Psalm 18

⁴ The cords of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of ^[c]ungodliness ^[d]terrified me.
⁵ The cords of ^[e]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

⁷ Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
⁸ Smoke went up ^[f]out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
⁹ He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
¹⁰ He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness His hiding place, His ^[g]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
¹² From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
¹³ The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
¹⁴ He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and ^[h]routed them.
¹⁵ Then the channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were ^[i]laid bare
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶ He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my stay.
¹⁹ He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

²⁰ The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
²³ I was also ^[j]blameless with Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
²⁴ Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

²⁵ With the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the ^[k]blameless You show Yourself blameless;
²⁶ With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself ^[l]astute.
²⁷ For You save an afflicted people,
But haughty eyes You abase.
²⁸ For You light my lamp;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
²⁹ For by You I can ^[m]run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰ As for God, His way is ^[n]blameless;
The word of the Lord is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
³¹ For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,
³² The God who girds me with strength
And ^[o]makes my way ^[p]blameless?
³³ He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And sets me upon my high places.
³⁴ He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your ^[q]gentleness makes me great.
³⁶ You enlarge my steps under me,
And my ^[r]feet have not slipped.

³⁷ I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
³⁸ I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;
They fell under my feet.
³⁹ For You have girded me with strength for battle;
You have ^[s]subdued under me those who rose up against me.
⁴⁰ You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I ^[t]destroyed those who hated me.
⁴¹ They cried for help, but there was none to save,
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
⁴² Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

⁴³ You have delivered me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
⁴⁴ As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners ^[u]submit to me.
⁴⁵ Foreigners fade away,
And come trembling out of their ^[v]fortresses.

⁴⁶ The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be the God of my salvation,
⁴⁷ The God who executes vengeance for me,
And subdues peoples under me.
⁴⁸ He delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the violent man.
⁴⁹ Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
⁵⁰ He gives great ^[w]deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
To David and his ^[x]descendants forever.