Psalms 18

²The 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.

³I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.

⁴The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me.

⁵The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path.

⁶But 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.

⁷Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger.

⁸Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

⁹He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.

¹⁰Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.

¹²Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals.

¹³The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals.

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused.

¹⁵Then 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.

¹⁶He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

¹⁸They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me.

¹⁹He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.

²⁰The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil.

²²I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees.

²³I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin.

²⁴The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence.

²⁵To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.

²⁶To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

²⁷You rescue the humble, but you humiliate the proud.

²⁸You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.

²⁹In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.

³⁰God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

³¹For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock?

³²God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect.

³³He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.

³⁵You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great.

³⁶You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.

³⁷I chased my enemies and caught them; I did not stop until they were conquered.

³⁸I struck them down so they could not get up; they fell beneath my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet.

⁴⁰You placed my foot on their necks. I have destroyed all who hated me.

⁴¹They called for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer.

⁴²I ground them as fine as dust in the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt.

⁴³You gave me victory over my accusers. You appointed me ruler over nations; people I don’t even know now serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear of me, they submit; foreign nations cringe before me.

⁴⁵They all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted!

⁴⁷He is the God who pays back those who harm me; he subdues the nations under me

⁴⁸and rescues me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents.

⁴⁹For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.

⁵⁰You give great victories to your king; you show unfailing love to your anointed, to David and all his descendants forever.

Psalms 18 (NLT)

Click verse numbers to view individual verses with commentary

View interlinear text with original Hebrew/Greek →

Psalms

Chapter 18

18 of 150