Psalm 18
World English Bible
For the Chief Musician. By David the servant of Yahweh, who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said,
18 I love you, Yahweh, my strength.
2 Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
3 I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised;
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death surrounded me.
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5 The cords of Sheol[a] were around me.
The snares of death came on me.
6 In my distress I called on Yahweh,
and cried to my God.
He heard my voice out of his temple.
My cry before him came into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled.
The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken,
because he was angry.
8 Smoke went out of his nostrils.
Consuming fire came out of his mouth.
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down.
Thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub, and flew.
Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him,
darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed,
hailstones and coals of fire.
13 Yahweh also thundered in the sky.
The Most High uttered his voice:
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out his arrows, and scattered them.
He routed them with great lightning bolts.
15 Then the channels of waters appeared.
The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high.
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 mighty for me.
18 They came on me in the day of my calamity,
but Yahweh was my support.
19 He brought me out also into a large 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 recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his ordinances were before me.
I didn’t put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless with him.
I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful.
With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.
26 With the pure, you will show yourself pure.
With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.
27 For you will save the afflicted people,
but the arrogant eyes you will bring down.
28 For you will light my lamp, Yahweh.
My God will light up my darkness.
29 For by you, I advance through a troop.
By my God, I leap over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect.
Yahweh’s word is tried.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God, except Yahweh?
Who is a rock, besides our God,
32 the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?
33 He makes my feet like deer’s feet,
and sets me on my high places.
34 He teaches my hands to war,
so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand sustains me.
Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You have enlarged my steps under me,
My feet have not slipped.
37 I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them.
I won’t turn away until they are consumed.
38 I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise.
They shall fall under my feet.
39 For you have armed me with strength to the battle.
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
that I might cut off those who hate me.
41 They cried, but there was no one to save;
even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.
42 Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind.
I cast them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people.
You have made me the head of the nations.
A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me.
The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.
45 The foreigners shall fade away,
and shall come trembling out of their strongholds.
46 Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock.
Exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 even the God who executes vengeance for me,
and subdues peoples under me.
48 He rescues me from my enemies.
Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me.
You deliver me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations,
and will sing praises to your name.
50 He gives great deliverance to his king,
and shows loving kindness to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring,[b] forever more.
Psalm 18
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 18
Praise for Deliverance
For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the power of Saul.(A) He said:
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,(B)
my God, my rock where I seek refuge,
my shield(C) and the horn of my salvation,(D)
my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(E)
and I was saved from my enemies.(F)
4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.(G)
5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(H)
6 I called to the Lord in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,(I)
and my cry to him reached his ears.(J)
7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;(K)
they shook because he burned with anger.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[a](L)
9 He bent the heavens and came down,(M)
total darkness beneath his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.(N)
11 He made darkness his hiding place,
dark storm clouds his canopy around him.(O)
12 From the radiance of his presence,(P)
his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13 The Lord thundered from[b] heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard.[c](Q)
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them;
he hurled[d] lightning bolts and routed them.(R)
15 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.(S)
16 He reached down from on high
and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of deep water.(T)
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.(U)
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.(V)
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;(W)
he rescued me because he delighted in me.(X)
20 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(Y)
he repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(Z)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.(AA)
22 Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me[e]
and have not disregarded his statutes.(AB)
23 I was blameless toward him(AC)
and kept myself from my iniquity.
24 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,(AD)
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.(AE)
25 With the faithful
you prove yourself faithful,
with the blameless
you prove yourself blameless,
26 with the pure
you prove yourself pure,
but with the crooked
you prove yourself shrewd.(AF)
27 For you rescue an oppressed people,(AG)
but you humble those with haughty eyes.(AH)
28 Lord, you light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.(AI)
29 With you I can attack a barricade,[f]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(AJ)
30 God—his way is perfect;(AK)
the word of the Lord is pure.(AL)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.(AM)
31 For who is God besides the Lord?(AN)
And who is a rock? Only our God.(AO)
32 God—he clothes me with strength(AP)
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer(AQ)
and sets me securely on the heights.[g](AR)
34 He trains my hands for war;(AS)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(AT)
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your right hand upholds me,(AU)
and your humility exalts me.
