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Psalm 18

Royal Thanksgiving for Victory

To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song 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:

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.(A)
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    so I shall be saved from my enemies.(B)

The cords of death encompassed me;
    the torrents of perdition assailed me;(C)
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.(D)

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry to him reached his ears.(E)

Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations also of the mountains trembled
    and reeled because he was angry.(F)
Smoke went up from his nostrils
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.(G)
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.(H)
11 He made darkness his covering around him,
    his canopy thick clouds dark with water.(I)
12 Out of the brightness before him
    there broke through his clouds
    hailstones and coals of fire.(J)
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
    and the Most High uttered his voice.[a](K)
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
    he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.(L)
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
    and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.(M)

16 He reached down from on high; he took me;
    he drew me out of mighty waters.(N)
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy
    and from those who hated me,
    for they were too mighty for me.(O)
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
    he delivered me because he delighted in me.(P)

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
    according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.(Q)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.13 Gk: Heb adds hailstones and coals of fire

10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.(A) 11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.(B) 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.(C) 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”[a] For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.(D) 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer per person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” 17 The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.(E) 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.”(F) 20 But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it became wormy and rotten. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed, but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 16.15 Or “It is manna”

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.(A) 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(B) 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.(C) 15 I do not call you servants[a] any longer, because the servant[b] does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.(D) 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

The World’s Hatred

18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.(E) 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.(F) 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.(G) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.(H) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.(I) 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.(J) 25 It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’(K)

26 “When the Advocate[c] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.(L) 27 You also are to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 15.15 Gk slaves
  2. 15.15 Gk slave
  3. 15.26 Or Helper or Comforter

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.(A)
22 For all his ordinances were before me,
    and his statutes I did not put away from me.(B)
23 I was blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from guilt.
24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.(C)

25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
    with the blameless you show yourself blameless;(D)
26 with the pure you show yourself pure;
    and with the crooked you show yourself shrewd.(E)
27 For you deliver a humble people,
    but the haughty eyes you bring down.(F)
28 It is you who light my lamp;
    the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.(G)
29 By you I can outrun a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.(H)
30 This God—his way is perfect;
    the promise of the Lord proves true;
    he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.(I)

31 For who is God except the Lord?
    And who is a rock besides our God?(J)
32 The God who has girded me with strength
    and made my way safe.[a]
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.(K)
34 He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(L)
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your right hand has supported me;
    your help[b] has made me great.
36 You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them
    and did not turn back until they were consumed.(M)
38 I struck them down so that they were unable to rise;
    they fell under my feet.(N)
39 For you girded me with strength for the battle;
    you made my assailants sink under me.(O)
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
    and those who hated me I destroyed.(P)
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.(Q)
42 I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
    I cast them out like the mire of the streets.(R)

43 You delivered me from strife with the peoples;[c]
    you made me head of the nations;
    people whom I had not known served me.(S)
44 As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me;
    foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
    and came trembling out of their strongholds.(T)

46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be the God of my salvation,(U)
47 the God who gave me vengeance
    and subdued peoples under me,(V)
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
    indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;
    you delivered me from the violent.(W)

49 For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations
    and sing praises to your name.(X)
50 Great triumphs he gives to his king
    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
    to David and his descendants forever.(Y)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.32 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 18.35 Or gentleness
  3. 18.43 Gk Tg: Heb people