God the Sovereign Savior(A)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David (B)the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of (C)this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

18 I (D)will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my [a]strength, (E)in whom I will trust;
My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, (F)who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

(G)The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of [c]ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

(H)Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
(I)He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 (J)And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
(K)He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
(L)His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 (M)From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered (N)His voice,
[d]Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 (O)He sent out His arrows and scattered [e]the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16 (P)He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19 (Q)He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

20 (R)The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless [f]before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 (S)Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25 (T)With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And (U)with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27 For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down (V)haughty looks.

28 (W)For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can [g]run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, (X)His way is perfect;
(Y)The word of the Lord is [h]proven;
He is a shield (Z)to all who trust in Him.

31 (AA)For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who (AB)arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
33 (AC)He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And (AD)sets me on my high places.
34 (AE)He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You enlarged my path under me,
(AF)So my feet did not slip.

37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38 I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have [i]subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out, but there was none to save;
(AG)Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I (AH)cast them out like dirt in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
(AI)You have made me the head of the [j]nations;
(AJ)A people I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners [k]submit to me.
45 (AK)The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

46 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God who avenges me,
(AL)And subdues the peoples under me;
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
(AM)You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49 (AN)Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the [l]Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

50 (AO)Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his [m]descendants forevermore.

Notas al pie

  1. Psalm 18:2 Lit. rock
  2. Psalm 18:2 Strength
  3. Psalm 18:4 Lit. Belial
  4. Psalm 18:13 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; a few Heb. mss., LXX omit Hailstones and coals of fire
  5. Psalm 18:14 Lit. them
  6. Psalm 18:23 with
  7. Psalm 18:29 Or run through
  8. Psalm 18:30 Lit. refined
  9. Psalm 18:39 Lit. caused to bow
  10. Psalm 18:43 Gentiles
  11. Psalm 18:44 feign submission
  12. Psalm 18:49 nations
  13. Psalm 18:50 Lit. seed

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.”
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.
I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was saved from my enemies.
The ropes of death encircled me,
and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.
The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
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.
Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains trembled,
and they staggered because he was angry.
Smoke went forth from his nose,
and fire from his mouth consumed.
Burning coals blazed from him.
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.

Notas al pie

  1. Psalm 18:1 Literally “on the day”
  2. Psalm 18:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  3. Psalm 18:11 Literally “clouds of clouds”
  4. Psalm 18:14 That is, the enemy
  5. Psalm 18:15 Or “breath”
  6. Psalm 18:16 Or “sent”
  7. Psalm 18:30 Hebrew “The”
  8. Psalm 18:30 Or “refined”
  9. Psalm 18:32 Or “blameless”
  10. Psalm 18:40 Literally “turned to me my enemies’ neck”
  11. Psalm 18:42 Literally “on the face of the wind”
  12. Psalm 18:42 Many Hebrew manuscripts, the LXX, Syriac, and 2 Sam 22:43 read “I crushed them”
  13. Psalm 18:44 Literally “hearing of ear”
  14. Psalm 18:45 Literally “sunk down”

Praise for God’s Deliverance(A)

22 Then David (B)spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had (C)delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he (D)said:

(E)“The Lord is my rock and my (F)fortress and my deliverer;
The God of my strength, (G)in whom I will trust;
My (H)shield and the (I)horn[a] of my salvation,
My (J)stronghold and my (K)refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

“When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness [b]made me afraid.
The (L)sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress (M)I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He (N)heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.

“Then (O)the earth shook and trembled;
(P)The foundations of [c]heaven quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring (Q)fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
10 He (R)bowed the heavens also, and came down
With (S)darkness under His feet.
11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He [d]was seen (T)upon the wings of the wind.
12 He made (U)darkness canopies around Him,
Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
13 From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.

14 “The Lord (V)thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
15 He sent out (W)arrows and scattered them;
Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.
16 Then the channels of the sea (X)were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered,
At the (Y)rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

17 “He(Z) sent from above, He took me,
He drew me out of many waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me;
For they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my (AA)support.
20 (AB)He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He (AC)delighted in me.

21 “The(AD) Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AE)cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
22 For I have (AF)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all His (AG)judgments were before me;
And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
24 I was also (AH)blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Therefore (AI)the Lord has [e]recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to [f]my cleanness in His eyes.

