Psalm 18

(A poem composed by David, a servant of Jehovah, and dedicated to Jehovah on the occasion of Jehovah saving him from his enemies, particularly Saul.)

I love you, Jehovah!  You are my strength.
Jehovah is the foundation of my life,
He is my fortress and my deliverer;
My god is the rocks wherein I find refuge;
My shield, my salvation, my defender.

I pray to Jehovah, the praiseworthy,
And I am rescued from my enemies.
I was entangled in the cords of death,
And a deadly torrent swept over me,
I was being strangled by the cords of death,
And all but caught in the trap of the grave.
In my distress I called to Jehovah;
I cried out to my god to beg his help,
And in his temple he did hear my voice:
My appeal commanded his attention!

Then the earth did tremble and quake
Even the base of mountains shook --
Because of Jehovah's anger.
Like smoke billowing from his nostrils,
Like fire issuing from his mouth,
Setting alight charcoal embers,  
He sped through the celestial dome
And descended from the sky to earth
With a cloud of black smoke at his feet.
(He flew in one of his airships
That soared upon the wings of the wind.)
Darkness shrouded and sheltered him;
Heavy rain clouds obscured his ship.
Into the brightness that lay ahead
There came from the surrounding cloud
Falls of bombs and fiery missiles.
Jehovah thundered from the sky,
And amid the bombs and missiles,
The voice of the Most High resounded.
He fired upon and scattered his foes;
Launches of missiles routed them.
At your rebuke, O Jehovah,
The bed of the sea was exposed
And the crust of the earth laid bare,
As if by a blast of your breath.

He descended from high and seized me,
Pulling me out of deep water.
He rescued me from mighty foes
And from all of those who hated me. ---
They were more powerful than I!
In troublous times they attacked me,
But Jehovah came to my aid.
He took me to a place of safety,
Sparing me out of affection.
Jehovah showed me this favor
Because of my righteous conduct.
He has restored and rewarded me
Because my hands are free from evil,
Because I've kept Jehovah's laws
And not turned away from my god.
All his commandments have I observed,
Nor have I ignored his decrees.
In his eyes I am without blame:
I have refrained from sinful acts.
And so Jehovah rewards me
Because I have done what is right
And am innocent in his sight.

You are faithful to those faithful to you,
You are guileless to those of rectitude,
You are sincere with those who are honest,
But are shrewd dealing with the devious.
You encourage and empower the humble,
But humble the haughty and arrogant.

It's you, Jehovah, that makes my lamp burn bright,
And you, my god, that turns my darkness to light.
With your help I can attack an army;
With my god I can scale their defenses.

The ways of my god are the perfect ways;
The words of Jehovah are tested and true.
He is a shield to those who trust in him.
For who can be God except Jehovah?
And who is like a solid rock but our god?
He is the god that endows me with strength;
He is the one that makes my path broad and clear.
He makes my steps sure-footed like a deer
So I can stand nimbly on the mountain tops.
He trains and strengthens my hands for battle
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have lent me your shield of victory.
You have sustained me with your strong right hand.
You have humbled yourself to exalt me.
You have widened the path on which I walk
So that my feet have room and will not slip.

I pursued my enemies and caught them,
Not withdrawing until they were defeated.
I struck them down so they could not rise again;
They fell and I did trod them under foot.
You have given me the strength to do battle,
And made my enemies bow at my feet.
You have made my opponents retreat in flight,
And I have defeated those who hated me.
(They cried out, but who was there to save them?
Not Jehovah, for he did not answer.)
I pulverized them into windblown dust
And swept them into the gutter like dirt.

You spared me from strife within my country
And ordained me the sovereign of nations. ---
Even people I do not know serve me!
Cringing foreigners cower in my presence.
When they hear a word from me, they obey.
They have lost courage; they tremble with fear
When they come in from their forts and strongholds.

Long live Jehovah!  Praise be to my defender!
May the god who is my salvation be exalted!
He is the god who avenges those who harm me,
Who pacifies the peoples under my control,
Who deliveries me from those who are my enemies.
You raised me above the reach of my adversaries
And protected me from the acts of the violent.

Therefore, I extol you to all the nations,
And sing praises to the name of Jehovah,
Who has given his king great victories
And shown steadfast love to his anointed one,
David, and to his descendants forever.
 

Psalm 17

Hear my plea for justice, Jehovah;
Heed my cry, listen to my prayer,
For it comes from lips that know not lies.
Since you can see what is right and true,
Your judgment must be in my favor.

Though you lay bare the desires of my heart
And examine the dreams I dream at night,
Though you test and probe and scrutinize me,
You will find no wickedness within me.
I speak not lies as others are wont to do;
I have not trod the path of violence,
But have followed the way that you command.
I have held fast and my foot has not slipped.

