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Psalms 18

18
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#Literally “on the day” Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,
and from the hand of Saul.#The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
1And he said:
“I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.”
2Yahweh 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.
3I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was saved from my enemies.
4The ropes of death encircled me,
and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.
5The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6In 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.
7Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains trembled,
and they staggered because he was angry.
8Smoke went forth from his nose,
and fire from his mouth consumed.
Burning coals blazed from him.
9So he bowed the heavens and came down
with a thick cloud under his feet.
10And he mounted a cherub and flew,
and he swooped down on wings of wind.
11He made darkness his hiding place;
all about him his covering
was a darkness of waters, thick clouds.#Literally “clouds of clouds”
12From the brightness before him
his clouds passed over
with hail and coals of fire.
13And Yahweh thundered from the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice
with hail and coals of fire.
14And he shot his arrows and scattered them,#That is, the enemy
and many lightning bolts and routed them.
15Then the channels of the sea became visible,
and the foundations of the world were uncovered
by your rebuke, O Yahweh,
by the blast#Or “breath” of the wind of your nose.
16He reached#Or “sent” from on high; he seized me.
He drew me from many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me
because they were stronger than I.
18They confronted me on the day of disaster,
but Yahweh was my support.
19So he brought me out to a spacious place.
He delivered me because he delighted in me.
20Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
he has repaid me.
21Because I have kept the ways of Yahweh,
and have not acted wickedly against my God,
22because all his ordinances are before me,
and his statutes I have not removed from me,
23and I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24Therefore Yahweh has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25To the loyal you show yourself loyal.
To the blameless you show yourself blameless.
26To the pure you show yourself pure.
but to the wicked you show yourself shrewd.
27For you deliver humble people,
but haughty eyes you humiliate.
28For you light my lamp;
Yahweh, my God, lights up my darkness.
29For with you I can charge a troop,
and with my God I can scale a wall.
30This#Hebrew “The” God—his way is blameless.
The word of Yahweh is flawless.#Or “refined”
He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31For who is God apart from Yahweh,
and who is a rock except our God?
32The God who girded me with strength,
and made safe#Or “blameless” my way,
33he made my feet like the deer’s,
and on my high places he makes me stand.
34He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35You also gave me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your humility made me great.
36You enlarged my step under me,
and my ankles did not slip.
37I chased my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back until they were finished off.
38I struck them and they were not able to stand up;
they fell under my feet.
39And you girded me with strength for the battle;
those rising against me you made to kneel under me.
40And you made my enemies turn their backs,#Literally “turned to me my enemies’ neck”
then I destroyed those who hated me.
41They cried out but there was no rescuer,
even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
42And I ground them like dust in the wind,#Literally “on the face of the wind”
I emptied them#Many Hebrew manuscripts, the LXX, Syriac, and 2 Sam 22:43 read “I crushed them” out like mud of the streets.
43You rescued me from strife with people;
you set me as head (over) nations.
People I did not know served me;
44as soon as they heard,#Literally “hearing of ear” they obeyed me.
The children of a foreign land feigned obedience before me.
45The children of a foreign land lost heart,#Literally “sunk down”
and they came trembling from their strongholds.
46Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock,
and may the God of my salvation be exalted—
47the God who executed vengeance for me,
and subdued peoples under me,
48who delivered me from my enemies.
Indeed, you exalted me higher than those who rose against me.
You delivered me from the man of violence.
49Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, O Yahweh,
and I will sing the praise of your name:
50the one who makes great victories for his king,
and who shows loyal love for his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.

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Psalms 18: LEB

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