New King James Version

New Living Translation

God the Sovereign Savior

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

1

For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. He sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:

I love you, LORD;
you are my strength.

2

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my [a]strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

2

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.

3

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

3

I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.

4

The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of [c]ungodliness made me afraid.

4

The ropes of death entangled me;
floods of destruction swept over me.

5

The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

5

The gravea wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.

6

In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

6

But in my distress I cried out to the LORD;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry to him reached his ears.

7

Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.

7

Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the mountains shook;
they quaked because of his anger.

8

Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.

8

Smoke poured from his nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

9

He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

9

He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.

10

And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.

10

Mounted on a mighty angelic being,b he flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.

11

He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.

11

He shrouded himself in darkness,
veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.

12

From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

12

Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him
and rained down hail and burning coals.c

13

The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
[d]Hailstones and coals of fire.

13

The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded
amid the hail and burning coals.

14

He sent out His arrows and scattered [e]the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

14

He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;
great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused.

15

Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

15

Then at your command, O LORD,
at the blast of your breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.

16

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

16

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

17

He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.

17

He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

18

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.

18

They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the LORD supported me.

19

He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

19

He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.

20

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.

20

The LORD rewarded me for doing right;
he restored me because of my innocence.

21

For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

21

For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I have not turned from my God to follow evil.

22

For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

22

I have followed all his regulations;
I have never abandoned his decrees.

23

I was also blameless [f]before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.

23

I am blameless before God;
I have kept myself from sin.

24

Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

24

The LORD rewarded me for doing right.
He has seen my innocence.

25

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

25

To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show integrity.

26

With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

26

To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

27

For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

27

You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.

28

For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

28

You light a lamp for me.
The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.

29

For by You I can [g]run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.

29

In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.

30

As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is [h]proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

30

God’s way is perfect.
All the LORD’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

31

For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

31

For who is God except the LORD?
Who but our God is a solid rock?

32

It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.

32

God arms me with strength,
and he makes my way perfect.

33

He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.

33

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

34

He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

34

He trains my hands for battle;
he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.

35

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.

35

You have given me your shield of victory.
Your right hand supports me;
your helpd has made me great.

36

You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

36

You have made a wide path for my feet
to keep them from slipping.

37

I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

37

I chased my enemies and caught them;
I did not stop until they were conquered.

38

I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.

38

I struck them down so they could not get up;
they fell beneath my feet.

39

For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have [i]subdued under me those who rose up against me.

39

You have armed me with strength for the battle;
you have subdued my enemies under my feet.

40

You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.

40

You placed my foot on their necks.
I have destroyed all who hated me.

41

They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

41

They called for help, but no one came to their rescue.
They even cried to the LORD, but he refused to answer.

42

Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

42

I ground them as fine as dust in the wind.
I swept them into the gutter like dirt.

43

You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the [j]nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.

43

You gave me victory over my accusers.
You appointed me ruler over nations;
people I don’t even know now serve me.

44

As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners [k]submit to me.

44

As soon as they hear of me, they submit;
foreign nations cringe before me.

45

The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

45

They all lose their courage
and come trembling from their strongholds.

46

The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

46

The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted!

47

It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;

47

He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he subdues the nations under me

48

He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.

48

and rescues me from my enemies.
You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents.

49

Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the [l]Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

49

For this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.

50

Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his [m]descendants forevermore.

50

You give great victories to your king;
you show unfailing love to your anointed,
to David and all his descendants forever.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Psalms 18

Psalms 18