| 1 | And David made a song to the Lord in these words, on the day when the Lord made him free from the hands of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul: |
| 2 | And he said, The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour, even mine; |
| 3 | My God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my safe place; my saviour, who keeps me safe from the violent man. |
| 4 | I will send up my cry to the Lord, who is to be praised; so will I be made safe from those who are against me. |
| 5 | For the waves of death came round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear; |
| 6 | The cords of hell were round me: the nets of death came on me. |
| 7 | In my trouble my voice went up to the Lord, and my cry to my God: my voice came to his hearing in his holy Temple, and my prayer came to his ears. |
| 8 | Then the earth was moved with a violent shock; the bases of heaven were moved and shaking, because he was angry. |
| 9 | There went up a smoke from his nose, and a fire of destruction from his mouth: coals were lighted by it. |
| 10 | The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet. |
| 11 | And he went through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly on the wings of the wind. |
| 12 | And he made the dark his tent round him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies. |
| 13 | Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and coals of fire. |
| 14 | The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out. |
| 15 | And he sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled. |
| 16 | Then the deep beds of the sea were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of the Lord's wrath, because of the breath of his mouth. |
| 17 | He sent from on high, he took me, pulling me out of great waters. |
| 18 | He made me free from my strong hater, from those who were against me, because they were stronger than I. |
| 19 | They came on me in the day of my trouble: but the Lord was my support. |
| 20 | He took me out into a wide place; he was my saviour because he had delight in me. |
| 21 | The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him. |
| 22 | For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not been turned away in sin from my God. |
| 23 | For all his decisions were before me, and I did not put away his laws from me. |
| 24 | And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin. |
| 25 | Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes. |
| 26 | On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright; |
| 27 | He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge. |
| 28 | For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but your eyes are on men of pride, to make them low. |
| 29 | For you are my light, O Lord; and the Lord will make the dark bright for me. |
| 30 | By your help I have made a way through the wall which was shutting me in: by the help of my God I have gone over a wall. |
| 31 | As for God, his way is all good: the word of the Lord is tested; he is a safe cover for all those who put their faith in him. |
| 32 | For who is God but the Lord? and who is a Rock but our God? |
| 33 | God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way. |
| 34 | He makes my feet like roes' feet, and puts me on high places. |
| 35 | He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms. |
| 36 | You have given me the breastplate of your salvation, and your mercy has made me great. |
| 37 | You have made my steps wide under me, so that my feet make no slip. |
| 38 | I go after my haters and overtake them; not turning back till they are all overcome. |
| 39 | I have sent destruction on them and given them wounds, so that they are not able to get up: they are stretched under my feet. |
| 40 | For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who came out against me. |
| 41 | By you their backs are turned in flight, so that my haters are cut off. |
| 42 | They were crying out, but there was no one to come to their help: even to the Lord, but he gave them no answer. |
| 43 | Then they were crushed as small as the dust of the earth, stamped down under my feet like the waste of the streets. |
| 44 | You have made me free from the fightings of my people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants. |
| 45 | Men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority: from the time when my name comes to their ears, they will be ruled by me. |
| 46 | They will be wasted away, they will come out of their secret places shaking with fear. |
| 47 | The Lord is living; praise be to my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be honoured: |
| 48 | It is God who sends punishment on my haters, and puts peoples under my rule. |
| 49 | He makes me free from my haters: I am lifted up over those who come up against me: you have made me free from the violent man. |
| 50 | Because of this I will give you praise, O Lord, among the nations, and will make a song of praise to your name. |
| 51 | Great salvation does he give to his king; he has mercy on the king of his selection, David, and on his seed for ever. |
