Psalms 11

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

To the choirmaster. Of David.

1 In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
^a“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2for behold, the wicked ^bbend the bow;
^cthey have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3if ^dthe foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” ▼

▼Or for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done?

4 ^fThe Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s ^gthrone is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids ^htest the children of man.
5The Lord ⁱtests the righteous,
but ^jhis soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6Let him rain coals on the wicked;
^kfire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be ^lthe portion of their cup.
7For the Lord is righteous;
he ^mloves righteous deeds;
ⁿthe upright shall behold his face.

Psalms 18

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, ^othe servant of the Lord, ^pwho addressed the words of this ^qsong to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2The Lord is my ^rrock and my ^sfortress and my deliverer,
my God, my ^trock, in ^uwhom I take refuge,
my ^vshield, and ^wthe horn of my salvation, my ^xstronghold.
3I call upon the Lord, who is ^yworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 ^zThe cords of death encompassed me;
^aathe torrents of destruction assailed me; ▼

▼Or terrified me

5 ^acthe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 ^adIn my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his ^aetemple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth ^afreeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils, ▼

▼Or in his wrath

and devouring ^ahfire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9He ^aibowed the heavens and ^ajcame down;
^akthick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on ^althe wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his covering, his ^amcanopy around him,
thick clouds ^andark with water.
12Out of the brightness before him
^aohailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The Lord also ^apthundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his ^aqvoice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14And he sent out his ^ararrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and ^asrouted them.
15Then ^atthe channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your ^aurebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of ^avthe breath of your nostrils.
16 He ^awsent from on high, he took me;
he ^axdrew me out of ^aymany waters.
17He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were ^aztoo mighty for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19He brought me out into ^baa broad place;
he rescued me, because he ^bbdelighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me ^bcaccording to my righteousness;
according to ^bdthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21For I have ^bekept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For ^bfall his rules ▼

▼Or just decrees

were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23I was ^bhblameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With ^bithe merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with ^bjthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27For you save ^bka humble people,
but ^blthe haughty eyes you bring down.
28For it is you who light my ^bmlamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can ^bnleap over ^boa wall.
30This God—his way is ^bpperfect; ▼

▼Or blameless

the word of the Lord ^brproves true;
he is ^bsa shield for all those who ^bttake refuge in him.
31 For ^buwho is God, but the Lord?
And who is ^bva rock, except our God?—
32the God who ^bwequipped me with strength
and made my way ^bxblameless.
33He made my feet like the feet of a ^bydeer
and set me secure on ^bzthe heights.
34He ^catrains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand ^cbsupported me,
and your ^ccgentleness made me great.
36You ^cdgave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40You made my enemies ^ceturn their backs to me, ▼

▼Or  You gave me my enemies’ necks

and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 ^cgThey cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42I beat them fine as ^chdust before the wind;
I cast them out like ^cithe mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from ^cjstrife with the people;
you made me ^ckthe head of the nations;
^clpeople whom I had not known served me.
44As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
^cmforeigners ^cncame cringing to me.
45 ^coForeigners lost heart
and ^cpcame trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47the God who gave me vengeance
and ^cqsubdued peoples under me,
48who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you ^crexalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from ^csthe man of violence.
49 ^ctFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and ^cusing to your name.
50Great ^cvsalvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his ^cwanointed,
to ^cxDavid and his offspring forever.