Psalm 18
International Standard Version
To the Director: By the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
Gratitude for Victory
18 He said:
“I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God,
my stronghold[a] in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory[b]
of my salvation, and my high tower.”
3 I cried out to the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the rivers of Belial[c] made me afraid.
5 The cords of Sheol[d] surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I cried to the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his Temple he heard my voice;
my cry reached his ears.
7 The world shook and trembled;
the foundations of the mountains quaked,
they shook because he was angry.
8 In his anger smoke poured out of his nostrils,
and consuming fire from his mouth;
coals were lit from it.
9 He bent the sky and descended,
and darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
he soared upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place,
his canopy surrounding him was dark waters and thick clouds.
12 The brightness before him scattered the thick clouds,
with hail stones and flashes of fire.
13 Then the Lord thundered in[e] the heavens,
and the Most High sounded aloud,
calling for hail stones and flashes of fire.[f]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them;
with many lightning bolts he frightened them.
15 Then the channels of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were uncovered
because of your rebuke, Lord,
because of the blast from the breath of your nostrils.
16 He reached down and took me;
he drew me from many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemies,
from those who hated me because
they were stronger than I.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;
he delivered me, for in me he takes delight.
God’s Reward to the Righteous
20 The Lord will reward me because I am righteous;
because my hands are clean he will restore me;
21 because I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and I have not wickedly departed from my God;
22 because all his judgments were always before me,
and I did not cast off his statutes.
23 I was upright[g] before him,
and I kept myself from iniquity.
24 So the Lord restored me according to my righteousness,
because my hands were clean in his sight.
25 To the holy, you show your gracious love,
to the upright, you show yourself upright;
26 to the pure, you show yourself pure,
and to the morally corrupt, you appear to be perverse.
27 Indeed, you deliver the oppressed,[h]
but you bring down those who exalt themselves
in their own eyes.
28 For you, Lord, make my lamp shine;
my God enlightens my darkness.
29 With your help[i] I will run through an army,
with help from[j] my God I leap over walls.
30 As for God, his way is upright;[k]
the word of God is pure;
he is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
The Acts of God for the Righteous
31 For who is God but the Lord,
and who is a Rock other than our God?—
32 the God who clothes me with strength,
and who makes my way upright;[l]
33 who makes my feet swift as the deer;
who makes me stand on high places;
34 who teaches my hands to make war,
and my arms to bend a bronze bow.
35 You have given to me the shield of your deliverance,
and your right hand holds me up;
your gentleness made me great.
36 You make a broad place for my steps,
so my feet[m] won’t slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn around until they were utterly defeated.
38 I struck them down,
so they are not able to rise up;
they fell under my feet.
39 You clothed me with strength for war;
you will subdue under me those who rise up against me.
40 You have made my enemies turn their back to me,
and I will destroy those who hate me.
41 They cried out for deliverance,
but there was no one to deliver;
they cried out[n] to the Lord,
but he did not answer them.
42 I ground them like wind-swept dust;
I emptied them out[o] like dirt in the street.
43 You rescued me from conflict with the people;
you made me head of the nations.
People who did not know me will serve me.
44 When they hear of me,[p] they will obey me;
foreigners will submit to me.
45 Foreigners will wilt away;
they will come trembling out of their stronghold.
46 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
May the God of my deliverance be exalted!
47 He is the God who executes vengeance on my behalf;
who destroys peoples under me;
48 who delivers me from my enemies.
Truly you will exalt me above those who oppose me;
you will deliver me from the violent person.
49 Therefore, I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises to your name.
50 He is the one who gives victories to his king;
who shows gracious love to his anointed,
to David and his seed forever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 18:2 Lit. rock
- Psalm 18:2 Lit. horn
- Psalm 18:4 I.e. the forces of death and destruction
- Psalm 18:5 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Psalm 18:13 So MT DSS 4QPsc; LXX Targ Vg (cf. 2 Sam 22:14) reads from
- Psalm 18:13 So MT DSS 4QPsc; LXX lacks calling for hail stones and flashes of fire
- Psalm 18:23 Or blameless
- Psalm 18:27 Or poor
- Psalm 18:29 The Heb. lacks help
- Psalm 18:29 The Heb. lacks help from
- Psalm 18:30 Or blameless
- Psalm 18:32 Or blameless
- Psalm 18:36 Lit. ankle
- Psalm 18:41 The Heb. lacks they cried out
- Psalm 18:42 So MT DSS 5/6HevPs; LXX reads I will grind them down
- Psalm 18:44 Lit. At the hearing of the ear
Psalm 18
Lexham English Bible
Praise to God for His Deliverance
For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh,
who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song
when[a] Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,
and from the hand of Saul.[b]
18 And he said:
“I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.”
