Psalms 18:1-9
Psalms 18:1-15 The Message (MSG)
I love you, GOD— you make me strong. GOD is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. I sing to GOD, the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved. The hangman’s noose was tight at my throat; devil waters rushed over me. Hell’s ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit. A hostile world! I call to GOD, I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence— a private audience! Earth wobbles and lurches; huge mountains shake like leaves, Quake like aspen leaves because of his rage. His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke; his mouth spits fire. Tongues of fire dart in and out; he lowers the sky. He steps down; under his feet an abyss opens up. He’s riding a winged creature, swift on wind-wings. Now he’s wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness. But his cloud-brightness bursts through, spraying hailstones and fireballs. Then GOD thundered out of heaven; the High God gave a great shout, spraying hailstones and fireballs. God shoots his arrows—pandemonium! He hurls his lightnings—a rout! The secret sources of ocean are exposed, the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered The moment you roar in protest, let loose your hurricane anger.
Psalms 18:1-9 King James Version (KJV)
I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: The snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: And darkness was under his feet.
Psalms 18:1-9 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.
Psalms 18:1-9 New Century Version (NCV)
I love you, LORD. You are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my protection, my Savior. My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender. I will call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I will be saved from my enemies. The ropes of death came around me; the deadly rivers overwhelmed me. The ropes of death wrapped around me. The traps of death were before me. In my trouble I called to the LORD. I cried out to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my call for help reached his ears. The earth trembled and shook. The foundations of the mountains began to shake. They trembled because the LORD was angry. Smoke came out of his nose, and burning fire came out of his mouth. Burning coals went before him. He tore open the sky and came down with dark clouds under his feet.
Psalms 18:1-9 American Standard Version (ASV)
I love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me. In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry before him came into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations also of the mountains quaked And were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet.
Psalms 18:1-9 New International Version (NIV)
I love you, LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
Psalms 18:1-9 New King James Version (NKJV)
I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.
Psalms 18:1-9 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“I love You [fervently and devotedly], O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me; My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold. [Heb 2:13] I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; And I am saved from my enemies. [Rev 5:12] ¶The cords of death surrounded me, And the streams of ungodliness and torrents of destruction terrified me. The cords of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the LORD And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears. ¶Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of the mountains trembled; They were shaken because He was indignant and angry. Smoke went up from His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down; And thick darkness was under His feet.
Psalms 18:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)
I love you, LORD; you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
Psalms 18:1-10 The Passion Translation (TPT)
I love you, YAHWEH, and I’m bonded to you, my strength! YAHWEH, you’re the bedrock beneath my feet, my faith-fortress, my wonderful deliverer, my God, my rock of rescue where none can reach me. You’re the shield around me, the mighty power that saves me, and my high place. All I need to do is to call on you, YAHWEH, the praiseworthy God. When I do, I’m safe and sound in you— delivered from my foes! For when the cords of death wrapped around me and torrents of destruction overwhelmed me, taking me to death’s door, in my distress I cried out to you, the delivering God, and from your temple-throne you heard my troubled cry, and my sobs went right into your heart. The earth itself shivered and shook. It reeled and rocked before him. As the mountains trembled, they melted away, for his anger was kindled on my behalf! Fierce flames leapt from his mouth, erupting with blazing, burning coals as smoke and fire encircled him. He stretched heaven’s curtain open and came to my defense. Swiftly he rode to earth as the stormy sky was lowered. He rode a chariot of thunderclouds amidst thick darkness; his steed was a cherub, soaring on outstretched wings of Spirit-Wind.
Psalms 18:1-9 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 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. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 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.
