Psalm 17

A Prayer for Protection

A Davidic prayer.

Lord, hear a just cause;(A)
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.(B)
Let my vindication come from You,
for You see what is right.(C)
You have tested my heart;(D)
You have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;(E)
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.[a]
Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips[b]
I have avoided the ways of the violent.(F)
My steps are on Your paths;
my feet have not slipped.(G)

I call on You, God,
because You will answer me;(H)
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
Display the wonders of Your faithful love,(I)
Savior of all who seek refuge(J)
from those who rebel against Your right hand.[c]
Protect me as the pupil of Your eye;(K)
hide me in the shadow of Your wings(L)
from[d] the wicked who treat me violently,[e]
my deadly enemies who surround me.(M)

10 They have become hardened;[f](N)
their mouths speak arrogantly.(O)
11 They advance against me;[g] now they surround me.(P)
They are determined[h]
to throw me to the ground.(Q)
12 They are[i] like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.(R)

13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him; bring him down.(S)
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.(T)
14 With Your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.(U)

15 But I will see Your face in righteousness;(V)
when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.[j](W)

Psalm 18

Praise for Deliverance

For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.(X) He said:

I love You, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,(Y)
my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,
my shield(Z) and the horn of my salvation,(AA)
my stronghold.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(AB)
and I was saved from my enemies.(AC)

The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.(AD)
The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(AE)
I called to the Lord in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,(AF)
and my cry to Him reached His ears.(AG)

Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;(AH)
they shook because He burned with anger.
Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[k](AI)
He parted the heavens and came down,(AJ)
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.(AK)
11 He made darkness His hiding place,
dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.(AL)
12 From the radiance of His presence,(AM)
His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13 The Lord thundered from[l] heaven;
the Most High projected His voice.[m](AN)
14 He shot His arrows and scattered them;
He hurled[n] lightning bolts and routed them.(AO)
15 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.(AP)

16 He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.(AQ)
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.(AR)
18 They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.(AS)
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;(AT)
He rescued me because He delighted in me.(AU)

20 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(AV)
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(AW)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.(AX)
22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind[o]
and have not disregarded His statutes.(AY)
23 I was blameless toward Him(AZ)
and kept myself from sinning.
24 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,(BA)
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.(BB)

25 With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
26 with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.(BC)
27 For You rescue an afflicted people,(BD)
but You humble those with haughty eyes.(BE)
28 Lord, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.(BF)
29 With You I can attack a barrier,[p]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(BG)

30 God—His way is perfect;(BH)
the word of the Lord is pure.(BI)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.(BJ)
31 For who is God besides Yahweh?(BK)
And who is a rock? Only our God.(BL)
32 God—He clothes me with strength(BM)
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer(BN)
and sets me securely on the heights.[q](BO)
34 He trains my hands for war;(BP)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(BQ)
35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand upholds me,(BR)
and Your humility exalts me.
36 You widen a place beneath me for my steps,(BS)
and my ankles do not give way.(BT)

37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.(BU)
38 I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.(BV)
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle;(BW)
You subdue my adversaries beneath me.(BX)
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[r](BY)
I annihilate those who hate me.(BZ)
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them(CA)
they cry to the Lord, but He does not answer them.(CB)
42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind;(CC)
I trample them[s] like mud in the streets.(CD)

43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
You have appointed me the head of nations;(CE)
a people I had not known serve me.(CF)
44 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear,[t] they obey me.(CG)
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(CH)

46 The Lord lives—may my rock be praised!
The God of my salvation is exalted.(CI)
47 God—He gives me vengeance(CJ)
and subdues peoples under me.(CK)
48 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
You rescue me from violent men.(CL)
49 Therefore I will praise You, Yahweh, among the nations;
I will sing about Your name.(CM)
50 He gives great victories to His king;(CN)
He shows loyalty to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(CO)

Psalm 19

The Witness of Creation and Scripture

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky[u] proclaims the work of His hands.(CP)
Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[v]
There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
Their message[w] has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(CQ)

In the heavens[x] He has pitched a tent for the sun.(CR)
It is like a groom coming from the[y] bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles[z] to their other end;(CS)
nothing is hidden from its heat.

The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(CT)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(CU)
The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(CV)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(CW)
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(CX)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(CY)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(CZ)
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.(DA)
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.(DB)

12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(DC)
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;(DD)
do not let them rule over me.(DE)
Then I will be innocent
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(DF)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,(DG)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(DH)

Psalm 20

Deliverance in Battle

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

May Yahweh answer you in a day of trouble;(DI)
may the name of Jacob’s God protect you.(DJ)
May He send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.(DK)
May He remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt offering.(DL)Selah

May He give you what your heart desires(DM)
and fulfill your whole purpose.(DN)
Let us shout for joy at your victory(DO)
and lift the banner in the name of our God.(DP)
May Yahweh fulfill all your requests.(DQ)

Now I know that the Lord gives victory to His anointed;(DR)
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with mighty victories from[aa] His right hand.(DS)
Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of Yahweh our God.(DT)
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.(DU)
Lord, give victory to the king!(DV)
May He[ab] answer us on the day that we call.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 17:3 Or [evil]; my mouth will not sin
  2. Psalm 17:4 God’s instruction
  3. Psalm 17:7 Or love, You who save with Your right hand those seeking refuge from adversaries
  4. Psalm 17:9 Lit from the presence of
  5. Psalm 17:9 Or who plunder me
  6. Psalm 17:10 Lit have closed up their fat
  7. Psalm 17:11 Vg; one Hb ms, LXX read They cast me out; MT reads Our steps
  8. Psalm 17:11 Lit They set their eyes
  9. Psalm 17:12 Lit He is
  10. Psalm 17:15 Lit form
  11. Psalm 18:8 Or ablaze from Him
  12. Psalm 18:13 Some Hb mss, LXX, Tg, Jer; other Hb mss read in
  13. Psalm 18:13 Some Hb mss read voice, with hail and fiery coals
  14. Psalm 18:14 Or multiplied
  15. Psalm 18:22 Lit Indeed, all His ordinances have been in front of me
  16. Psalm 18:29 Or ridge
  17. Psalm 18:33 Or on my high places
  18. Psalm 18:40 Or You gave me the necks of my enemies
  19. Psalm 18:42 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg; other Hb mss read I poured them out
  20. Psalm 18:44 Lit At the hearing of the ear
  21. Psalm 19:1 Or expanse
  22. Psalm 19:2 Or Day to day pours out speech, and night to night communicates knowledge
  23. Psalm 19:4 LXX, Sym, Syr, Vg; MT reads line
  24. Psalm 19:4 Lit In them
  25. Psalm 19:5 Lit his
  26. Psalm 19:6 Lit its circuit is
  27. Psalm 20:6 Some Hb mss, Aq, Sym, Jer, Syr read with the victorious might of
  28. Psalm 20:9 Or Lord, save. May the king

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