David’s Song of Deliverance (Psalm 18:1–50)
1 UST After Yahweh had rescued David from Saul and his other enemies, David sang a song to Yahweh. BSB BSB: 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 UST This is what he sang:“Yahweh, you are like a huge rock or fortress{ where I can go to be safe}. I can be confident that you will rescue me when I am in trouble. BSB BSB: He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
3 UST Yahweh, you protect me. I am as safe as I would be if I were hiding on top of a cliff. It is as if you are a shield that defends me. You are the powerful God who saves me. You are like a high place where I find refuge. You save me from those who act violently toward me. BSB BSB: 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 UST You deserve for people to praise you, Yahweh. When I cry to you{ for help}, you rescue me from my enemies. BSB BSB: I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 UST { Someone was trying to kill me, and} I was in such danger of dying that it was as if a huge wave was crashing over me. His wicked plans against me were like floodwaters that were carrying me away, and this made me very afraid. BSB BSB: For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
6 UST I did not think I could escape going to the place where dead people go. It was as if that place had wrapped ropes around me and was pulling me down into it. It was as if the only direction I could walk was right into a trap where I would surely die. BSB BSB: The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
7 UST But when I was very distressed, I cried out to you, Yahweh my God. From your temple in heaven you could hear me calling, and you listened to my prayer. BSB BSB: 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 UST It made you so angry{ that someone was trying to kill me, and you responded so powerfully,} that it was as if there was a great earthquake. It seemed as if the sky itself was shaking. BSB BSB: Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
9 UST { Your power was so great that} it was as if there was a volcano from which smoke was rising, a stream of fire was flowing out that burned up everything in its path, and hot coals were flying into the air that started fires where they landed. BSB BSB: Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
10 UST { Your power was so great} when you came{ to help me that} it was as if there was a great thunderstorm, with only a little sky visible below the low- hanging dark clouds. BSB BSB: He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.
11 UST { You came very fast to help me, as if} you were riding on a creature that had wings. It was as if the strong winds{ of a thunderstorm} were a bird that you were riding. BSB BSB: He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
12 UST It was as if you had made the darkness of the storm a safe place for you to stay. Yes, it was as if you had a temporary shelter within the clouds that were full of water. BSB BSB: He made darkness a canopy around Him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.
13 UST It was as if it became bright where you were within the clouds, and then lightning bolts came from there. BSB BSB: From the brightness of His presence coals of fire blazed forth.
14 UST It was as if there was a loud sound of thunder in the sky because you, Yahweh, the God who is greater than all other gods, had spoken{ to announce that you were coming to rescue me}. BSB BSB: The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 UST It was as if you sent flashes of lightning that made my enemies so afraid that they ran away in different directions, as if you had shot arrows at them. BSB BSB: He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
16 UST Then it was as if you shouted at my enemies{ to tell them to stop trying to kill me}. It was as if you blew away all the water that was covering the bottom of the ocean and all the ground that was over the deepest part of the earth. BSB BSB: 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 UST It was as if you reached down from heaven and grabbed me so that you could pull me up out of the deep water of the ocean. BSB BSB: He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
18 UST There was a powerful man who wanted to harm me, and there were people who hated me. They were too strong for me to defeat, but you rescued me from them. BSB BSB: He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.
19 UST They attacked me, and they would have destroyed me, but you, Yahweh, protected me. BSB BSB: They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.
20 UST You brought me to a place where I was safe. You love me, and so you rescued me. BSB BSB: He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
21 UST Yahweh, you did good things for me because I did what was right. I did not harm my enemies, so you made sure that they did not harm me. BSB BSB: The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
22 UST Yahweh, I have lived as you want people to live. I have not stopped obeying you, my God, and done wicked things instead. BSB BSB: For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 UST I have remained aware of what you have said people should do, and I have continued to obey all your laws. BSB BSB: For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.
24 UST I have not done anything for which you would blame me. I have been careful not to do anything for which you would punish me. BSB BSB: And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
25 UST You have done good things for me because I did what is right. You recognize that I am innocent. BSB BSB: So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.
