18:1 [For the music director. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, ①who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,]
“I love You, LORD, my strength.”
▷ ①2 Sam 22:1-51
18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my savior,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
18:3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
18:4 The ropes of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of ①destruction ②terrified me.
▷ ①Or ungodliness; Heb Belial ②Or were assailing; or terrifying
18:5 The ropes of ①Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
▷ ①I.e., the netherworld
18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.
18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
18:8 Smoke went up ①out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth was devouring;
Coals burned from it.
▷ ①Or in His wrath
18:9 He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
18:10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
And He sped on the wings of the wind.
18:11 He made darkness His hiding place, His ①canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds.
▷ ①Or pavilion
18:12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
18:14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and ①routed them.
▷ ①Lit confused
18:15 Then the channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were exposed
By Your rebuke, LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
18:16 He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
18:17 He saved me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18:18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
But the LORD was my support.
18:19 He also brought me out into an open place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
18:20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.
18:21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not acted wickedly against my God.
18:22 For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
18:23 I was also ①blameless with Him,
And I kept myself from my wrongdoing.
▷ ①Lit complete; or having integrity; or perfect
18:24 Therefore the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
18:25 With the faithful You show Yourself faithful;
With the ①blameless You prove Yourself blameless;
▷ ①See note v 23
18:26 With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself ①astute.
▷ ①Lit twisted
18:27 For You save an afflicted people,
But You humiliate haughty eyes.
18:28 For You light my lamp;
The LORD my God illumines my darkness.
18:29 For by You I can run at a ①troop of warriors;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
▷ ①Or wall
18:30 As for God, His way is ①blameless;
The word of the LORD is refined;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
▷ ①Or perfect
18:31 For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God,
18:32 The God who encircles me with strength,
And ①makes my way ②blameless?
▷ ①Or has made ②Lit complete; or having integrity
18:33 He makes my feet like deer’s feet,
And sets me up on my high places.
18:34 He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
18:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your ①gentleness makes me great.
▷ ①Or condescension
18:36 You enlarge my steps under me,
And my ①feet have not slipped.
▷ ①Lit ankles
18:37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
18:38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;
They fell under my feet.
18:39 For You have encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced those who rose up against me to bow down under me.
18:40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I ①destroyed those who hated me.
▷ ①Or silenced
18:41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save,
They cried to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
18:42 Then I beat them fine like the dust before the wind;
I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.
18:43 You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
18:44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners pretend to obey me.
18:45 Foreigners lose heart,
And come trembling out of their ①fortresses.
▷ ①Or prisons
18:46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be the God of my salvation,
18:47 The God who executes vengeance for me,
And subdues peoples under me.
18:48 He rescues me from my enemies;
You indeed lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from a violent man.
18:49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, LORD,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
18:50 He gives great ①salvation to His king,
And shows faithfulness to His anointed,
To David and his ②descendants forever.
▷ ①I.e., victories; lit salvations ②Lit seed