Psa 18:2-50 | NASB1995 | STEP | The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer , My God , my rock , in whom I take refuge ; My shield and the horn of my salvation , my stronghold .

Psalms 18:2-50

2 The Lord is ^amy ^{▼▼ Or crag}rock and ^cmy fortress and my ^ddeliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My ^eshield and the ^fhorn of my salvation, my ^gstronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is ^hworthy to be praised,
And I am ⁱsaved from my enemies.

4 The ^jcords of death encompassed me,
And the ^ktorrents of ^{▼▼ Or destruction; Heb Belial}ungodliness ^{▼▼ Or were assailing or terrifying}terrified me.
5 The ⁿcords of ^{▼▼ I.e. the nether world}Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my ^pdistress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice ^qout of His temple,
And my ^rcry for help before Him came into His ears.

7 Then the ^searth shook and quaked;
And the ^tfoundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up ^{▼▼ Or in His wrath}out of His nostrils,
And ^vfire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He ^wbowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick ^xdarkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a ^ycherub and flew;
And He sped upon the ^zwings of the wind.
11 He made ^aadarkness His hiding place, ^abHis ^{▼▼ Or pavilion}canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the ^adbrightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and ^aecoals of fire.
13 The Lord also ^afthundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He ^agsent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and ^{▼▼ Lit confused}routed them.
15 Then the ^aichannels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were ^{▼▼ Or uncovered}laid bare
At Your ^akrebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the ^albreath of Your nostrils.

16 He ^amsent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of ^anmany waters.
17 He ^aodelivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were ^aptoo mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in ^aqthe day of my calamity,
But ^arthe Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a ^asbroad place;
He rescued me, because ^atHe delighted in me.

20 The Lord has ^aurewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the ^avcleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have ^awkept the ways of the Lord,
And have ^axnot wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all ^ayHis ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His ^azstatutes from me.
23 I was also ^{▼▼ Lit complete; or having integrity; or perfect
,} ^bbblameless with Him,
And I ^bckept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the Lord has ^bdrecompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25 With ^bethe kind You show Yourself kind;
With the ^{▼▼ V 23, note 1}blameless ^bgYou show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself ^bhpure,
And with the crooked ^biYou show Yourself ^{▼▼ Lit twisted}astute.
27 For You ^bksave an afflicted people,
But ^blhaughty eyes You abase.
28 For You ^bmlight my lamp;
The Lord my God ^bnillumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can ^{▼▼ Or crush a troop
,} ^bprun upon a troop;
And by my God I can ^bqleap over a wall.

30 As for God, His way is ^{▼▼ V 23, note 1
,} ^bsblameless;
The ^btword of the Lord is tried;
He is a ^bushield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For ^bvwho is God, but the Lord?
And who is a ^bwrock, except our God,
32 The God who ^bxgirds me with strength
And ^{▼▼ Or has made}makes my way ^{▼▼ Lit complete; or having integrity
,} ^cablameless?
33 He ^cbmakes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And ^ccsets me upon my high places.
34 He ^cdtrains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can ^cebend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me ^cfthe shield of Your salvation,
And Your ^cgright hand upholds me;
And ^chYour ^{▼▼ Or condescension}gentleness makes me great.
36 You ^cjenlarge my steps under me,
And my ^{▼▼ Lit ankles
,} ^clfeet have not slipped.

37 I ^cmpursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back ^cnuntil they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were ^conot able to rise;
They fell ^cpunder my feet.
39 For You have ^cqgirded me with strength for battle;
You have ^{▼▼ Lit caused to bow down
,} ^cssubdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies ^ctturn their backs to me,
And I ^{▼▼ Or silenced
,} ^cvdestroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was ^cwnone to save,
Even to the Lord, but ^cxHe did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the ^cydust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the ^czcontentions of the people;
You have placed me as ^dahead of the nations;
A ^dbpeople whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners ^{▼▼ Lit deceive me; i.e. give feigned obedience
,} ^ddsubmit to me.
45 Foreigners ^defade away,
And ^dfcome trembling out of their ^{▼▼ Lit fastnesses}fortresses.

46 The Lord ^dhlives, and blessed be ^dimy rock;
And exalted be ^djthe God of my salvation,
47 The God who ^dkexecutes vengeance for me,
And ^dlsubdues peoples under me.
48 He ^dmdelivers me from my enemies;
Surely You ^dnlift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the ^doviolent man.
49 Therefore I will ^dpgive thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will ^dqsing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great ^{▼▼ I.e. victories; lit salvations
,} ^dsdeliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to ^dtHis anointed,
To David and ^duhis ^{▼▼ Lit seed}descendants forever.