Psalms 18
1 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.
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.
2 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.
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.
3 I will call on Yahweh who is worthy to be praised, and I will be saved from my enemies.
I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The cords of death surrounded me, and the rushing waters of worthlessness overwhelmed me.
The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid.
The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me. (Sheol h7585)
6 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.
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.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains also trembled and were shaken because God was angry.
Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook, because he was wroth.
8 Smoke went up from out of his nostrils, and blazing fire came out of his mouth. Coals were ignited by it.
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals burned forth from it.
9 He opened the heavens and came down, and thick darkness was under his feet.
And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he glided on the wings of the wind.
And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he flew fast upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness a tent around him, heavy rainclouds in the skies.
He made darkness his secret place, his tent round about him: darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 Hailstones and coals of fire fell from the lightning before him.
From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed forth: hail and coals of fire.
13 Yahweh thundered in the heavens! The voice of the Most High shouted.
And Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice: hail and coals of fire.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; many lightning bolts dispersed them.
And he sent his arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 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.
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.
16 He reached down from above; he took hold of me! He pulled me out of the surging water.
He reached forth from above, he took me, he drew me out of great waters:
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me; for they were mightier than I.
18 They came against me on the day of my distress but Yahweh was my support!
They encountered me in the day of my calamity, but Jehovah was my stay.
19 He set me free in a wide open place; he saved me because he was pleased with me.
And he brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20 Yahweh has rewarded me because of my righteousness; he has restored me because my hands were clean.
Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh and have not wickedly turned away from my God.
For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his righteous decrees have been before me; as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.
For all his ordinances were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me;
23 I have also been innocent before him, and I have kept myself from sin.
And I was upright with him, and kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore Yahweh has restored me because of my righteousness, because my hands were clean before his eyes.
And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To anyone who is faithful, you show yourself to be faithful; to a man who is blameless, you show yourself to be blameless.
With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; with the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright;
26 To anyone who is pure, you show yourself pure; but you are clever toward anyone who is twisted.
With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; and with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary.
27 For you save afflicted people, but you bring down those with proud, uplifted eyes!
For it is thou that savest the afflicted people; but the haughty eyes wilt thou bring down.
28 For you give light to my lamp; Yahweh my God lights up my darkness.
For it is thou that makest my lamp to shine: Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness.
29 For by you I can run over a barricade; by my God I can leap over a wall.
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God—his way is perfect! The word of Yahweh is pure! He is a shield to everyone who takes refuge in him.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of Jehovah is tried: he is a shield to all that trust in him.
31 For who is God except Yahweh? Who is a rock except our God?
For who is God save Jehovah? and who is a rock if not our God?
32 It is God who puts strength on me like a belt, who places the blameless person on his path.
The God who girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect,
33 He makes my feet swift like a deer and places me on the heights!
Who maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], and setteth me upon my high places;
34 He trains my hands for war and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.
Who teacheth my hands to war, and mine arms bend a bow of brass;
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand has supported me, and your favor has made me great.
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.
36 You have made a wide place for my feet beneath me so that my feet have not slipped.
Thou didst enlarge my steps under me, and mine ankles have not wavered.
37 I pursued my enemies and caught them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed.
I pursued mine enemies, and overtook them; and I turned not again till they were consumed.
38 I smashed them so that they were unable to rise; they have fallen under my feet.
I crushed them, and they were not able to rise: they fell under my feet.
39 For you put strength on me like a belt for battle; you put under me those who rise up against me.
And thou girdedst me with strength to battle; thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.
40 You gave me the back of my enemies' necks; I annihilated those who hated me.
And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, and those that hated me I destroyed.
41 They called for help, but no one saved them; they called out to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
They cried, and there was none to save; — unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.
42 I beat them into fine pieces like dust before the wind; I threw them out like mud in the streets.
And I did beat them small as dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You rescued me from the disputes of people. You have made me the head over nations. People that I have not known serve me.
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.
44 As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me; foreigners were forced to bow to me.
At the hearing of the ear, they obey me: strangers come cringing unto me.
45 The foreigners came trembling out of their strongholds.
Strangers have faded away, and they come trembling forth from their close places.
46 Yahweh lives; may my rock be praised. May the God of my salvation be exalted.
Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 He is the God who executes vengeance for me, who subdues the nations under me.
The God who hath avenged me, and hath subjected the peoples to me;
48 I am set free from my enemies! Indeed, you lifted me above the ones who rose against me! You rescued me from violent men.
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.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name!
Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, and will sing psalms to thy name.
50 God gives great victory to his king, and he shows his covenant loyalty to his anointed one, to David and to his descendants forever.
[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.