2 Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I have taken refuge,
my shield and the horn of my deliverance, my stronghold.
3 I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death encircled me,
and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my trouble I called on Yahweh,
and to my God I cried for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help
came up before his presence into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains trembled,
and they staggered because he was angry.
8 Smoke went forth from his nose,
and fire from his mouth consumed.
Burning coals blazed from him.
9 So he bowed the heavens and came down
with a thick cloud under his feet.
10 And he mounted a cherub and flew,
and he swooped down on wings of wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place;
all about him his covering
was a darkness of waters, thick clouds.[c]
12 From the brightness before him
his clouds passed over
with hail and coals of fire.
13 And Yahweh thundered from the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice
with hail and coals of fire.
14 And he shot his arrows and scattered them,[d]
and many lightning bolts and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea became visible,
and the foundations of the world were uncovered
by your rebuke, O Yahweh,
by the blast[e] of the wind of your nose.
16 He reached[f] from on high; he seized me.
He drew me from many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me
because they were stronger than I.
18 They confronted me on the day of disaster,
but Yahweh was my support.
19 So he brought me out to a spacious place.
He delivered me because he delighted in me.
20 Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
he has repaid me.
21 Because I have kept the ways of Yahweh,
and have not acted wickedly against my God,
22 because all his ordinances are before me,
and his statutes I have not removed from me,
23 and I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 Therefore Yahweh has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the loyal you show yourself loyal.
To the blameless you show yourself blameless.
26 To the pure you show yourself pure.
but to the wicked you show yourself shrewd.
27 For you deliver humble people,
but haughty eyes you humiliate.
28 For you light my lamp;
Yahweh, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 For with you I can charge a troop,
and with my God I can scale a wall.
30 This[g] God—his way is blameless.
The word of Yahweh is flawless.[h]
He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God apart from Yahweh,
and who is a rock except our God?
32 The God who girded me with strength,
and made safe[i] my way,
33 he made my feet like the deer’s,
and on my high places he makes me stand.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You also gave me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your humility made me great.
36 You enlarged my step under me,
and my ankles did not slip.
37 I chased my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back until they were finished off.
38 I struck them and they were not able to stand up;
they fell under my feet.
39 And you girded me with strength for the battle;
those rising against me you made to kneel under me.
40 And you made my enemies turn their backs,[j]
then I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out but there was no rescuer,
even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
42 And I ground them like dust in the wind,[k]
I emptied them[l] out like mud of the streets.
43 You rescued me from strife with people;
you set me as head (over) nations.
People I did not know served me;
44 as soon as they heard,[m] they obeyed me.
The children of a foreign land feigned obedience before me.
45 The children of a foreign land lost heart,[n]
and they came trembling from their strongholds.
46 Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock,
and may the God of my salvation be exalted—
47 the God who executed vengeance for me,
and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies.
Indeed, you exalted me higher than those who rose against me.
You delivered me from the man of violence.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, O Yahweh,
and I will sing the praise of your name:
50 the one who makes great victories for his king,
and who shows loyal love for his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 18:1 Literally “on the day”
- Psalm 18:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
- Psalm 18:11 Literally “clouds of clouds”
- Psalm 18:14 That is, the enemy
- Psalm 18:15 Or “breath”
- Psalm 18:16 Or “sent”
- Psalm 18:30 Hebrew “The”
- Psalm 18:30 Or “refined”
- Psalm 18:32 Or “blameless”
- Psalm 18:40 Literally “turned to me my enemies’ neck”
- Psalm 18:42 Literally “on the face of the wind”
- Psalm 18:42 Many Hebrew manuscripts, the LXX, Syriac, and 2 Sam 22:43 read “I crushed them”
- Psalm 18:44 Literally “hearing of ear”
- Psalm 18:45 Literally “sunk down”
2 Samuel 22
International Standard Version
David’s Psalm of Deliverance
22 David composed the words of this song to the Lord the very day the Lord delivered him from the domination[a] of all of his enemies, including from Saul’s hands. 2 This is what[b] he said:
Lord, you are[c] my stone stronghold
and my fortified place;
you are continuously delivering[d] me.
3 He is my God,
my strong stone—
in him I will find my refuge—
my shield,
the strength[e] of my salvation,
my high tower,
my way of escape,
and the one who is saving me.
You will save me from violence.
4 As I am praising him,[f]
I will call out to the Lord,
and I will be saved from my enemies.
5 Because deadly breakers[g] engulfed me,
while torrents of abuse[h] from the ungodly overwhelmed[i] me.
6 Binding ropes from Sheol entangled me
while lethal snares hindered me.
7 I cried out to the Lord in the middle of my troubles;
I cried out to my God.
