LEB - Psalms - 18

18:1  who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song ⌞when⌟ Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said: “I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.”

18:2  Yahweh 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.

18:3  I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised, and I was saved from my enemies.

18:4  The ropes of death encircled me, and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.

18:5  The ropes of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.

18:6  In 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.

18:7  Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled, and they staggered because he was angry.

18:8  Smoke went forth from his nose, and fire from his mouth consumed. Burning coals blazed from him.

18:9  So he bowed the heavens and came down with a thick cloud under his feet.

18:10  And he mounted a cherub and flew, and he swooped down on wings of wind.

18:11  He made darkness his hiding place; all about him his covering was a darkness of waters, ⌞thick clouds⌟.

18:12  From the brightness before him his clouds passed over with hail and coals of fire.

18:13  And Yahweh thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice with hail and coals of fire.

18:14  And he shot his arrows and scattered them, and many lightning bolts and routed them.

18:15  Then the channels of the sea became visible, and the foundations of the world were uncovered by your rebuke, O Yahweh, by the ⌞blast⌟ of the wind of your nose.

18:16  He reached from on high; he seized me. He drew me from many waters.

18:17  He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me because they were stronger than I.

18:18  They confronted me on the day of disaster, but Yahweh was my support.

18:19  So he brought me out to a spacious place. He delivered me because he delighted in me.

18:20  Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands he has repaid me.

18:21  Because I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not acted wickedly against my God,

18:22  because all his ordinances are before me, and his statutes I have not removed from me,

18:23  and I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.

18:24  Therefore Yahweh has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

18:25  To the loyal you show yourself loyal. To the blameless you show yourself blameless.

18:26  To the pure you show yourself pure. but to the wicked you show yourself shrewd.

18:27  For you deliver humble people, but haughty eyes you humiliate.

18:28  For you light my lamp; Yahweh, my God, lights up my darkness.

18:29  For with you I can charge a troop, and with my God I can scale a wall.

18:30  This God—his way is blameless. The word of Yahweh is flawless. He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

18:31  For who is God apart from Yahweh, and who is a rock except our God?

18:32  The God who girded me with strength, and made safe my way,

18:33  he made my feet like the deer’s, and on my high places he makes me stand.

18:34  He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

18:35  You also gave me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your humility made me great.

18:36  You enlarged my step under me, and my ankles did not slip.

18:37  I chased my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were finished off.

18:38  I struck them and they were not able to stand up; they fell under my feet.

18:39  And you girded me with strength for the battle; those rising against me you made to kneel under me.

18:40  And you ⌞made my enemies turn their backs⌟, then I destroyed those who hated me.

18:41  They cried out but there was no rescuer, even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.

18:42  And I ground them like dust ⌞in the wind⌟, I emptied them out like mud of the streets.

18:43  You rescued me from strife with people; you set me as head (over) nations. People I did not know served me;

18:44  as soon as ⌞they heard⌟, they obeyed me. The children of a foreign land feigned obedience before me.

18:45  The children of a foreign land ⌞lost heart⌟, and they came trembling from their strongholds.

18:46  Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock, and may the God of my salvation be exalted—

18:47  the God who executed vengeance for me, and subdued peoples under me,

18:48  who delivered me from my enemies. Indeed, you exalted me higher than those who rose against me. You delivered me from the man of violence.

18:49  Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, O Yahweh, and I will sing the praise of your name:

18:50  the one who makes great victories for his king, and who shows loyal love for his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.