My Psalm 18 (now including The Voice)

Psalm 18 – Living my life as a psalm – Making it mine

1 For the choir director (gw..)

A song of David, the Eternal One’s servant, (voice)

Who sang to the Lord the words for this song when the Lord rescued him from the power of all his enemies, including Saul (net)

I love You Lord, my source of strength! (net)

2 The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer. (amp)

I can run to Him for safety.

He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender. (ncv)

3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies. (esv,nasb)

4 The cords of death hemmed me in; (litv)

And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. (nkjv)

5 The sorrows of the grave surrounded me; (voice/mkjv)

The traps of death lay in wait for me. (voice)

6 In my distress [when seemingly closed in] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; (amp)

From His heavenly temple He heard my voice;

He listened to my cry for help. (net)

7 Then the earth shook and quaked;

The foundations of the mountains trembled. (hcsb)

They trembled because the Lord was angry. (ncv)

8 Smoke poured out of his nostrils,

a consuming flame and burning coals from his mouth. (gnb)

9 He parted the heavens and came down, (hcsb)

Dark clouds were under His feet. (niv)

10 He rode on a cherub and flew, (hcsb)

Swooping down on the wings of the wind. (cjb)

11 He made darkness His covering, (esv)

Dark storm clouds His canopy around Him. (hcsb)

12 From the radiance of His presence,

His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals. (hcsb)

13 The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals. (nlt)

14 He shot His arrows and scattered the enemies, (niv)

His many bolts of lightning confused them with fear. (ncv)

15 Then 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. (nlt)

16 He reached down from heaven and rescued me; (nlt)

He pulled me out of the raging water. (gw)

17 He saved me from my powerful enemies, (ncv)

Because they were too strong for me. (gw)

18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, (esv…)

But the Lord came to my defense and protected me. (gw & gnb)

19 He set me down in a safe place; (voice…)

He rescued me because He delights in me. (nlt)

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness (my conscious integrity and sincerity with Him); (amp)

I kept my hands clean, and He blessed me. (voice)

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, (esv…)

And I have not wickedly turned away from my God. (gw)

22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind, (hcsb)

I did not distance His regulations from me. (cjb)

23 And I was single-hearted with Him, (jps)

Ever on guard to keep myself free from my sin and guilt. (amp)

24 That’s why the Eternal has rewarded me for my right living;

He’s rewarded me because He saw my hands were clean. (voice)

25 With the kind and merciful You will show Yourself kind and merciful,

with an upright and sincere man You will show Yourself upright and sincere. (amp & cjb)

26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;

And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. (nkjv)

27 You save those who are humble,

but you humble those who are proud. (gnb)

28 You are the lamp who lights my way; (voice)

the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. (nrsv)

29 With your help, I can conquer an army; (voice)

With my God I can scale any wall. (nlt)

30 As for God, his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless. (niv)

He is a shield to all who trust in Him. (nkjv)

31 Indeed, who is God besides the Lord? (net)

And who is a rock? Only our God. (hcsb)

32 He is the God who makes me strong, (gnb)

He removes the obstacles in my way. (net)

33 He makes me swift, sure-footed as a deer, (cjb)

and placed me high up where I am safe. (voice)

34 He trains me for battle,

so that I can use the strongest bow. (gnb)

35 You protect me with your saving shield, (ncv)

And Your right hand holds me up; (litv)

You stoop down to make me great. (niv)

36 You taught me how to walk with care

so my feet will not slip. (voice)

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, (nasb)

Not turning back till they are all overcome. (bbe)

38 I have shattered them, and they cannot rise up; (litv)

They lie defeated before me. (gnb)

39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; (esv)

You brought my assailants to their knees beneath me. (thf)

40 You made them turn their backs and run away, (nirv)

That I might destroy them that hate me. (geneva)

41 They cried out for help. But there was no one to save them. (nirv)

They even cried to the Lord, but He refused to answer. (nlt)

42 I beat them into a powder as fine as the dust blown by the wind. (gw)

I swept them into the gutter like dirt. (nlt)

43 You gave me victory over my accusers. (nlt)

You made me a leader of nations. (msg)

People who did not know me have come to serve me. (voice)

44 The moment they hear of me, they obey me, (cjb)

Foreigners cringe before me. (niv)

45 They all lose heart;

they come trembling from their strongholds. (niv)

46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! (niv)

Proclaim the greatness of the God who saves me. (gnb)

47 He gives me victory over my enemies;

he subdues the nations under me (gnb)

48 He delivers me from my enemies. (nasb)

Yes! I am lifted up over those who come up against me; (bbe)

You rescue me from violent men. (hcsb)

49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord, (nasb)

I sing praises to Your name. (cjb)

50 You give great victories to Your king;

You show unfailing love to Your anointed, to David and all his descendants forever. (nlt)