He listened to my voice from his sanctuary,
and my call for help was heard.
8 Just then the earth shook and trembled!
The foundations of heaven reeled and quaked
because the Lord[j] was angry.
9 Smoke poured out of his nostrils,
and fire from his mouth
kindling coals to flame by it.
10 He deformed heaven itself as he descended.
Thick darkness enveloped his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind!
12 The darkness around him was his canopies—
amassed water was his overhanging clouds!
13 From the shining light[k] that was his presence[l]
coals of fire blazed into flame!
14 The Lord roared from heaven!
The Most High let his voice be heard!
15 He launched his arrows and scattered them—
his lightning routed them.
16 The currents of the sea were revealed
and the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the Lord
and at the blazing breath from his nostrils!
17 He sent for me from on high!
He grabbed hold of me,
drawing me out of deep water.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy—
from those who hate me continually,
since they were stronger than I.
19 They confronted me when I was in trouble,[m]
but the Lord remained my support!
20 He brought me to a wide open area,
rescuing me because he was pleased with me!
21 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness,
rewarding me according to the degree of my innocence,[n]
22 because I have kept the Lord’s way—
I haven’t willfully abandoned my God—
23 and because all of his decrees remain in my thoughts,[o]
I have not turned aside from his statutes,
24 I have been innocent before him,
and I’ve kept myself from incurring[p] guilt.
25 The Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,
that is, according to my clean standing as he[q] looks at me.[r]
26 In the company of the gracious
you demonstrate your gracious love.
In the company of the blamelessly valiant
you demonstrate your blamelessness.
27 In the company of the pure
you demonstrate your purity.
In the company of the perverted
you will appear to be perverse.
28 You save the nation who is humble
but your eyes watch the proud,
to bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, Lord,
the Lord who illuminates my darkness.
30 By you I devastate armies,
by my God I scale walls.
31 This God! His way is perfect!
What the Lord declares proves true.
He shields[s] everyone who flees for protection to him!
32 For who is God apart from the Lord?
And who is a Rock, apart from our God?
33 This God is my strong place of valor!
He has made my life[t] blameless.
34 He has made my feet like those of a deer,
setting me secure on his high places!
35 He has trained my hands for battle readiness—
I can bend a bow made out of bronze.
36 He has equipped me with the shield that is your salvation,
Your gentleness[u] has made me great.
37 You’ve made room beneath me for my footsteps,
and my feet didn’t slip.
38 I pursued my enemies and conquered them;
I didn’t return until they were consumed.
39 I devoured them,
striking them down
until they could not get up again.
They fell beneath my feet.
40 You strengthened me with valor sufficient for the battle;
you made those who rebelled against me fall beneath me.
41 You made my enemies turn and run—[v]
that is, those who hate me—
and I destroyed them!
42 They looked around, but there was no one to save[w] them[x]—
they looked[y] to the Lord, but he paid no attention!
43 I pulverized them to powder,
like the dust of the earth;
I crushed them,
stomping on them like mud on a street.
44 You delivered me from civil war among my own people.
You preserved me as head of the nations.
People whom I had never known served me!
45 Foreigners[z] came cringing to me;
they obeyed as soon as they heard[aa] me.
46 Foreigners[ab] lost their courage,
coming trembling from their strongholds.
47 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock,
and may my God be exalted,
the Rock who is my salvation!
48 The God who keeps on avenging me,
subjugating people beneath me,
49 delivering me from my enemies.
You exalted me above those who rebelled against me,
delivering me from violent men.
50 Because of all of this I will praise you among the nations, Lord,
and I will sing praises to your name!
51 Great is the salvation he brings to his king,
showing gracious love to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring[ac] forever.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit. hand
- 2 Samuel 22:2 The Heb. lacks This is what
- 2 Samuel 22:2 So LXX. MT reads The Lord is
- 2 Samuel 22:2 So MT LXX reads rescuing
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Lit. horn
- 2 Samuel 22:4 The Heb. lacks him
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Or currents
- 2 Samuel 22:5 The Heb. lacks of abuse
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Or terrified
- 2 Samuel 22:8 Lit. because he
- 2 Samuel 22:13 Or the brightness
- 2 Samuel 22:13 Or counterpart; MT word is perhaps a word play on the noun shining light
- 2 Samuel 22:19 Lit. in the day of my calamity
- 2 Samuel 22:21 Lit. the cleanness of my hands
- 2 Samuel 22:23 Lit. presence
- 2 Samuel 22:24 The Heb. lacks incurring
- 2 Samuel 22:25 Lit. standing to the counterpart
- 2 Samuel 22:25 Or standing in his eyes
- 2 Samuel 22:31 Lit. He is a shield for
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Lit. way
- 2 Samuel 22:36 So MT; LXX reads Obedience to you
- 2 Samuel 22:41 Lit. away their backs to me
- 2 Samuel 22:42 MT verb looked around sounds like MT verb to save
- 2 Samuel 22:42 The Heb. lacks them
- 2 Samuel 22:42 The Heb. lacks they looked
- 2 Samuel 22:45 Lit. Children of foreigners
- 2 Samuel 22:45 MT verbs obeyed and heard are identical in spelling
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit. Children of foreigners
- 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit. seed; MT is sing.
