1David sang to Yahweh the words of this song on the day that Yahweh rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.

2He prayed, “Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, the one who rescues me.

3God is my rock. I take refuge in him.
He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, and my refuge,
the one who saves me from violence.

4I will call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,
and I will be saved from my enemies.

5For the waves of death surrounded me,
the rushing waters of destruction overwhelmed me.

6The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death trapped me.

7In my distress I called to Yahweh;
I called to my God;
he heard my voice from his temple,
and my call for help went into his ears.

8Then the earth shook and trembled.
The foundations of the heavens trembled
and were shaken, because God was angry.

9Smoke went up from out of his nostrils,
and blazing fire came out of his mouth.
Coals were ignited by it.

10He opened the heavens and came down,
and thick darkness was under his feet.

11He rode on a cherub and flew.
He was seen on the wings of the wind. ⁴

12He made darkness a tent around him,
gathering heavy rain clouds in the skies.

13From the lightning before him
coals of fire fell.

14Yahweh thundered from the heavens.
The Most High shouted.

15He shot arrows and scattered his enemies—
lightning bolts and dispersed them.

16Then the channels of the sea were seen;
the foundations of the world were laid bare
at the rebuke of Yahweh,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17He reached down from above; he took hold of me!
He pulled me out of the surging water.

18He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

19They came against me on the day of my distress,
but Yahweh was my support.

20He also brought me out to a wide open place.
He saved me because he was pleased with me.

21Yahweh has rewarded me to the measure of my righteousness;
he has restored me to the measure of the cleanness of my hands.

22For I have kept the ways of Yahweh
and have not acted wickedly by turning from my God.

23For all his righteous decrees have been before me;
as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.

24I have also been innocent before him,
and I have kept myself from sin.

25Therefore Yahweh has restored me to the measure of my righteousness,
to the degree of my cleanness in his sight.

26To one who is faithful, you show yourself to be faithful;
to a man who is blameless, you show yourself to be blameless.

27With the pure you show yourself pure,
but you are perverse to the twisted.

28You save afflicted people,
but your eyes are against the proud, and you bring them down.

29For you are my lamp, Yahweh.
Yahweh lights up my darkness.

30For by you I can run over a barricade;
by my God I can leap over a wall.

31As for God, his way is perfect.
The word of Yahweh is pure.
He is a shield to everyone who takes refuge in him.

32For who is God except Yahweh,
and who is a rock except our God?

33God is my refuge,
and he leads the blameless person on his path.

34He makes my feet swift like a deer
and places me on the high hills.

35He trains my hands for war,
and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.

36You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your favor has made me great.

37You have made a wide place for my feet beneath me,
so my feet have not slipped.

38I pursued my enemies and destroyed them.
I did not turn back until they were destroyed.

39I devoured them and smashed them; they cannot rise.
They have fallen under my feet.

40You put strength on me like a belt for battle;
you put under me those who rise up against me.

41You gave me the back of my enemies' necks;
I annihilated those who hated me.

42They cried for help, but no one saved them;
they cried out to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.

43I beat them into fine pieces like dust on the ground,
I pulverized them like mud in the streets.

44You also have rescued me from the disputes of my own people.
You have kept me as the head of nations.
A people that I have not known serves me.

45Foreigners were forced to bow to me.
As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

46The foreigners came trembling out of their strongholds.

47Yahweh lives! May my rock be praised.
May God be exalted, the rock of my salvation.

48This is the God who executes vengeance for me,
the one who brings down peoples under me.

49He sets me free from my enemies.
Indeed, you lifted me up above those who rose up against me.
You rescue me from violent men.

50Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.

51God gives great victory to his king,
and he shows his covenant loyalty to his anointed one,
to David and to his descendants forever.”