Psalm 18, 2 Samuel 22 — Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh Is My Rock and My Fortress

For the choir director. Of the servant of Yahweh, of David, ¹who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

He said, “I love You, O Yahweh, ^amy strength.”²Yahweh is ^amy ¹rock and ^bmy fortress and my ^cdeliverer,My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;My ^dshield and the ^ehorn of my salvation, my ^fstronghold.³I call upon Yahweh, who is ^aworthy to be praised,And I am ^bsaved from my enemies.⁴The ^acords of death encompassed me,And the ^btorrents of vileness ¹terrified me.⁵The ^acords of Sheol surrounded me;The snares of death confronted me.⁶In my ^adistress I called upon Yahweh,And cried to my God for help;He heard my voice ^bout of His temple,And my ^ccry for help before Him came into His ears.⁷Then the ^aearth shook and quaked;And the ^bfoundations of the mountains were tremblingAnd were shaken, because He was angry.⁸Smoke went up ¹out of His nostrils,And ^afire from His mouth devoured;Coals were kindled by it.⁹He ^abowed the heavens and came downWith thick ^bdarkness under His feet.¹⁰He rode upon a ^acherub and flew;And He sped upon the ^bwings of the wind.¹¹He made ^adarkness His hiding place, ^bHis ¹canopy around Him,Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.¹²From the ^abrightness before Him passed His thick clouds,Hailstones and ^bcoals of fire.¹³Yahweh also ^athundered in the heavens,And the Most High gave forth His voice,Hailstones and coals of fire.¹⁴He ^asent out His arrows, and scattered them,And lightning flashes in abundance, and ¹threw them into confusion.¹⁵Then the ^achannels of water appeared,And the foundations of the world were ¹laid bareAt Your ^brebuke, O Yahweh,At the blast of the ^cbreath of Your nostrils.¹⁶He ^asent from on high, He took me;He drew me out of ^bmany waters.¹⁷He ^adelivered me from my strong enemy,And from those who hated me, for they were ^btoo mighty for me.¹⁸They confronted me in ^athe day of my disaster,But ^bYahweh was my support.¹⁹He brought me forth also into a ^abroad place;He rescued me, because ^bHe delighted in me.²⁰Yahweh has ^arewarded me according to my righteousness;According to the ^bcleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.²¹For I have ^akept the ways of Yahweh,And have ^bnot wickedly departed from my God.²²For all ^aHis judgments were before me,And I did not put away His ^bstatutes from me.²³I was also ¹^,^ablameless with Him,And I ^bkept myself from my iniquity.²⁴Therefore Yahweh has ^arecompensed me according to my righteousness,According to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.²⁵With ^athe ¹kind You show Yourself kind;With the blameless ^bYou show Yourself blameless;²⁶With the pure You show Yourself ^apure,And with the crooked ^bYou show Yourself ¹astute.²⁷For You ^asave an afflicted people,But ^beyes which are lifted up, You bring down.²⁸For You ^alight my lamp;Yahweh my God ^billumines my darkness.²⁹For by You I can ¹^,^arun upon a troop;And by my God I can ^bleap over a wall.³⁰As for God, His way is ¹^,^ablameless;The ^bword of Yahweh is ²tried;He is a ^cshield to all who take refuge in Him.³¹For ^awho is God, but Yahweh?And who is a ^brock, except our God,³²The God who ^agirds me with strengthAnd ¹makes my way ²^,^bblameless?³³He ^amakes my feet like hinds’ feet,And ^bsets me upon my high places.³⁴He ^atrains my hands for battle,So that my arms can ^bbend a bow of bronze.³⁵You have also given me ^athe shield of Your salvation,And Your ^bright hand upholds me;And ^cYour ¹gentleness makes me great.³⁶You ^aenlarge my steps under me,And my ^bankles have not given way.³⁷I ^apursued my enemies and overtook them,And I did not turn back ^buntil they were consumed.³⁸I crushed them, so that they were ^anot able to rise;They fell ^bunder my feet.³⁹For You have ^agirded me with strength for battle;You have ¹^,^bsubdued under me those who rose up against me.⁴⁰¹You have also made my enemies ^aturn their backs to me,And I ²^,^bdestroyed those who hated me.⁴¹They cried for help, but there was ^anone to save,Even to Yahweh, but ^bHe did not answer them.⁴²Then I beat them fine as the ^adust before the wind;I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.⁴³You have delivered me from the ^acontentions of the people;You have placed me as ^bhead of the nations;A ^cpeople whom I have not known serve me.⁴⁴As soon as they hear, they obey me;Foreigners ¹^,^acower before me.⁴⁵Foreigners ^afade away,And ^bcome trembling out of their ¹fortresses.⁴⁶Yahweh ^alives, and blessed be ^bmy rock;And let ^cthe God of my salvation be lifted high,⁴⁷The God who ^aexecutes vengeance for me,And ^bsubdues peoples under me.⁴⁸Who ^adelivers me from my enemies;Surely You ^blift me above those who rise up against me;You rescue me from the ^cviolent man.⁴⁹Therefore I will ^agive thanks to You among the nations, O Yahweh,And I will ^bsing praises to Your name.⁵⁰He gives great ¹^,^asalvation to His king,And shows lovingkindness to ^bHis anointed,To David and ^chis seed forever.