2 Samuel 22
Lexham English Bible
The Victory Song of David
22 Then David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song,[a] on the day Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 And he said:
“Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
3 I take refuge in God, my rock,[b] my shield, and the strength[c] of my salvation.
My stronghold and my refuge, O my savior, you will save me from violence!
4 I call upon Yahweh who is praiseworthy,
and I am saved from those who hate me.
5 For the breaker waves of death engulfed me;
the currents of chaos overwhelmed me.
6 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 In my distress I called upon Yahweh, and to my God I called.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help was to his ears.
8 The earth heaved and shook,
the foundations of heaven trembled and heaved
because he was angry.[d]
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils and fire from his mouth.
Burning coals devoured, they burned from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down;
a very thick cloud was under his feet.
11 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He put darkness as a canopy all around him,
a collection of thick rain clouds.[e]
13 From the brightness before him
flamed burning coals of fire.
14 Yahweh thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.[f]
15 He sent arrows and he scattered them,
lightning, and he directed them.
16 Then the channels of water of the sea were exposed,
the foundations of the world,
at the rebuke of Yawheh,
from the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He sent from a high position and took me;
he drew me from mighty waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemies,
from those who hate me, for they were mightier than I.
19 They approached me on the day of my disaster,
but Yahweh was my support.
20 He brought me out to a spacious place.
He delivered me because he delighted in me.
21 Yahweh rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh;
I have not acted wickedly against my God.
23 For all of his ordinances were before me,
and I did not turn aside from his statutes.
24 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness before his eyes.
26 With the loyal, you act as loyal,
and with the blameless, you show yourself blameless.
27 With the pure, you show yourself pure,
but with the crooked, you appear as a fool.
28 Humble people you will deliver,
but your eyes are on the haughty, whom you bring down.
29 For you, O Yahweh are my lamp,
and Yahweh lightens my darkness.
30 For by you I can run a raid;
by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God, his way is blameless;
the promise of Yahweh is flawless.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God apart from Yahweh?
And who is a rock apart from our God?
33 God is my strong refuge,
he has fully opened my way.[g]
34 He makes my feet[h] like a doe deer,
and on my high places he has set me.
35 He trains my hands for the war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your willingness to help has made me great.
37 You have broadened my steps beneath me;
my ankles have not wobbled.
38 I pursued those who hate me, and I destroyed them.
I did not turn back until finishing them.
39 I wiped them out and I smashed them;
they did not get up; they fell under my feet.
40 You have girded me with physical strength for the battle;
you caused those who rose up against me to kneel under me.
41 My enemies you cause to retreat from me;[i]
I destroy those who hate me.
42 They looked out, but there was no deliverer,
even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine, like the dust of the earth;
like the mire of the streets, I crushed them, I stamped them down.
44 You delivered me from the strife of my people;
you preserved me as the head of the nations.
A people I had not known served me.
45 Children of a foreign land came cringing to me;
when they heard of me,[j] they became obedient to me.
46 Children of a foreign land lost heart
and came trembling from their strongholds.
47 Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock!
May God, the rock of my salvation, be exalted!
48 God does vengeance for me,
bringing down peoples under me.
49 He brings me out from my enemies,
and from those who rose up against me you lift me up,
and from men of violence you rescue me.
50 Therefore I will extol you, Yahweh, among the nations!
I will sing praises to your name!
51 He makes great salvation for his king
and shows loyal love to his anointed one, David
and to his descendants forever.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:1 This same song is recorded in Psa 18, with minor differences
- 2 Samuel 22:3 So many LXX mss, Targum, Vulgate, and Psa 18:3. MT has “the God of my rock”
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Literally “horn”
- 2 Samuel 22:8 Literally “it was hot for him”
- 2 Samuel 22:12 Literally “clouds of thick clouds”
- 2 Samuel 22:14 Literally “gave his voice”
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Thus Qere; Kethib has “his way”
- 2 Samuel 22:34 Thus Qere; Kethib has “his feet”
- 2 Samuel 22:41 Literally “Those who hate me you give to me back”
- 2 Samuel 22:45 Literally “at the hearing of an ear”
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