Psalms 17-20

Psalm 17

¹A Prayer of David. Hear, O Jehovah, righteousness, attend my cry, Give ear to my prayer, without lips of deceit.

²From before thee my judgment doth go out; Thine eyes do see uprightly.

³Thou hast proved my heart, Thou hast inspected by night, Thou hast tried me, Thou findest nothing; My thoughts pass not over my mouth.

⁴As to doings of man, Through a word of Thy lips I have observed The paths of a destroyer;

⁵To uphold my goings in Thy paths, My steps have not slidden.

⁶I -- I called Thee, for Thou dost answer me, O God, incline Thine ear to me, hear my speech.

⁷Separate wonderfully Thy kindness, O Saviour of the confiding, By Thy right hand, from withstanders.

⁸Keep me as the apple, the daughter of the eye; In shadow of Thy wings thou dost hide me.

⁹From the face of the wicked who spoiled me. Mine enemies in soul go round against me.

¹⁰Their fat they have closed up, Their mouths have spoken with pride:

¹¹‘Our steps now have compassed him;' Their eyes they set to turn aside in the land.

¹²His likeness as a lion desirous to tear, As a young lion dwelling in secret places.

¹³Arise, O Jehovah, go before his face, Cause him to bend. Deliver my soul from the wicked, Thy sword,

¹⁴From men, Thy hand, O Jehovah, From men of the world, their portion is in life, And with Thy hidden things Thou fillest their belly, They are satisfied with sons; And have left their abundance to their sucklings.

¹⁵I -- in righteousness, I see Thy face; I am satisfied, in awaking, with Thy form!

Psalm 18

¹To the Overseer. -- By a servant of Jehovah, by David, who hath spoken to Jehovah the words of this song in the day Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and he saith: -- I love Thee, O Jehovah, my strength.

²Jehovah is my rock, and my bulwark, And my deliverer, My God is my rock, I trust in Him: My shield, and a horn of my salvation, My high tower.

³The ‘Praised One' I call Jehovah, And from my enemies I am saved.

⁴Compassed me have cords of death, And streams of the worthless make me afraid.

⁵Cords of Sheol have surrounded me, Before me have been snares of death.

⁶In mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I cry. He heareth from His temple my voice, And My cry before Him cometh into His ears.

⁷And shake and tremble doth the earth, And foundations of hills are troubled, And they shake -- because He hath wrath.

⁸Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils, And fire from His mouth consumeth, Coals have been kindled by it.

⁹And He inclineth the heavens, and cometh down, And thick darkness is under His feet.

¹⁰And He rideth on a cherub, and doth fly, And He flieth on wings of wind.

¹¹He maketh darkness His secret place, Round about Him His tabernacle, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹²From the brightness over-against Him His thick clouds have passed on, Hail and coals of fire.

¹³And thunder in the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice, Hail and coals of fire.

¹⁴And He sendeth His arrows and scattereth them, And much lightning, and crusheth them.

¹⁵And seen are the streams of waters, And revealed are foundations of the earth. From Thy rebuke, O Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of Thine anger.

¹⁶He sendeth from above -- He taketh me, He draweth me out of many waters.

¹⁷He delivereth me from my strong enemy, And from those hating me, For they have been stronger than I.

¹⁸They go before me in a day of my calamity And Jehovah is for a support to me.

¹⁹And He bringeth me forth to a large place, He draweth me out, because He delighted in me.

²⁰Jehovah doth recompense me According to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands, He doth return to me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not done wickedly against my God.

²²For all His judgments are before me, And His statutes I turn not from me.

²³And I am perfect with him, And I keep myself from mine iniquity.

²⁴And Jehovah doth return to me, According to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands, Over-against his eyes.

²⁵With the kind Thou showest Thyself kind, With a perfect man showest Thyself perfect.

²⁶With the pure Thou showest Thyself pure, And with the perverse showest Thyself a wrestler,

²⁷For Thou a poor people savest, And the eyes of the high causest to fall.

²⁸For Thou -- Thou lightest my lamp, Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness.

²⁹For by Thee I run -- a troop! And by my God I leap a wall.