David’s Song of Deliverance

22^aAnd David spoke to Yahweh ^bthe words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the ¹hand of all his enemies and from the ²hand of Saul. ²He said, “^aYahweh is my ¹rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

³¹^,^aMy God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,My ^bshield and ^cthe horn of my salvation, my stronghold and ^dmy refuge;My savior, You save me from violence.⁴“I call upon Yahweh, ^awho is worthy to be praised,And I am saved from my enemies.⁵“For ^athe waves of death encompassed me;^bThe torrents of ¹vileness terrorized me;⁶^aThe cords of Sheol surrounded me;The snares of death confronted me.⁷“^aIn my distress I called upon Yahweh,And I called to my God;And out of His temple He heard my voice,And my cry for help came into His ears.⁸“Then ^athe earth shook and quaked;^bThe foundations of heaven were tremblingAnd were shaken, because He was angry.⁹“Smoke went up ¹out of His nostrils,^aAnd fire from His mouth devoured;^bCoals were kindled by it.¹⁰“He bowed the heavens and came downWith ^athick darkness under His feet.¹¹“^aHe rode on a cherub and flew;And He ¹appeared upon ^bthe wings of the wind.¹²“^aAnd He made darkness ¹canopies around Him,A mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies.¹³“From the brightness before Him^aCoals of fire were kindled.¹⁴“^aYahweh thundered from heaven,And the Most High gave forth His voice.¹⁵“^aAnd He sent out arrows, and scattered them,Lightning, and ¹threw them into confusion.¹⁶“Then the channels of the sea appeared,The foundations of the world were ¹laid bareBy the rebuke of Yahweh,^aAt the blast of the breath of His nostrils.¹⁷“^aHe sent from on high, He took me;^bHe drew me out of many waters.¹⁸“He delivered me from my strong enemy,From those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.¹⁹“They confronted me in the day of my disaster,^aBut Yahweh was my support.²⁰“^aHe brought me forth also into a broad place;He rescued me, ^bbecause He delighted in me.²¹“^aYahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;^bAccording to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.²²“^aFor I have kept the ways of Yahweh,And have not wickedly departed from my God.²³“^aFor all His ¹judgments were before me,And as for His statutes, I did not depart from ²them.²⁴“^aI was also ¹blameless toward Him,And I kept myself from my iniquity.²⁵“^aTherefore Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness,According to my cleanness before His eyes.²⁶“^aWith the ¹kind You show Yourself ²kind,With the ³blameless You show Yourself ⁴blameless;²⁷^aWith the pure You show Yourself pure,^bAnd with the crooked You show Yourself ¹astute.²⁸“^aAnd You save an afflicted people;^bBut Your eyes are on the haughty whom You bring down.²⁹“^aFor You are my lamp, O Yahweh;And Yahweh illumines my darkness.³⁰“^aFor by You I can ¹run upon a troop;By my God I can leap over a wall.³¹“^aAs for God, His way is ¹blameless;^bThe word of Yahweh is ²tried;^cHe is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.³²“^aFor who is God, but Yahweh?^bAnd who is a rock, but our God?³³“^aGod is my strong fortress;And He ¹sets the ²blameless in ³His way.³⁴“^aHe makes ¹my feet like hinds’ feet,^bAnd sets me on my high places.³⁵“^aHe trains my hands for battle,^bSo that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.³⁶“You have also given me ^athe shield of Your salvation,And Your answer to me makes me great.³⁷“^aYou enlarge my steps under me,And my ankles have not given way.³⁸“I pursued my enemies and ^adestroyed them,And I did not turn back until they were consumed.³⁹“And I have consumed them and crushed them, so that they did not rise;And ^athey fell under my feet.⁴⁰“For You have girded me with strength for battle;You have ¹subdued under me ^athose who rose up against me.⁴¹“¹You have also ^amade my enemies turn their backs to me,And I ²destroyed those who hated me.⁴²“^aThey looked, but there was none to save;^bEven to Yahweh, but He did not answer them.⁴³“^aThen I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;^bI pulverized and stamped them as the mire of the streets.⁴⁴“^aYou have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;^bYou have kept me as head of the nations;^cA people whom I have not known serve me.⁴⁵“^aForeigners cower before me;As soon as they hear, they obey me.⁴⁶“Foreigners fade away,^aAnd ¹come trembling out of their ²fortresses.⁴⁷“Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock;And let ¹^,^aGod, the rock of my salvation, be lifted high,⁴⁸^aThe God who executes vengeance for me,^bAnd brings down peoples under me,⁴⁹Who also brings me out from my enemies;You even lift me above ^athose who rise up against me;^bYou rescue me from the violent man.⁵⁰“^aTherefore I will give thanks to You, O Yahweh, among the nations,And I will sing praises to Your name.⁵¹“^aHe ¹gives great salvation to His king,And ^bshows lovingkindness to His anointed,^cTo David and his seed forever.”