Translation

1. To the chief Musician of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord saved him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul;1. To the chief Musician of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord saved him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul;
2. And he said, I will love you, O Lord, my strength.
3. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my savior; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
4. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
5. The sorrows of death surround me, and the floods of ungodly men make me afraid.
6. The cords of Sheol surround me; the snares of death took me by surprise.
7. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God; from his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
8. Then the earth shook and trembled; and the foundations of the mountains moved and were shaken, because he was angry.
9. Smoke went out from his nostrils, and a devouring fire from his mouth; coals were kindled by it.
10. And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11. And he rode on a kerub, and flew; he flew on the wings of the wind.
12. He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion around him was dark with waters and thick clouds of the skies.
13. Out of the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
14. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
15. And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and confounded them.
16. Then the channels of waters 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.
17. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
18. He saved me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me.
19. They surprised me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my stay.
20. He brought me forth also into a large place; he saved me, because he delighted in me.
21. The Lord rewards me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompenses me.
22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
24. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.
25. Therefore has the Lord recompenses me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
26. With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with an upright man you will show yourself upright;
27. With the pure you will show yourself pure; and with the perverse you will show yourself subtle.
28. For you will save the afflicted people; but will bring down haughty looks.
29. For you will light my candle; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
30. For by you I can run through a troop; and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; he is a shield to all those who trust in him.
32. For who is God but the Lord? Who is a rock but our God?
33. It is God who girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect.
34. He makes my feet to be like hinds’ feet, and sets me upon my heights.
35. He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of bronze is bent by my arms.
36. You have also given me the shield of your salvation; and your right hand has supported me, and your gentleness has made me great.
37. You have enlarged my steps under me, so that my feet did not slip.
38. I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them; and did not turn back till they were consumed.
39. I have crashed them so that they were not able to rise; they have fallen under my feet.
40. For you have girded me with strength to the battle; you have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
41. You have also my enemies turn their backs to me; that I might destroy those who hate me.
42. They cried, but there was none to save them; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43. And I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I cast them as the dirt in the streets.
44. You have saved me from the strivings of the people; and you have made me the head of nations; a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
45. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me; the strangers shall submit themselves to me.
46. The strangers shall fade away, and come trembling out of their close places.
47. The Lord lives; and blessed is my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 48. It is God who avenges me, and subdues the peoples under me.
49. He saves me from my enemies; you lift me up above those who rise up against me; you save me from the violent man.
50. Therefore I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.
51. Great deliverance he gives to his king; and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.