26 “With (AJ)the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And (AK)with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
28 You will save the (AL)humble[g] people;
But Your eyes are on (AM)the haughty, that You may bring them down.

29 “For You are my (AN)lamp, O Lord;
The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.
30 For by You I can run against a troop;
By my God I can leap over a (AO)wall.
31 As for God, (AP)His way is perfect;
(AQ)The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

32 “For (AR)who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
33 [h]God is my (AS)strength and power,
And He (AT)makes [i]my way (AU)perfect.
34 He makes [j]my feet (AV)like the feet of deer,
And (AW)sets me on my high places.
35 He teaches my hands [k]to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your gentleness has made me great.
37 You (AX)enlarged my path under me;
So my feet did not slip.

38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen (AY)under my feet.
40 For You have (AZ)armed me with strength for the battle;
You have [l]subdued under me (BA)those who rose against me.
41 You have also [m]given me the (BB)necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
Even (BC)to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43 Then I beat them as fine (BD)as the dust of the earth;
I trod them (BE)like dirt in the streets,
And I [n]spread them out.

44 “You(BF) have also delivered me from the [o]strivings of my people;
You have kept me as the (BG)head of the nations.
(BH)A people I have not known shall serve me.
45 The foreigners submit to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 The foreigners fade away,
And [p]come frightened (BI)from their hideouts.

47 “The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted,
The (BJ)Rock of my salvation!
48 It is God who avenges me,
And (BK)subdues the peoples under me;
49 He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the (BL)violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among (BM)the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your (BN)name.

51 He(BO) is the tower of salvation to His king,
And shows mercy to His (BP)anointed,
To David and (BQ)his descendants forevermore.”

Notas al pie

  1. 2 Samuel 22:3 Strength
  2. 2 Samuel 22:5 Or overwhelmed
  3. 2 Samuel 22:8 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Syr., Vg. hills (cf. Ps. 18:7)
  4. 2 Samuel 22:11 So with MT, LXX; many Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. flew (cf. Ps. 18:10); Tg. spoke with power
  5. 2 Samuel 22:25 rewarded
  6. 2 Samuel 22:25 LXX, Syr., Vg. the cleanness of my hands in His sight (cf. Ps. 18:24); Tg. my cleanness before His word
  7. 2 Samuel 22:28 afflicted
  8. 2 Samuel 22:33 DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. It is God who arms me with strength (cf. Ps. 18:32); Tg. It is God who sustains me with strength
  9. 2 Samuel 22:33 So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:32); Kt. His
  10. 2 Samuel 22:34 So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:33); Kt. His
  11. 2 Samuel 22:35 Lit. for the war
  12. 2 Samuel 22:40 Lit. caused to bow down
  13. 2 Samuel 22:41 given me victory over
  14. 2 Samuel 22:43 scattered
  15. 2 Samuel 22:44 contentions
  16. 2 Samuel 22:46 So with LXX, Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:45); MT gird themselves

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.

And he said:
    “Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
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!
I call upon Yahweh who is praiseworthy,
    and I am saved from those who hate me.
For the breaker waves of death engulfed me;
    the currents of chaos overwhelmed me.
The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.
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.
The earth heaved and shook,
    the foundations of heaven trembled and heaved
    because he was angry.[d]
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.”

Notas al pie

  1. 2 Samuel 22:1 This same song is recorded in Psa 18, with minor differences
  2. 2 Samuel 22:3 So many LXX mss, Targum, Vulgate, and Psa 18:3. MT has “the God of my rock”
  3. 2 Samuel 22:3 Literally “horn”
  4. 2 Samuel 22:8 Literally “it was hot for him”
  5. 2 Samuel 22:12 Literally “clouds of thick clouds”
  6. 2 Samuel 22:14 Literally “gave his voice”
  7. 2 Samuel 22:33 Thus Qere; Kethib has “his way”
  8. 2 Samuel 22:34 Thus Qere; Kethib has “his feet”
  9. 2 Samuel 22:41 Literally “Those who hate me you give to me back”
  10. 2 Samuel 22:45 Literally “at the hearing of an ear”