36 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps,(AV)
and my ankles do not give way.(AW)
37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.(AX)
38 I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.(AY)
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle;(AZ)
you subdue my adversaries beneath me.(BA)
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[h](BB)
I annihilate those who hate me.(BC)
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them(BD)—
they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer them.(BE)
42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind;(BF)
I trample them[i] like mud in the streets.(BG)
43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
you have appointed me the head of nations;(BH)
a people I had not known serve me.(BI)
44 Foreigners submit to me cringing;
as soon as they hear they obey me.(BJ)
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(BK)
46 The Lord lives—blessed be my rock!
The God of my salvation is exalted.(BL)
47 God—he grants me vengeance(BM)
and subdues peoples under me.(BN)
48 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
you rescue me from violent men.(BO)
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises about your name.(BP)
50 He gives great victories to his king;(BQ)
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(BR)
Footnotes
- 18:8 Or him
- 18:13 Some Hb mss, LXX, Tg, Jer; other Hb mss read in
- 18:13 Some Hb mss read voice, with hail and blazing coals
- 18:14 Or multiplied
- 18:22 Lit Indeed, all his ordinances have been in front of me
- 18:29 Or a ridge, or raiders
- 18:33 Or on my high places
- 18:40 Or You gave me the necks of my enemies
- 18:42 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg; other Hb mss read I poured them out
2 Samuel 22
World English Bible
22 David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul, 2 and he said:
“Yahweh is my rock,
my fortress,
and my deliverer, even mine;
3 God is my rock in whom I take refuge;
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my high tower, and my refuge.
My savior, you save me from violence.
4 I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 For the waves of death surrounded me.
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
6 The cords of Sheol[a] were around me.
The snares of death caught me.
7 In my distress, I called on Yahweh.
Yes, I called to my God.
He heard my voice out of his temple.
My cry came into his ears.
8 Then the earth shook and trembled.
The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken,
because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up out of his nostrils.
Consuming fire came out of his mouth.
Coals were kindled by it.
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down.
Thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub, and flew.
Yes, he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness a shelter around himself:
gathering of waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13 At the brightness before him,
coals of fire were kindled.
14 Yahweh thundered from heaven.
The Most High uttered his voice.
15 He sent out arrows and scattered them,
lightning and confused them.
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared.
The foundations of the world were laid bare by Yahweh’s rebuke,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He sent from on high and 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 mighty for me.
19 They came on me in the day of my calamity,
but Yahweh was my support.
20 He also brought me out into a large place.
He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
21 Yahweh rewarded me according to my righteousness.
He rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands.
22 For I have kept Yahweh’s ways,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his ordinances were before me.
As for his statutes, I didn’t depart from them.
24 I was also perfect toward him.
I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness in his eyesight.
26 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful.
With the perfect man you will show yourself perfect.
27 With the pure you will show yourself pure.
With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.
28 You will save the afflicted people,
But your eyes are on the arrogant, that you may bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, Yahweh.
Yahweh will light up my darkness.
30 For by you, I run against a troop.
By my God, I leap over a wall.
31 As for God, his way is perfect.
Yahweh’s word is tested.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God, besides Yahweh?
Who is a rock, besides our God?
33 God is my strong fortress.
He makes my way perfect.
34 He makes his feet like hinds’ feet,
and sets me on my high places.
35 He teaches my hands to war,
so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have also given me the shield of your salvation.
Your gentleness has made me great.
37 You have enlarged my steps under me.
My feet have not slipped.
38 I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them.
I didn’t turn again until they were consumed.
39 I have consumed them,
and struck them through,
so that they can’t arise.
Yes, they have fallen under my feet.
40 For you have armed me with strength for the battle.
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
41 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
that I might cut off those who hate me.
42 They looked, but there was no one to save;
even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.
43 Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth.
I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad.
44 You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people.
You have kept me to be the head of the nations.
A people whom I have not known will serve me.
45 The foreigners will submit themselves to me.
As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
46 The foreigners will fade away,
and will come trembling out of their close places.
47 Yahweh lives!
Blessed be my rock!
Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,
48 even the God who executes vengeance for me,
who brings down peoples under me,
49 who brings me away from my enemies.
Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me.
You deliver me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations,
and will sing praises to your name.
51 He gives great deliverance to his king,
and shows loving kindness to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring, forever more.”
Footnotes
- 22:6 Sheol is the place of the dead.
2 Samuel 22
Christian Standard Bible
David’s Song of Thanksgiving
22 David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul. 2 He said:(A)
The Lord is my rock, my fortress,(B) and my deliverer,
3 my God,[a] my rock where I seek refuge.
My shield, the horn of my salvation,(C) my stronghold,(D) my refuge,(E)
and my Savior, you save me from violence.
4 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(F)
and I was saved from my enemies.
5 For the waves of death engulfed me;(G)
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
6 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(H)
7 I called to the Lord in my distress;
I called to my God.(I)
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
8 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the heavens[b] trembled;(J)
they shook because he burned with anger.(K)
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[c]
10 He bent the heavens and came down,(L)
total darkness beneath his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring[d] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness a canopy around him,
a gathering[e] of water and thick clouds.(M)
13 From the radiance of his presence,
blazing coals were ignited.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard.(N)
15 He shot arrows and scattered them;(O)
he hurled lightning bolts and routed them.(P)
16 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath(Q) of his nostrils.(R)
17 He reached down from on high
and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of deep water.(S)
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and 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 support.
20 He brought me out to a spacious place;(T)
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(U)
he repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(V)
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord(W)
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
23 Indeed, I let all his ordinances(X) guide me[f]
and have not disregarded his statutes.
24 I was blameless before him
and kept myself from my iniquity.
25 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[g] in his sight.
26 With the faithful
you prove yourself faithful,
with the blameless
you prove yourself blameless,
27 with the pure
you prove yourself pure,
but with the crooked
you prove yourself shrewd.
28 You rescue an oppressed people,(Y)
but your eyes are set against the proud—
you humble them.(Z)
29 Lord, you are my lamp;
the Lord illuminates my darkness.(AA)
30 With you I can attack a barricade,[h]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(AB)
31 God—his way is perfect;(AC)
the word of the Lord is pure.(AD)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
33 God is my strong refuge;[i]
he makes my way perfect.[j]
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the[k] heights.[l]
35 He trains my hands for war;(AE)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation;(AF)
your help[m] exalts me.
37 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.
38 I pursue my enemies and destroy them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
39 I wipe them out and crush them,
and they do not rise;
they fall beneath my feet.
40 You have clothed me with strength for battle;
you subdue my adversaries beneath me.(AG)
41 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[n]
I annihilate those who hate me.
42 They look, but there is no one to save them—
they look to the Lord, but he does not answer them.(AH)
43 I pulverize them like dust of the earth;
I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.(AI)
44 You have freed me from the feuds among my people;(AJ)
you have preserved me as head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.(AK)
45 Foreigners submit to me cringing;
as soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(AL)
47 The Lord lives—blessed be my rock!
God, the rock of my salvation,(AM) is exalted.
48 God—he grants me vengeance
and casts down peoples under me.(AN)
49 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
you rescue me from violent men.(AO)
50 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises about your name.(AP)
51 He is a tower of salvation for[o] his king;
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(AQ)
Footnotes
- 22:3 LXX, Ps 18:2 read my God; MT reads God of
- 22:8 Some Hb mss, Syr, Vg read mountains; Ps 18:7
- 22:9 Or him
- 22:11 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, Syr, Tg read he was seen
- 22:12 Or sieve, or mass; Hb obscure
- 22:23 Lit Indeed, all his ordinances have been in front of me
- 22:25 LXX, Syr, Vg read to the cleanness of my hands; Ps 18:24
- 22:30 Or a ridge, or raiders
- 22:33 DSS, some LXX mss, Syr, Vg read God clothes me with strength; Ps 18:32
- 22:33 Some LXX mss, Syr; MT reads he sets free the blameless his way; Hb obscure
- 22:34 LXX; some Hb mss read my; other Hb mss read his
- 22:34 Or on my high places
- 22:36 LXX reads humility; Ps 18:35
- 22:41 Lit you gave me the neck of my enemies
- 22:51 DSS read he gives great victory to
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