Psalm 18

Modern

Literal

The LORD Is My Rock

¹For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love You, O LORD, my strength.

¹For the one directing. Of the servant of YHWH, David, who spoke to YHWH the words of this song on the day that YHWH snatched him from the hand of all his enemies, from the hand of Saul. And he said: I love You, O YHWH, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

²YHWH is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock—I take refuge in Him—my protection, and the horn of my salvation, my high place.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

so shall I be saved from my enemies.

³I will call upon YHWH, to be praised, and I shall be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁴The cords of Death surrounded me, and the torrents of Belial terrified me.

⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

⁵The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of Death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From His temple He heard my voice,

and my cry for His help reached His ears.

⁶In the distress unto me, I called to YHWH, and to my God I cried for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help came before His face into His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains trembled;

they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁷And the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the hills trembled; and they were shaken because of the burning from Him.

⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils,

and consuming fire came from His mouth;

glowing coals blazed forth.

⁸Smoke went up from His nostril, and a devouring fire from His mouth; coals were kindled from it.

⁹He parted the heavens and came down

with dark clouds beneath His feet.

⁹And He stretched apart the heavens and came down, and a dark cloud was under His feet.

¹⁰He mounted a cherub and flew;

He soared on the wings of the wind.

¹⁰And He rode upon a cherub and flew, and He took flight upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place,

and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹¹He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him—darkness of waters and thick clouds of vapors.

¹²From the brightness of His presence

His clouds advanced—

hailstones and coals of fire.^a

¹²From the brightness before Him His thick clouds passed on, hail and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded—

hailstones and coals of fire.^a

¹³And YHWH thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave forth His voice—hail and coals of fire.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;

He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁴And He sent out His arrows and scattered them, and He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁵The channels of the sea appeared,

and the foundations of the world were exposed,

at Your rebuke, O LORD,

at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁵And the channels of the sea were seen. And the foundations of the world were uncovered, from Your rebuke, O YHWH, from the blast of the breath of Your nostril.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁶He sent from above, he took hold of me; He drew me out from the many waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁷He snatched me away from my strong enemy, and from those hating me, for they were stronger than I.

¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity,

but the LORD was my support.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity, and YHWH was as a support for me.

¹⁹He brought me out into the open;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

¹⁹And He brought me out into a broad place; He pulled me out, because He took delight in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²⁰YHWH rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands, He returned it to me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²¹For I have kept the ways of YHWH, and I have not acted wickedly against my God.

²²For all His ordinances are before me;

I have not disregarded His statutes.

²²For all His ordinances are before me, and I did not turn aside His statutes from me.

²³And I have been blameless before Him

and kept myself from iniquity.

²³And I was blameless before Him, and I guarded myself from my iniquity.

²⁴So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁴And YHWH has returned to me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,

to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁵With the faithful one, You show Yourself faithful; with a blameless man, You show Yourself blameless;

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure,

but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁶with the purified one, You show Yourself pure; and with the crooked one, You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people,

but You humble those with haughty eyes.

²⁷For You will save a lowly people, but the eyes of those rising high You bring low.

²⁸For You, O LORD, light my lamp;

my God lights up my darkness.

²⁸For You light my lamp; YHWH my God makes my darkness shine bright.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army,

and with my God I can scale a wall.

²⁹For with You I can run against a troop, and with my God I can leap a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³⁰God—His way is perfect—the word of YHWH is refined; He is a shield for all those taking refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God besides the LORD?

And who is the Rock except our God?

³¹For who is God, apart from YHWH? And who is the Rock, except our God?—

³²It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way clear.

³²The God girding me with strength, and making perfect my way.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deer

and stations me upon the heights.

³³Setting my feet like does, even on the heights He makes me stand.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁴He trains my hands for the battle, and my arms can bend down a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me Your shield of salvation;

Your right hand upholds me,

and Your gentleness exalts me.^a

³⁵And You gave to me the shield of Your salvation; and Your right hand supports me, and Your gentleness makes me great.

³⁶You broaden the path beneath me

so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁶You made wide my path under me, and my ankles have not slipped.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them; and I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I crushed them so they could not rise;

they have fallen under my feet.

³⁸I wounded them, and they were not able to rise; they have fallen under my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for battle;

You have subdued my foes beneath me.

³⁹And You girded me with strength for the battle; those rising against me You bent down underneath me.

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me;

I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴⁰And my enemies, You have given to me the neck; and those hating me, I cut them off!

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—

to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴¹They cried for help, and no one saved them, upon YHWH, and He did not answer them.

⁴²I ground them as dust in the face of the wind;

I trampled them^a like mud in the streets.

⁴²And I beat them as dust upon the face of the wind; like mud in the streets I trampled them.

⁴³You have delivered me from the strife of the people;

You have made me the head of nations;

a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴³You rescued me from the disputes of people; You set me as the head of nations; a people I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me;

foreigners cower before me.

⁴⁴At the hearing of the ear, they listen to me; the sons of a foreigner feign obedience before me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart

and come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁵The sons of a foreigner fade away, and they come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!

And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

⁴⁶YHWH lives! And blessed be my Rock, and the God of my salvation be exalted—

⁴⁷the God who avenges me

and subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁷the God giving vengeance to me, and subduing the peoples under me,

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies.

You exalt me above my foes;

You rescue me from violent men.

⁴⁸causing me to escape from my enemies, even above, those who rise against me—You lift me up. From the man of violence, You have snatched me.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;

I will sing praises to Your name.^a

⁴⁹Upon thus, I will confess You among the nations, O YHWH, and to Your name I will sing praise.

⁵⁰Great salvation He brings to His king.

He shows loving devotion to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever.

⁵⁰He is making great the salvation of His king and showing loving devotion to His anointed, of David and to his seed, even to forever.