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.
I 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.
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 Praised, I cried, be the Lord, and from my enemies was I saved.
I called upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And was delivered from my enemies.
4 The bonds of death encompassed me, and the floods of destruction made me afraid.
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 [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 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 shook and trembled the earth; and the foundations of the mountains were moved; and they were shaken, because he was wroth.
Then the earth quaked and trembled; The foundations of the mountains rocked and were shaken, Because his wrath was kindled.
8 Smoke went up in his anger and consuming fire out of his mouth: coals flamed forth from him.
A smoke went up from his nostrils, And fire from his mouth devoured; Burning coals shot forth from him.
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 rode upon a cherub, and did fly; Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
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 covering; His pavilion round about him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed away, [with] hail-stones and coals of fire.
At the brightness before him, his thick clouds passed away; Then came hailstones 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 Most High uttered his voice, Amid hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them.
He sent forth his arrows, and scattered them; Continual lightnings, and discomfited 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 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 stretched out from above [his hand], he took me; he drew me out from mighty waters.
He stretched forth his hand from above; he took me, And drew me out of deep 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 strong enemy; From my adversaries, who were too powerful for me.
18 They overcame me on the day of my calamity; but the Lord became my stay.
They fell upon me in the day of my calamity; But the LORD was my stay.
19 And he brought me forth into a large space; he delivered me, 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 rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the purity of my hands did he recompense me.
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, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For I have kept the ways 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 laws were in my sight; I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright with him, and I guarded myself against my iniquity.
I was upright before him, And kept myself from iniquity.
24 Therefore did the Lord recompense me according to my righteousness, according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.
Therefore hath the LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness, 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;
To the merciful thou showest thyself merciful; To the upright thou showest thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the perverse thou wilt wage a contest.
To the pure thou showest thyself pure, And to the perverse thou showest thyself perverse.
27 For thou wilt indeed save the afflicted people; but haughty eyes wilt thou bring down.
For thou savest the afflicted people, But the haughty countenance thou bringest down.
28 For thou wilt cause my light to shine: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
Thou causest my lamp to shine; Jehovah, my God, enlighteneth my darkness.
29 For [aided] by thee I run through a troop; and [helped] by my God I leap 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 perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a shield to all those that trust 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 save the Lord? or who is a rock beside our God?
Who, then, is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?
32 He is the God that girdeth me with strength, and rendereth my way unobstructed.
It is God that girded me with strength, And made my way plain.
33 He maketh my feet like those of the hinds, and upon my high-places he causeth me to stand.
He made my feet like the hind's, And set me in my high places;
34 He teacheth my hands for the war, so that a brazen bow is bent by my arms.
He taught my hands to war, So that my arm bent the bow of brass.
35 And thou gavest me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand supported me: and thy meekness hath made me great.
Thou gavest me the shield of thy protection; Thy right hand held me up, And thy goodness made me great.
36 Thou enlargest my steps under me, so that my joints do not slip.
Thou didst make a wide path for my steps, So that my feet did not stumble.
37 I pursue my enemies, and overtake them; and I return not again till I have made an end of them.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And turned not back till I had destroyed them.
38 I crush them that they are not able to rise: they fall under my feet.
I smote them, so that they could not rise; They fell under my feet.
39 For thou hast girded me with strength for the war: thou subduest my opponents under me.
Thou didst gird me with strength for the battle; Thou didst cast down my adversaries under me.
40 And my enemies thou causest to turn their back to me; and those that hate me, —that I may destroy them.
Thou didst cause my enemies to turn their backs, So that I 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 help; To Jehovah, but he answered 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.
I beat them small, like dust before the wind; I cast them out as the dirt of 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 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 As soon as their ear heareth they shall be obedient to me: the children of the stranger shall utter flattery unto me.
They who have only heard of me obey me; Yea, men of a strange land submit themselves to me;
45 The children of the stranger shall fade away, and come forth trembling out of their close places.
Men of a strange land fade away, like a leaf, And come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation;
Jehovah is the living God; blessed be my rock; Exalted be the God of my salvation!
47 The God that granteth me vengeance, and subdueth nations under me;
It is God who hath given me vengeance, And 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.
He delivered me from my enemies; Yea, thou hast lifted me up above my adversaries; Thou hast saved me from the violent man!
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee among the nations, O Lord, and unto thy name will I sing praises, —
Therefore I will give thanks to thee, O LORD! among the nations, And sing praises 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.
Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth mercy to his anointed, —To David and to his posterity for ever.
