Psalms 18:1-17

¹Yahweh, I love you, the one who enables me to be strong.

²Yahweh is like an overhanging rock DOU, MET under which I can hide from my enemies; he is like a strong fortress, the one who protects me; he protects me like a shield MET protects a soldier; he is the one to whom I go ◄for refuge/to be protected/safe►, and he defends me by his great power IDM.

³I called out to Yahweh, who deserves to be praised, and he rescued me from my enemies.

⁴All around me were dangerous situations in which I might be killed PRS; it was as though there were huge waves MET that almost crashed on me and killed me.

⁵It was as though the place where dead people are had ropes that were wrapped around me, or it was as though there was a trap MET that would seize and kill me.

⁶But when I was very distressed, I called out to Yahweh, and from his temple he heard me. He listened to me when I cried out for help.

⁷Then the earth quaked/shook strongly DOU; the mountains shook very strongly from their centers DOU because Yahweh was angry.

⁸It was as though smoke poured out from his nostrils, and as though burning coals came out of his mouth.

⁹He opened the sky and came down with a black cloud under his feet.

¹⁰He flew, riding on the back of a creature that had wings, traveling fast, blown along by the wind.

¹¹Darkness was all around him like a blanket MET; dark clouds, full of moisture, covered him MET.

¹²Hailstones and flashes of lightning were around him; hail and burning coals fell from the sky.

¹³Then Yahweh spoke in a loud voice from the sky, and his enemies heard his voice that sounded like thunder.

¹⁴He shot his arrows at them and caused them to scatter; His flashes of lightning caused them to become very confused (OR, to run away).

¹⁵The bottom of the ocean became visible, and the foundations of the earth were uncovered, when Yahweh rebuked his enemies when he snorted.

¹⁶It was as though he reached down from heaven and grabbed me and pulled me up out of the deep ocean.

¹⁷He rescued me from my strong enemies who hated me; they were very strong, with the result that I could not defeat them.