Psalm 18In Hebrew texts 18:1-50 is numbered 18:2-51.
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1I love you, Lord, my strength.
2The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield18:2 Or sovereign and the horn18:2 Horn here symbolizes strength. of my salvation, my stronghold.
3I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
4The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
7The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
8Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
9He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
10He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.18:13 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Samuel 22:14); most Hebrew manuscripts resounded, / amid hailstones and bolts of lightning
14He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
15The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
19He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
21For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
22All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
23I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
24The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29With your help I can advance against a troop18:29 Or can run through a barricade;
with my God I can scale a wall.
30As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
37I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
40You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.
42I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them18:42 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Targum (see also 2 Samuel 22:43); Masoretic Text I poured them out like mud in the streets.
43You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
46The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
49Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
50He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
Psalm 18
For the director of music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang the words of this song to the Lord. He sang them when the Lord saved him. He saved him from the power of all his enemies and of Saul. David said,
1I love you, Lord.
You give me strength.
2The Lord is my rock and my place of safety. He is the God who saves me.
My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.
He is like a shield to me. He’s the power that saves me. He’s my place of safety.
3I called out to the Lord. He is worthy of praise.
He saved me from my enemies.
4The ropes of death were almost wrapped around me.
A destroying flood swept over me.
5The ropes of the grave were tight around me.
Death set its trap in front of me.
6When I was in trouble, I called out to the Lord.
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice.
My cry for help reached his ears.
7The earth trembled and shook.
The base of the mountains rocked back and forth.
It trembled because the Lord was angry.
8Smoke came out of his nose.
Flames of fire came out of his mouth.
Burning coals blazed out of it.
9He opened the heavens and came down.
Dark clouds were under his feet.
10He stood on the cherubim and flew.
The wings of the wind lifted him up.
11He covered himself with darkness.
The dark rain clouds of the sky were like a tent around him.
12Clouds came out of the brightness that was all around him.
They came with hailstones and flashes of lightning.
13The Lord thundered from heaven.
The voice of the Most High God was heard.
14He shot his arrows and scattered our enemies.
He sent great flashes of lightning and chased the enemies away.
15The bottom of the sea could be seen.
The foundations of the earth were uncovered.
Lord, it happened when your anger blazed out.
It came like a blast of breath from your nose.
16He reached down from heaven. He took hold of me.
He lifted me out of deep waters.
17He saved me from my powerful enemies.
He set me free from those who were too strong for me.
18They opposed me when I was in trouble.
But the Lord helped me.
19He brought me out into a wide and safe place.
He saved me because he was pleased with me.
20The Lord has been good to me because I do what is right.
He has rewarded me because I lead a pure life.
21I have lived the way the Lord wanted me to.
I am not guilty of turning away from my God.
22I keep all his laws in mind.
I haven’t turned away from his commands.
23He knows that I am without blame.
He knows I’ve kept myself from sinning.
24The Lord has rewarded me for doing what is right.
He has rewarded me because I haven’t done anything wrong.
25Lord, to those who are faithful you show that you are faithful.
To those who are without blame you show that you are without blame.
26To those who are pure you show that you are pure.
But to those whose paths are crooked you show that you are clever.
27You save those who aren’t proud.
But you bring down those whose eyes are proud.
28Lord, you keep the lamp of my life burning brightly.
You are my God. You bring light into my darkness.
29With your help I can attack a troop of soldiers.
With the help of my God I can climb over a wall.
30God’s way is perfect.
The Lord’s word doesn’t have any flaws.
He is like a shield
to all who go to him for safety.
31Who is God except the Lord?
Who is the Rock except our God?
32God gives me strength for the battle.
He keeps my way secure.
33He makes my feet like the feet of a deer.
He causes me to stand on the highest places.
34He trains my hands to fight every battle.
My arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35Lord, you are like a shield that keeps me safe.
Your strong right hand keeps me going.
Your help has made me great.
36You give me a wide path to walk on
so that I don’t twist my ankles.
37I chased my enemies and caught them.
I didn’t turn back until they were destroyed.
38I crushed them so that they couldn’t get up.
They fell under my feet.
39Lord, you gave me strength to fight the battle.
You made my enemies humble in front of me.
40You made them turn their backs and run away.
So I destroyed my enemies.
41They cried out for help. But there was no one to save them.
They called out to the Lord. But he didn’t answer them.
42I beat them as fine as dust blown by the wind.
I stomped on them like mud in the streets.
43You saved me when my own people attacked me.
You made me the ruler over nations.
People I didn’t know serve me now.
44People from other lands bow down to me in fear.
As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
45All of them give up hope.
They come trembling out of their hiding places.
46The Lord lives! Give praise to my Rock!
Give honor to God my Savior!
47He is the God who pays back my enemies.
He brings the nations under my control.
48He saves me from my enemies.
You have honored me more than them.
You have saved me from a man who wanted to hurt me.
49Lord, I will praise you among the nations.
I will sing the praises of your name.
50The Lord helps his king win great battles.
He shows his faithful love to his anointed king.
He shows it to David and to his family forever.
