Psalm 18, side by side

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.

¹I will love thee, O LORD, 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.

²The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁴The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

⁵The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented 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 my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁷Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.

⁸There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

⁹He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.

⁹He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness 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 did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹¹He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

¹²From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced— hailstones and coals of fire.

¹²At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁴Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited 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.

¹⁵Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

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

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁷He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.

¹⁸They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

¹⁹He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

¹⁹He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²⁰The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed 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 the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.

²²For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

²³And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.

²³I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

²⁴So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁴Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁵With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁶With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.

²⁷For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

²⁸For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.

²⁸For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall.

²⁹For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over 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.

³⁰As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

³¹For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

³¹For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.

³²It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.

³³He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁴He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

³⁵You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.

³⁵Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

³⁶You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁶Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

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

³⁷I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

³⁸I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.

³⁸I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.

³⁹For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.

⁴⁰Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴¹They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

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

⁴²Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

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.

⁴³Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁵The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

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

⁴⁶The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

⁴⁷the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁷It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.

⁴⁸He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.

⁴⁹Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

⁵⁰Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

⁵⁰Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.