Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 18

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

¹ I love You fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my Strength.

² The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower.^(A)

³ I will call upon the Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.^(B)

⁴ The cords or bands of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness and the torrents of ruin terrified me.

⁵ The cords of Sheol (the place of the dead) surrounded me; the snares of death confronted and came upon me.

⁶ In my distress [when seemingly closed in] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple (heavenly dwelling place), and my cry came before Him, into His [very] ears.

⁴³ You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You made me the head of the nations; a people I had not known served me.

⁴⁴ As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me; foreigners submitted themselves cringingly and yielded feigned obedience to me.

⁴⁵ Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their caves or strongholds.

⁴⁶ The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted,

⁴⁷ The God Who avenges me and subdues peoples under me,

⁴⁸ Who delivers me from my enemies; yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence.

⁴⁹ Therefore will I give thanks and extol You, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name.^(A)

⁵⁰ Great deliverances and triumphs gives He to His king; and He shows mercy and steadfast love to His anointed, to David and his offspring forever.^(B)

¹⁴ David remained in the wilderness strongholds in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hands.

¹⁵ David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in the wood [at Horesh].

¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went into the wood to David [at Horesh] and strengthened his hand in God.

¹⁷ He said to him, Fear not; the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father knows that too.

¹⁸ And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David remained in the wood [at Horesh], and Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁶ But thanks be to God Who planted the same earnest zeal and care for you in the heart of Titus.

¹⁷ For he not only welcomed and responded to our appeal, but was himself so keen in his enthusiasm and interest in you that he is going to you of his own accord.

¹⁸ But we are sending along with him that brother [Luke?] whose praise in the Gospel ministry [is spread] throughout all the churches;

¹⁹ And more than that, he has been appointed by the churches to travel as our companion in regard to this bountiful contribution which we are administering for the glory of the Lord Himself and [to show] our eager readiness [as Christians to help one another].

²⁰ [For] we are on our guard, intending that no one should find anything for which to blame us in regard to our administration of this large contribution.

²¹ For we take thought beforehand and aim to be honest and absolutely above suspicion, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.

²² Moreover, along with them we are sending our brother, whom we have often put to the test and have found him zealous (devoted and earnest) in many matters, but who is now more [eagerly] earnest than ever because of [his] absolute confidence in you.

²³ As for Titus, he is my colleague and shares my work in your service; and as for the [other two] brethren, they are the [special] messengers of the churches, a credit and glory to Christ (the Messiah).

²⁴ Show to these men, therefore, in the sight of the churches, the reality and plain truth of your love (your affection, goodwill, and benevolence) and what [good reasons] I had for boasting about and being proud of you.