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.
For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord, who recited the words of this song to the Lord after the Lord had saved him from the power of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O Lord, 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.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, deliverer, my God, my rock, where I take refuge, my shield, my defender, my tower.
3 I will call on Yahweh who is worthy to be praised, and I will be saved from my enemies.
Worthy of praise is the Lord whom I call on, he rescues me from all my foes.
4 The cords of death surrounded me, and the rushing waters of worthlessness overwhelmed me.
The waves of death broke about me, fearful floods of chaos.
Sheol threw cords around me, snares of death came to meet 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 distress I cried to the Lord, and shouted for help to my God; in his temple he heard my voice, into his ears came my cry.
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, mountains trembled to their foundations, and quaked because of his wrath.
8 Smoke went up from out of his nostrils, and blazing fire came out of his mouth. Coals were ignited by it.
Smoke went up from his nostrils, devouring fire from his mouth, coals were kindled by it.
9 He opened the heavens and came down, and thick darkness was under his feet.
Then he bent the sky and came down, thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he glided on the wings of the wind.
He rode on a cherub and flew, darting on wings of wind,
11 He made darkness a tent around him, heavy rainclouds in the skies.
with his screen of darkness about him, in thick dark clouds of water.
12 Hailstones and coals of fire fell from the lightning before him.
At the radiance before him there passed hailstones and coals of fire.
13 Yahweh thundered in the heavens! The voice of the Most High shouted.
The Lord thundered from heaven, the Most High uttered his voice.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; many lightning bolts dispersed them.
He shot his arrows and scattered them, flashed lightnings, and routed 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.
The channels of the sea were revealed, the world was laid bare to its base, at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He reached down from above; he took hold of me! He pulled me out of the surging water.
He stretched from on high, he seized me, drew me up from the mighty waters,
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
and saved me from those who hated me – fierce foes, too mighty for me.
18 They came against me on the day of my distress but Yahweh was my support!
In my day of distress they assailed me, but the Lord proved my support.
19 He set me free in a wide open place; he saved me because he was pleased with me.
To a spacious place he brought me, and, for love of me, he saved me.
20 Yahweh has rewarded me because of my righteousness; he has restored me because my hands were clean.
The Lord repays my innocence, he rewards my cleanness of hands.
21 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh and have not wickedly turned away from my God.
For I kept the ways of the Lord, nor have wickedly strayed from my God.
22 For all his righteous decrees have been before me; as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.
His commandments were all before me, his statutes I put not away.
23 I have also been innocent before him, and I have kept myself from sin.
And I was blameless before him, guarding myself from sin.
24 Therefore Yahweh has restored me because of my righteousness, because my hands were clean before his eyes.
So the Lord repaid my innocence, my cleanness of 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 loyal you are loyal, and with the blameless blameless.
26 To anyone who is pure, you show yourself pure; but you are clever toward anyone who is twisted.
With the pure you show yourself pure, but shrewd with the devious.
27 For you save afflicted people, but you bring down those with proud, uplifted eyes!
For the lowly people you save, but haughty eyes you abase.
28 For you give light to my lamp; Yahweh my God lights up my darkness.
You are my lamp, Lord, my God who enlightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run over a barricade; by my God I can leap over a wall.
With you I can storm a rampart, with my God I can leap 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 the Lord is pure. He is shield to all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God except Yahweh? Who is a rock except our God?
For who is God but the Lord? And who is a rock but 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 arms me with strength, who cleared and smoothed my way.
33 He makes my feet swift like a deer and places me on the heights!
He made my feet like hinds’ feet, and set me up on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.
He taught my hands how to fight, and my arms how to bend a bronze bow.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand has supported me, and your favor has made me great.
The shield of your help you gave me, your right hand supports me, you stoop down to make me great.
36 You have made a wide place for my feet beneath me so that my feet have not slipped.
In your strength I took giant strides, and my feet never slipped.
37 I pursued my enemies and caught them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed.
So I chased the foe till I caught them, and turned not, till I made an end of them.
38 I smashed them so that they were unable to rise; they have fallen under my feet.
I smashed them, they could not rise, they fell beneath my feet.
39 For you put strength on me like a belt for battle; you put under me those who rise up against me.
You did arm me with strength for war, you did bow my assailants beneath me.
40 You gave me the back of my enemies' necks; I annihilated those who hated me.
You made my foes turn their back to me, and those who did hate me I finished.
41 They called for help, but no one saved them; they called out to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
They cried for help, but none saved them; to the Lord, but 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.
I beat them like dust of the market-place, stamped them like mud 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.
From the strife of the peoples you saved me, you made me head of the nations, peoples I knew not did serve me.
44 As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me; foreigners were forced to bow to me.
On the instant they hear, they obey me, foreigners come to me cringing.
45 The foreigners came trembling out of their strongholds.
Foreigners lose courage, and come out of their strongholds trembling.
46 Yahweh lives; may my rock be praised. May the God of my salvation be exalted.
The Lord is alive! Blest be my rock! Exalted be God, my protector!
47 He is the God who executes vengeance for me, who subdues the nations under me.
The God who gave me revenge, and brought down nations beneath 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 saved me from angry foes, and set me above my assailants, safe from the violent.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name!
For this I will praise you among the nations, making music, O Lord, to your 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.
for great triumphs he grants to his king, and faithful love he shows his anointed, to David and his seed evermore.
