Tehillim 18

1 I will love Thee, Hashem , my strength.

³Hashem is my rock, and my fortress,

and my deliverer;

Eli my Tzur (rock) , in whom I take refuge;

my mogen, and the keren of my salvation, and my misgav (high place as a refuge) .

⁴I will call upon Hashem , Who is worthy to be praised;

so shall I be saved from mine oyevim.

⁵The chevlei mavet entangled me,

and the floods of Beliya'al terrorized me.

⁶The chevlei Sheol snaked around me;

the snares of mavet confronted me.

⁷In my distress I called upon Hashem ,

and cried unto Elohai;

He heard my voice out of His Heikhal,

and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.

⁸Ha'aretz shook and trembled;

the foundations also of the mountains quaked

and were shaken, because He was angry.

⁹Smoke went up from His nostrils,

and eish out of His mouth devoured;

coals were kindled by it.

¹⁰He parted Shomayim, and descended,

and dark clouds were under His feet.

¹¹And He rode upon a keruv (cherub) , and did fly;

yea, He soared upon the wings of the ruach.

¹²He made choshech His secret place;

His sukkah round about Him

was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

¹³Out of the brightness that was before Him there broke through

barad (hailstones) and coals of eish out of His clouds.

¹⁴Hashem also thundered in Shomayim,

and Elyon gave His voice

amid barad and coals of eish.

¹⁵Yea, He sent out His khitzim (arrows) , and scattered them;

and He shot out great lightning bolts, and did put them to rout.

¹⁶Then the channels of waters were exposed,

and the foundations of the tevel (world) were laid bare

at Thy rebuke, Hashem ,

at the blast of the ruach of Thy nostrils.

¹⁷He sent from on high, He took hold of me,

He drew me out of mayim rabbim (many waters) .

¹⁸He delivered me from my strong oyev,

and from them which hated me;

for they were too strong for me.

¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my calamity;

but Hashem was my stay.

²⁰He brought me forth also into a place merkhav (spacious) ;

He delivered me, because He delighted in me.

²¹Hashem dealt with me according to my tzedek;

according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me.

²²For I have been shomer regarding the Darkhei Hashem ,

and have not wickedly departed from Elohai.

²³For all His mishpatim were before me,

and I did not put away His chukkot from me.

²⁴I was also tamim (blameless) before Him,

and I kept myself from mine avon.

²⁵Therefore hath Hashem recompensed me according to my tzedek,

according to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.

²⁶With the chasid Thou wilt show Thyself chesed;

with a perfect man Thou wilt show Thyself perfect;

²⁷With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure;

and with the ikesh (crooked, perverted, false) Thou wilt show Thyself shrewd.

²⁸For Thou wilt save the ani (poor) ;

but wilt bring down low haughty looks.

²⁹For Thou wilt light my ner;

Hashem Elohai will enlighten my choshech.

³⁰For by Thee have I scattered a troop;

and by Elohai have I leaped over a wall.

³¹As for El, His derech is tamim (perfect) ;

the word of Hashem is tzerufah (tested and proved flawless, inerrant) ;

He is a mogen to all those that take refuge in Him.

³²For who is Elohim besides Hashem ?

Or who is Tzur but Eloheinu?

³³It is El that armeth me with chayil,

and maketh my derech tamim (perfect) .

³⁴He maketh my raglayim like deer feet,

and setteth me upon my high places.

³⁵He traineth my hands for milchamah,

so that a keshet-nechushah mine arms can bend.

³⁶Thou hast also given me the mogen of Thy salvation;

and Thy right hand hath held me up,

and Thy lowliness hath made me great.

³⁷Thou hast made rakhav (broad) the place for my footsteps under me,

that my ankles did not turn.

³⁸I have pursued mine oyevim, and overtaken them;

neither did I turn back till they were consumed.

³⁹I have crushed them that they were not able to rise;

they are fallen under my raglayim.

⁴⁰For Thou hast armed me with chayil unto the milchamah;

Thou hast made bow down under me those that rose up against me.

⁴¹Thou hast also given me the necks of mine oyevim;

that I might destroy them that hate me.

⁴²They cried for help, but there was no Moshi'a to save them,

even unto Hashem , but He answered them not.

⁴³Then did I beat them small as the dust before the ruach;

I did empty them out as the dirt in the chutzot (streets) .

⁴⁴Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;

and Thou hast made me the Rosh (head) of the Goyim (nations) ;

an Am (people) whom I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁵As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me;

the Bnei Nekhar (foreigners) shall submit themselves unto me.

⁴⁶The Bnei Nekhar shall fade away,

and come forth trembling out of their misgerot (stongholds, fastnesses, secure places) .

⁴⁷Hashem chai; and baruch be my Tzur;

and let the Elohei of my salvation be exalted.

⁴⁸It is El that avengeth me,

and subdueth the nations under me.

⁴⁹He saveth me from mine oyevim;

yea, Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me;

Thou hast delivered me from the ish chamas.

⁵⁰Therefore will I give thanks unto Thee, Hashem , among the Goyim,

and sing praises unto Shimecha.

⁵¹Great deliverance giveth He to His Melech;

and showeth chesed to His Moshiach,

to Dovid, and to his Zera ad olam.