Psalm 18:1-24

Good News Translation

² The Lord is my protector;
    he is my strong fortress.
My God is my protection,
    and with him I am safe.
He protects me like a shield;
    he defends me and keeps me safe.
³ I call to the Lord,
    and he saves me from my enemies.
Praise the Lord!

⁴ The danger of death was all around me;
    the waves of destruction rolled over me.
⁵ The danger of death was around me,
    and the grave set its trap for me.
⁶ In my trouble I called to the Lord;
    I called to my God for help.
In his temple he heard my voice;
    he listened to my cry for help.

⁷ Then the earth trembled and shook;
    the foundations of the mountains rocked and quivered,
    because God was angry.
⁸ Smoke poured out of his nostrils,
    a consuming flame and burning coals from his mouth.
⁹ He tore the sky open and came down
    with a dark cloud under his feet.
¹⁰ He flew swiftly on his winged creature;^[b]
    he traveled on the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He covered himself with darkness;
    thick clouds, full of water, surrounded him.
¹² Hailstones and flashes of fire
    came from the lightning before him
    and broke through the dark clouds.

¹³ Then the Lord thundered from the sky;
    and the voice of the Most High was heard.^[c]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;
    with flashes of lightning he sent them running.
¹⁵ The floor of the ocean was laid bare,
    and the foundations of the earth were uncovered,
when you rebuked your enemies, Lord,
    and roared at them in anger.

¹⁶ The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me;
    he pulled me out of the deep waters.
¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemies
    and from all those who hate me—
    they were too strong for me.
¹⁸ When I was in trouble, they attacked me,
    but the Lord protected me.
¹⁹ He helped me out of danger;
    he saved me because he was pleased with me.

²⁰ The Lord rewards me because I do what is right;
    he blesses me because I am innocent.
²¹ I have obeyed the law of the Lord;
    I have not turned away from my God.
²² I have observed all his laws;
    I have not disobeyed his commands.
²³ He knows that I am faultless,
    that I have kept myself from doing wrong.
²⁴ And so he rewards me because I do what is right,
    because he knows that I am innocent.