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.
Unto the end, for David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. I will love thee, 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 firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support.
3 Praised, I cried, be the Lord, and from my enemies was I saved.
Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.
4 The bonds of death encompassed me, and the floods of destruction made me afraid.
The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me.
The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and 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.
In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God: And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him came 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.
The earth shook and trembled: the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved, because he 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 a fire flamed from his face: coals were kindled by it.
9 And he bent the heavens, and came down: and thick darkness was under his feet:
He bowed the heavens, and came down: and 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 ascended upon the cherubim, and he flew; he flew upon the wings of the 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 covert, his pavilion round about him: dark waters 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 that was 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.
And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them.
And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he multiplied lightnings, and troubled 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.
Then the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were discovered: At thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the spirit of thy 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: and received me 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 delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They overcame me on the day of my calamity; but the Lord became my stay.
They prevented me in the day of my affliction: and the Lord became my protector.
19 And he brought me forth into a large space; he delivered me, because he had delight in me.
And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because he was well pleased with 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 reward me according to my justice; and will repay me according to the cleanness of my hands:
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done wickedly against my God.
22 For all his ordinances were before me, and his statutes had I not put away from me.
For till his judgments are in my sight: and his justices I have not put away from me.
23 I was also upright with him, and I guarded myself against my iniquity.
And I shall be spotless with him: and shall keep myself from my 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 will reward me according to my justice; and according to the cleanness 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, thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent.
26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the perverse thou wilt wage a contest.
And with the elect thou wilt be elect: and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted.
27 For thou wilt indeed save the afflicted people; but haughty eyes wilt thou bring down.
For thou wilt save the humble people; but wilt bring down the eyes of the proud.
28 For thou wilt cause my light to shine: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
For thou lightest my lamp, O Lord: O my God enlighten my darkness.
29 For [aided] by thee I run through a troop; and [helped] by my God I leap over a wall.
For by thee I shall be delivered from temptation; and through my God I shall go 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 undefiled: the words of the Lord are fire tried: he is the protector of all that trust 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? or who is God but our God?
32 He is the God that girdeth me with strength, and rendereth my way unobstructed.
God who hath girt me with strength; and 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 hath made my feet like the feet of harts: and who setteth me upon high places.
34 He teacheth my hands for the war, so that a brazen bow is bent by my arms.
Who teacheth my hands to war: and thou hast made my arms like 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 thou hast given me the protection of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up: And thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end: and thy discipline, the same shall teach me.
36 Thou enlargest my steps under me, so that my joints do not slip.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; and my feet are not weakened.
37 I pursue my enemies, and overtake them; and I return not again till I have made an end of them.
I will pursue after my enemies, and overtake them: and I will not turn again till they are consumed.
38 I crush them that they are not able to rise: they fall under my feet.
I will break them, 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.
And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast subdued under me them 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 thou hast made my enemies turn their back upon me, and hast 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 none to save them, to the Lord: but he heard them not.
42 And I beat them small as the dust before the wind: like the dirt in the streets do I cast them out.
And I shall beat them as small as the dust before the wind; I shall bring them to nought, like the dirt in the streets.
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.
Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people: thou wilt make me head of the Gentiles.
44 As soon as their ear heareth they shall be obedient to me: the children of the stranger shall utter flattery unto me.
A people, which I knew not, hath served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me.
45 The children of the stranger shall fade away, and come forth trembling out of their close places.
The children that are strangers have lied to me, strange children have faded away, and have halted from their paths.
46 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation;
The Lord liveth, 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;
O God, who avengest me, and subduest the people under me, my deliverer from my enemies.
48 That delivereth me from my enemies: also above my opponents thou liftest me up; thou deliverest me from the man of violence.
And thou wilt lift me up above them that rise up against me: from the unjust man thou wilt deliver me.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee among the nations, O Lord, and unto thy name will I sing praises, —
Therefore will I give glory to thee, O Lord, among the nations, and I will sing a psalm to thy 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.
Giving great deliverance to his king, and shewing mercy to David his anointed: and to his seed for ever.
