Psalm 16-18

American Standard Version

16 Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I take refuge.
² O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art ^[a]my Lord:
I have no good beyond thee.
^3 [b]As for the saints that are in the earth,
^[c]They are the excellent in whom is all my delight.
⁴ Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another god:
Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer,
Nor take their names upon my lips.
⁵ Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
Thou maintainest my lot.
⁶ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
Yea, I have a goodly heritage.
⁷ I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel;
Yea, my ^[d]heart instructeth me in the night seasons.
⁸ I have set Jehovah always before me:
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
My flesh also shall dwell ^[e]in safety.
¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt thou suffer thy ^[f]holy one to see ^[g]corruption.
¹¹ Thou wilt show me the path of life:
In thy presence is fulness of joy;
In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

17 Hear the right, O Jehovah, attend unto my cry;
Give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
² Let my sentence come forth from thy presence;
^[h]Let thine eyes look upon equity.
³ Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited me in the night;
Thou hast tried me, and ^[i]findest nothing;
I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
⁴ As for the works of men, by the word of thy lips
I have kept me from the ways of the violent.
⁵ My steps have held fast to thy paths,
My feet have not slipped.
⁶ I have called upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God:
Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
⁷ Show thy marvellous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest ^[j]by thy right hand them that take refuge in thee
From those that rise up against them.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of the eye;
Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
⁹ From the wicked that oppress me,
My deadly enemies, that compass me about.
^10 [k]They are inclosed in their own fat:
With their mouth they speak proudly.
¹¹ They have now compassed us in our steps;
They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.
¹² He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,
And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
¹³ Arise, O Jehovah,
^[l]Confront him, cast him down:
Deliver my soul from ^[m]the wicked by thy sword;
¹⁴ From ^[n]men by thy hand, O Jehovah,
From men ^[o]of the world, whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure:
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
¹⁵ As for me, ^[p]I shall behold thy face in righteousness;
^[q]I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding thy form.

18 I love thee, O Jehovah, my strength.
² Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge;
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
³ I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised:
So shall I be saved from mine enemies.
⁴ The cords of death compassed me,
And the floods of ^[s]ungodliness made me afraid.
⁵ The cords of Sheol were round about me;
The snares of death came upon me.
⁶ In my distress I called upon Jehovah,
And cried unto my God:
He heard my voice out of his temple,
And my cry before him came into his ears.
⁷ Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations also of the mountains quaked
And were shaken, because he was wroth.
⁸ There went up a smoke ^[t]out of his nostrils,
And fire out of his mouth devoured:
Coals were kindled by it.
⁹ He bowed the heavens also, and came down;
And thick darkness was under his feet.
¹⁰ And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly;
Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
¹² At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
¹³ Jehovah also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered his voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
¹⁴ And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
^[u]Yea, lightnings manifold, and discomfited them.
¹⁵ Then the channels of waters appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare,
At thy rebuke, O Jehovah,
At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
¹⁶ He sent from on high, he took me;
He drew me out of ^[v]many waters.
¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁸ They came upon me in the day of my calamity;
But Jehovah was my stay.
¹⁹ He brought me forth also into a large place;
He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
²⁰ Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of Jehovah,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all his ordinances were before me,
And I put not away his statutes from me.
²³ I was also perfect with him,
And I kept myself from mine iniquity.
²⁴ Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
²⁵ With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful;
With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect;
²⁶ With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;
And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward.
²⁷ For thou wilt save the afflicted people;
But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down.
²⁸ For thou wilt light my lamp:
Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness.
²⁹ For by thee I run ^[w]upon a troop;
And by my God do I leap over a wall.
³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect:
The word of Jehovah is tried;
He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in him.
³¹ For who is God, save Jehovah?
And who is a rock, besides our God,
³² The God that girdeth me with strength,
And maketh my way perfect?
³³ He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet:
And setteth me upon my high places.
³⁴ He teacheth my hands to war;
So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass.
³⁵ Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation;
And thy right hand hath holden me up,
And thy ^[x]gentleness hath made me great.
³⁶ Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,
And my ^[y]feet have not slipped.
³⁷ I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them;
Neither will I turn again till they are consumed.
³⁸ I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise:
They shall fall under my feet.
³⁹ For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle:
Thou hast ^[z]subdued under me those that rose up against me.
⁴⁰ Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me,
That I might cut off them that hate me.
⁴¹ They cried, but there was none to save;
Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.
⁴² Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind;
I did ^[aa]cast them out as the mire of the streets.
⁴³ Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;
Thou ^[ab]hast made me the head of the nations:
A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
⁴⁴ As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me;
The foreigners shall ^[ac]submit themselves unto me.
⁴⁵ The foreigners shall fade away,
And shall come trembling out of their close places.
⁴⁶ Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be the God of my salvation,
⁴⁷ Even the God that executeth vengeance for me,
And subdueth peoples under me.
⁴⁸ He rescueth me from mine enemies;
Yea, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me;
Thou deliverest me from the violent man.
⁴⁹ Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the nations,
And will sing praises unto thy name.
⁵⁰ Great ^[ad]deliverance giveth he to his king,
And showeth lovingkindness to his anointed,
To David and to his seed, for evermore.