³⁰God! perfect is His way, The saying of Jehovah is tried, A shield is He to all those trusting in Him.

³¹For who is God besides Jehovah? And who is a rock save our God?

³²God! who is girding me with strength, And He maketh perfect my way.

³³Making my feet like hinds, And on my high places causeth me to stand.

³⁴Teaching my hands for battle, And a bow of brass was brought down by my arms.

³⁵And Thou givest to me the shield of Thy salvation, And Thy right hand doth support me, And Thy lowliness maketh me great.

³⁶Thou enlargest my step under me, And mine ankles have not slidden.

³⁷I pursue mine enemies, and overtake them, And turn back not till they are consumed.

³⁸I smite them, and they are not able to rise, They fall under my feet,

³⁹And Thou girdest me with strength for battle, Causest my withstanders to bow under me.

⁴⁰As to mine enemies -- Thou hast given to me the neck, As to those hating me -- I cut them off.

⁴¹They cry, and there is no saviour, On Jehovah, and He doth not answer them.

⁴²And I beat them as dust before wind, As mire of the streets I empty them out.

⁴³Thou dost deliver me From the strivings of the people, Thou placest me for a head of nations, A people I have not known do serve me.

⁴⁴At the hearing of the ear they hearken to me, Sons of a stranger feign obedience to me,

⁴⁵Sons of a stranger fade away, And are slain out of their close places.

⁴⁶Jehovah liveth -- and blessed is my rock, And exalted is the God of my salvation.

⁴⁷God -- who is giving vengeance to me, And He subdueth peoples under me,

⁴⁸My deliverer from mine enemies, Above my withstanders Thou raisest me, From a man of violence dost deliver me.

⁴⁹Therefore I confess Thee among nations, O Jehovah, And to Thy name I sing praise,

⁵⁰Magnifying the salvation of His king, And doing kindness to His anointed, To David, and to his seed -- unto the age!

Psalm 19

¹To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. The heavens are recounting the honour of God, And the work of His hands The expanse is declaring.

²Day to day uttereth speech, And night to night sheweth knowledge.

³There is no speech, and there are no words. Their voice hath not been heard.

⁴Into all the earth hath their line gone forth, And to the end of the world their sayings, For the sun He placed a tent in them,

⁵And he, as a bridegroom, goeth out from his covering, He rejoiceth as a mighty one To run the path.

⁶From the end of the heavens is his going out, And his revolution is unto their ends, And nothing is hid from his heat.

⁷The law of Jehovah is perfect, refreshing the soul, The testimonies of Jehovah are stedfast, Making wise the simple,

⁸The precepts of Jehovah are upright, Rejoicing the heart, The command of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes,

⁹The fear of Jehovah is clean, standing to the age, The judgments of Jehovah are true, They have been righteous -- together.

¹⁰They are more desirable than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey, Even liquid honey of the comb.

¹¹Also -- Thy servant is warned by them, ‘In keeping them is a great reward.'

¹²Errors! who doth understand? From hidden ones declare me innocent,

¹³Also -- from presumptuous ones keep back Thy servant, Let them not rule over me, Then am I perfect, And declared innocent of much transgression,

¹⁴Let the sayings of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, Be for a pleasing thing before Thee, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer!

Psalm 20

¹To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. Jehovah doth answer thee, In a day of adversity, The name of the God of Jacob doth set thee on high,

²He doth send thy help from the sanctuary, And from Zion doth support thee,

³He doth remember all thy presents, And thy burnt-offering doth reduce to ashes. Selah.

⁴He doth give to thee according to thy heart, And all thy counsel doth fulfil.

⁵We sing of thy salvation, And in the name of our God set up a banner. Jehovah doth fulfil all thy requests.

⁶Now I have known That Jehovah hath saved His anointed, He answereth him from His holy heavens, With the saving might of His right hand.

⁷Some of chariots, and some of horses, And we of the name of Jehovah our God Make mention.

⁸They -- they have bowed and have fallen, And we have risen and station ourselves upright.

⁹O Jehovah, save the king, He doth answer us in the day we call!