26 UST When people are loyal to you, you act loyally toward them. When people are careful to do good things for others, you do good things for them. BSB BSB: To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
27 UST You allow sincere people to recognize how sincere you are. But when people try to trick others, you show that you are much more clever than they are. BSB BSB: to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
28 UST You rescue people whom others are afflicting. You are aware of people who are arrogant, and you humiliate them. BSB BSB: You save an afflicted people, but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 UST Yahweh, you are like a lamp that shines light so that I can see even when it is dark. BSB BSB: For You, O LORD, are my lamp; the LORD lights up my darkness.
30 UST With your help I have caught and defeated a band of raiders. With your help I have captured a city that had walls around it, as if I had leaped over those walls. BSB BSB: For in You I can charge an army; with my God I can scale a wall.
31 UST My God, everything that you do is perfect. Everything that you say is right. You protect everyone who depends on you, as if you are a shield that defends them. BSB BSB: 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 UST Yahweh, you are the only real God. Only you are like a huge rock{ where I can go to be safe}. BSB BSB: For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
33 UST My God, you are like a very secure place where I can go to hide from danger. You make sure that nothing prevents me from doing what you want me to do. BSB BSB: God is my strong fortress, and He makes my way clear.
34 UST You enable me to walk about safely in the mountains, as a deer does, without falling. BSB BSB: He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
35 UST You teach me how to fight in a battle. You give me the strength to bend{ and string} a bronze bow. BSB BSB: He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 UST You have saved me by protecting me like a shield, and by answering my prayers, you have enabled me to defeat my enemies. BSB BSB: You have given me Your shield of salvation, and Your gentleness exalts me.
37 UST You have given me many ways to respond to each situation. As a result, I have been able to carry out my plans successfully. BSB BSB: You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
38 UST I chased my enemies and defeated them. I did not stop fighting them until I had killed them all. BSB BSB: I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 UST I defeated them so completely that they had no army left. The ones who fell to the ground never got up, because they died of their wounds. BSB BSB: I devoured and crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.
40 UST You have given me the strength and courage to fight battles. When people revolted against me, you enabled me to subdue them. BSB BSB: You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
41 UST You enabled me to defeat my enemies and step in triumph on their necks. You gave me power over those who hated me so that I was able to destroy them. BSB BSB: You have made my enemies retreat before me; I destroyed those who hated me.
42 UST They looked for someone to rescue them, but no one did. They cried out{ for help} to you, Yahweh, but you did not help them. BSB BSB: They looked, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.
43 UST I defeated them so completely that they were no longer any threat to me, no more than tiny particles of dust would be. It was as if I had flattened them smoothly on the ground like the mud on the streets. BSB BSB: I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.
44 UST You rescued me from the Israelites who tried to rebel against me. You preserved me as the ruler of many nations. Foreign people are now my subjects. BSB BSB: 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 UST Foreign rulers fearfully bow down in front of me{ to show their submission}. When they heard about what Yahweh enabled me to do, they obeyed me. BSB BSB: Foreigners cower before me; when they hear me, they obey me.
46 UST I defeat foreign armies that resist me so that they become weak, like a plant that dries up in the sun. They surrender and come out of their cities with walls shaking with weakness and fear. BSB BSB: Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.
47 UST Yahweh, you are the only real God! I praise you! You are like a huge rock{ where I can go to be safe}! You are the powerful God who rescues me. Everyone should exalt you. BSB BSB: The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted—
48 UST You are the God who enables me to conquer enemies who have attacked me. You cause the people of other nations to be subject to my rule. BSB BSB: the God who avenges me and brings down nations beneath me,
49 UST You kept my enemies from capturing me. People rebelled against me, but it as if their armies had been floodwaters and you lifted me out of them to safety. You rescued me from men who tried to harm me. BSB BSB: who frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
50 UST Because of all this, I thank you, Yahweh, so that all people groups will know that you are the one who has helped me. I sing to praise you for what you have done that has made you famous. BSB BSB: Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.
51 UST You chose me to be king, and you have done great things to save me from my enemies. You faithfully show kindness to me, David, whom you anointed as king, and you will always show kindness faithfully to my descendants.” BSB BSB: Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”
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