(Psalm 18:1–50)

¹ And David 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.

² He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

³ My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.

⁴ I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁵ For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁶ The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

⁷ In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried out to my God. And from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears.

⁸ Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens¹ trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

1. Most Hebrew sources; Vulgate, Syriac, and two Hebrew manuscripts (see also Psalm 18:7) mountains

⁹ Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.

¹⁰ He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.

¹¹ He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared¹ on the wings of the wind.

1. Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Psalm 18:10); most Hebrew manuscripts He was seen

¹² He made darkness a canopy around Him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.

¹³ From the brightness of His presence coals of fire¹ blazed forth.

1. Or bolts of lightning

¹⁴ The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

¹⁵ He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁶ The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

¹⁷ He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁸ He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁹ They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.

²⁰ He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²¹ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²² For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²³ For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.

²⁴ And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.

²⁵ So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.¹

1. Hebrew; LXX and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:24) according to the cleanness of my hands

²⁶ To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁷ to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁸ You save an afflicted people, but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

²⁹ For You, O LORD, are my lamp; the LORD lights up my darkness.

³⁰ For in You I can charge an army; with my God I can scale a wall.

³¹ As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³² For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

³³ God is my strong fortress and He makes my way clear.

³⁴ He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.

³⁵ He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶ You have given me Your shield of salvation, and Your gentleness exalts me.¹

1. Or and Your help exalts me or and You stoop down to make me great

³⁷ You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁸ I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁹ I devoured and crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.

⁴⁰ You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.

⁴¹ You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.

⁴² They looked, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴³ I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴ You have delivered me from the strife of my people; You have preserved me as the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁵ Foreigners cower before me; when they hear me, they obey me.

⁴⁶ Foreigners lose heart and come trembling¹ from their strongholds.

1. Some LXX manuscripts and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:45); MT and arm themselves

⁴⁷ The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted—

⁴⁸ the God who avenges me and brings down nations beneath me,

⁴⁹ who frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.

⁵⁰ Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.¹

1. Cited in Romans 15:9

⁵¹ Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”