I call to you, my god, sure of your reply.
Lend me your ear and listen to what I say!
Show me your wondrous love and loyalty.
Save me, take me to your side as you do
Those who seek refuge from their enemies.

Keep me under your protective eye;
Hide me under your sheltering wing;
Save me from my evil oppressors
And the deadly foes all around me,
For their hearts are closed to pity
And their mouths boast arrogantly.
They have tracked me down and surround me,
Intent upon taking me down
And tearing my flesh like a lion. ---
There they couch like a young lion
In cover, awaiting the ambush!

Rise up, Jehovah!  Attack them!
Conquer them!  And, by force of arms,
Deliver me from the wicked!

Use your power, Jehovah, to spare me
From such men, men of the material world
Whose reward is only in the here and now.
Let them fill themselves with your hidden stores;
Let their sons feast upon the surpluses
And have enough to pass on to their children.
But as for me, I am well satisfied,
If you judge me righteous, to behold your face
Or awaken with a vision of you. 

Psalm 16

Protect me, my god, for in you I trust.
To Jehovah I say, "You are my god;
All the good that comes to me comes from you."

It is the men of holiness
Who are the world's nobility;
It is in them I find my joy.

Those who lapse and chase after other gods
Find their sorrows and woes are multiplied.
I make no offerings of blood to them,
Nor will I utter the names of their idols.

My god is my only food and drink;
My destiny is in his hands.
My boundary lines are happily drawn,
My land, a beautiful legacy.

I praise Jehovah, for he is my guide;
Even in the night he is my conscience.
Always I have Jehovah before me;
And with him beside me, I will stand firm.

My heart is glad and my soul rejoices
Even my body dwells in security,
Knowing you will leave not my soul in death's realm
Or let a righteous man rot in the grave.

You show me the path to a holy life.
Your presence fills me with exalted joy;
With you I will know happiness forever!

Psalm 15

Jehovah, who may worship in your Temple
And have leave to ascend your holy mountain?

He who leads a blameless, innocent life
And always aspires to do what is right,
He who speaks from the heart with truthfulness;
Who does not speak slander of his neighbors,
Or slur his friends by spreading hurtful gossip;
Who despises those whom Jehovah rejects
And honors those who respect the divine;
Who keeps his word whatever it may cost him;
Who does not demand interest on a loan,
Or take a bribe to harm the innocent.

Such a person does not bend with the times!  
 

Psalm 14

The immoral do not believe that God exists. ---
Such people are corrupt and commit vile acts;
None of them ever does anything good!

Jehovah looks down from Heaven
To scrutinize the race of men,
To see if any possess wisdom,
To see if any seek out God.

No, all of them have gone astray;
They have all become corrupted.
None of them does anything good,
No, not a single one of them.

Will those who are evil and corrupt ever learn?
Those who consume my people like a piece of bread,
Do they ever call out to Jehovah for help?

The wicked tremble with terror and fright,
For God is on the side of the righteous.
Though the oppressors crush their aspirations,
The oppressed will find refuge in Jehovah.

Would that deliverance and salvation
Come to Israel from the Temple Mount!
When Jehovah will restore his people
And bring them back from their captivity,
How the children of Jacob will rejoice,
And the nation of Israel take delight!

Psalm 13

How long will it be, Jehovah? Forever?
Have long will you forget and ignore me? 
How long must it be that doubt torments my mind
And each day pain and sorrow rend my heart  --
And my enemies triumph over me?

Take heed and respond, Jehovah my god!
Restore to my eyes some glimmer of hope,
Or else they will be shut in the sleep of death.

Let not my enemies gloat and boast,
Claiming, "We have defeated him!"
Let them not rejoice at my downfall.

But I put my trust in your unfailing love,
And in my heart there is a welling of joy
Knowing that my salvation lies with you.

It is thus to Jehovah I sing my prayer
For he bestows his bounty upon me.

Psalm 12

Save us, Jehovah, for godly men are gone,
And the faithful have vanished from the earth.
Men now speak only lies to their neighbors.
Sweet talk and false flattery is on their lips
And they deceive with a duplicitous heart.

May you, Jehovah, still those flattering lips
And silence those boastful tongues that proclaim,
"We, by the words of our tongue, will prevail.
Our lips belong to no one but ourselves.
No master can to tell us what we can say!”

"I will now take action!" cries Jehovah,
"For the downtrodden are sorely oppressed,
And the needy groan in hunger and pain.
I will give them the succor they pray for."

True is the promise of Jehovah,
As true and pure as silver refined
In the fire of an earthen kiln
And purified seven times over.

The human race exalts what is vile,
And the wicked are on every side.
From such a generation of men
You, Jehovah, will protect us
And keep us -- for now and always.