For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

¹I love you, Lord, my strength.^m

²The Lord is my rock,ⁿ my fortress^o and my deliverer;^p

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,^q

my shield^b^r and the horn^c of my salvation,^s my stronghold.

³I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,^t

and I have been saved from my enemies.^u

⁴The cords of death^v entangled me;

the torrents^w of destruction overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of the grave coiled around me;

the snares of death^x confronted me.

⁶In my distress^y I called to the Lord;^z

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;^a

my cry came^b before him, into his ears.

Read in Logos

Psalm 18:2: 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.

Footnotes

bOr sovereign
cHorn here symbolizes strength.

Cross references

mSee Ex 15:2; See Dt 33:29; See 1 Sa 2:10; Ps 22:19; 28:7; 59:9; 81:1; Isa 12:2; 49:5; Jer 16:19
nSee Ex 33:22
o Ps 28:8; 31:2, 3; Isa 17:10; Jer 16:19
p Ps 40:17
q Ps 2:12; 9:9; 94:22
rSee Ge 15:1; Ps 28:7; 84:9; 119:114; 144:2
sSee 1 Sa 2:1; See Lk 1:69
tSee 1 Ch 16:25
uSee Ps 9:13
v Ps 116:3
w Ps 93:4; 124:4; Isa 5:30; 17:12; Jer 6:23; 51:42, 55; Eze 43:2
x Pr 13:14
ySee Dt 4:30
z Ps 30:2; 99:6; 102:2; 120:1
a Ps 66:19; 116:1
bSee Job 16:18

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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 grasp of all his enemies and from the power of Saul. He said:

I love you, Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock,

my fortress, and my deliverer,

my God, my rock where I seek refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I was saved from my enemies.

The ropes of death were wrapped around me;

the torrents of destruction terrified me.

The ropes of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

I called to the Lord in my distress,

and I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

NLTNew Living Translation

For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:

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.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh,

who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song

when Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,

and from the hand of Saul.

And he said:

“I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.”

Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock in whom I have taken refuge,

my shield and the horn of my deliverance, my stronghold.

I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,

and I was saved from my enemies.

The ropes of death encircled me,

and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.

The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;

the snares of death confronted me.

In my trouble I called on Yahweh,

and to my God I cried for help.

He heard my voice from his temple,

and my cry for help

came up before his presence into his ears.

KJV 1900King James Version

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,

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.

Public Domain