For all his judgements were before me, and his ordinances departed not from me.
23 I was also upright with him, and I guarded myself against my iniquity.
And I shall be blameless with hem, and shall keep myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore did the Lord recompense me according to my righteousness, according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.
And the Lord shall recompense me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.
25 With the kind thou wilt show thyself kind; with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;
With the holy you will be holy; and with the innocent man you will be innocent.
26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the perverse thou wilt wage a contest.
And with the excellent [man] you will be excellent; and with the perverse you will show frowardness.
27 For thou wilt indeed save the afflicted people; but haughty eyes wilt thou bring down.
For you will save the lowly people, and will humble the eyes of the proud.
28 For thou wilt cause my light to shine: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
For you, O Lord, will light my lamp: my God, you will lighten my darkness.
29 For [aided] by thee I run through a troop; and [helped] by my God I leap over a wall.
For by you shall I be delivered from a troop; and by my God I will pass over a wall.
30 As for God, —his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a shield to all those that trust in him.
[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.
31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock beside our God?
For who is God but the Lord? and who is a God except our God?
32 He is the God that girdeth me with strength, and rendereth my way unobstructed.
[It is] God that girds me with strength, and has made my way blameless:
33 He maketh my feet like those of the hinds, and upon my high-places he causeth me to stand.
who strengthens my feet as hart's feet, and sets me upon high places.
34 He teacheth my hands for the war, so that a brazen bow is bent by my arms.
He instructs my hands for war: and you have made my arms [as] a brazen bow.
35 And thou gavest me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand supported me: and thy meekness hath made me great.
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.
36 Thou enlargest my steps under me, so that my joints do not slip.
You has made room for my goings under me, and by footsteps did not fail.
37 I pursue my enemies, and overtake them; and I return not again till I have made an end of them.
I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; and I will not turn back until they are consumed.
38 I crush them that they are not able to rise: they fall under my feet.
I will dash them to pieces and they shall not be able to stand: they shall fall under my feet.
39 For thou hast girded me with strength for the war: thou subduest my opponents under me.
For you have girded me with strength for war: you have beaten down under me all that rose up against me.
40 And my enemies thou causest to turn their back to me; and those that hate me, —that I may destroy them.
And you has made mine enemies turn their backs before me; and you have destroyed them that hated me.
41 They cry, but there is none to help; unto the Lord, —but he answereth them not.
They cried, but there was no deliverer: [even] to the Lord, but he listened not to them.
42 And I beat them small as the dust before the wind: like the dirt in the streets do I cast them out.
I will grind them as the mud of the streets: and I will beat them small as dust before the wind.
43 Thou deliverest me from the contests of the people; thou appointest me to be the head of nations: a people that I know not shall serve me.
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,
44 As soon as their ear heareth they shall be obedient to me: the children of the stranger shall utter flattery unto me.
at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me: the strange children lied to me.
45 The children of the stranger shall fade away, and come forth trembling out of their close places.
The strange children waxed old, and fell away from their paths through lameness.
46 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation;
The Lord lives; and blessed [be] my God; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 The God that granteth me vengeance, and subdueth nations under me;
[It is] God that avenges me, and has subdued the nations under me;
48 That delivereth me from my enemies: also above my opponents thou liftest me up; thou deliverest me from the man of violence.
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.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee among the nations, O Lord, and unto thy name will I sing praises, —
Therefore will I confess to you, O Lord, amongst the Gentiles, and sing to your name.
50 [To him] that maketh great the salvation of his king, and who sheweth kindness to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for ever.
[God] magnifies the deliverances of his king; and deals mercifully with David his anointed, and his seed, for ever.

< Psalms 18 >