Psalms 18:1

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For the music director; by the LORD’s servant David, who sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD rescued him from the power of all his enemies, including Saul. He said:“I love you, LORD, my source of strength!

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לַמְנַצֵּ֤חַ ׀ לְעֶ֥בֶד יְהוָ֗ה לְדָ֫וִ֥ד אֲשֶׁ֤ר דִּבֶּ֨ר ׀ לַיהוָ֗ה אֶת־דִּ֭בְרֵי הַשִּׁירָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את בְּי֤וֹם הִֽצִּיל־יְהוָ֘ה אוֹת֥וֹ מִכַּ֥ף כָּל־אֹ֝יְבָ֗יו וּמִיַּ֥ד שָׁאֽוּל׃

Transliteration

To the menatseach for ebed YHWH for David which dibber to YHWH et-dibrey the shirah this in yom hitsil-YHWH him from kaf all-oyebav and from yad Shaul.

Grammar Details

• *menatseach*: preposition + participle, masculine singular - to the director/choirmaster
• *ebed*: construct state, masculine singular - servant of
• *YHWH*: proper noun, divine name
• *David*: proper noun, masculine singular
• *dibber*: perfect, 3rd person masculine singular - spoke
• *et*: direct object marker
• *dibrey*: construct state, masculine plural - words of
• *shirah*: feminine singular noun - song
• *yom*: masculine singular noun - day
• *hitsil*: hifil perfect, 3rd masculine singular - delivered/rescued
• *kaf*: construct state, feminine singular - palm/hand of
• *oyebav*: masculine plural noun with 3rd person suffix - his enemies
• *yad*: construct state, feminine singular - hand of

Word Meanings

• *menatseach*: director/choirmaster/musical leader
• *dibber*: spoke/uttered/recited
• *shirah*: song/psalm/poem
• *hitsil*: delivered/rescued/saved

Referenced Verses

• 2 Sam 22:1-9 : 1 David Sings to the Lord David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD rescued him from the power of all his enemies, including Saul. 2 He said:“The LORD is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer. 3 My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter, my shield, the horn that saves me, my stronghold, my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence! 4 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I was delivered from my enemies. 5 The waves of death engulfed me; the currents of chaos overwhelmed me. 6 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me; the snares of death trapped me. 7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called to my God. From his heavenly temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help. 8 The earth heaved and shook; the foundations of the sky trembled. They heaved because he was angry. 9 Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth; he hurled down fiery coals. 10 He made the sky sink as he descended; a thick cloud was under his feet. 11 He mounted a winged angel and flew; he glided on the wings of the wind. 12 He shrouded himself in darkness, in thick rain clouds. 13 From the brightness in front of him came coals of fire. 14 The LORD thundered from the sky; the Most High shouted loudly. 15 He shot arrows and scattered them, lightning and routed them. 16 The depths of the sea were exposed; the inner regions of the world were uncovered by the LORD’s battle cry, by the powerful breath from his nose. 17 He reached down from above and grabbed me; he pulled me from the surging water. 18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hate me, for they were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD helped me. 20 He brought me out into a wide open place; he delivered me because he was pleased with me. 21 The LORD repaid me for my godly deeds; he rewarded my blameless behavior. 22 For I have obeyed the LORD’s commands; I have not rebelled against my God. 23 For I am aware of all his regulations, and I do not reject his rules. 24 I was blameless before him; I kept myself from sinning. 25 The LORD rewarded me for my godly deeds; he took notice of my blameless behavior. 26 You prove to be loyal to one who is faithful; you prove to be trustworthy to one who is innocent. 27 You prove to be reliable to one who is blameless, but you prove to be deceptive to one who is perverse. 28 You deliver oppressed people, but you watch the proud and bring them down. 29 Indeed, you are my lamp, LORD. The LORD illumines the darkness around me. 30 Indeed, with your help I can charge against an army; by my God’s power I can jump over a wall. 31 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the LORD’s promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him. 32 Indeed, who is God besides the LORD? Who is a protector besides our God? 33 The one true God is my mighty refuge; he removes the obstacles in my way. 34 He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 35 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend even the strongest bow. 36 You give me your protective shield; your willingness to help enables me to prevail. 37 You widen my path; my feet do not slip. 38 I chase my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until I wipe them out. 39 I wipe them out and beat them to death; they cannot get up; they fall at my feet. 40 You give me strength for battle; you make my foes kneel before me. 41 You make my enemies retreat; I destroy those who hate me. 42 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; they cry out to the LORD, but he does not answer them. 43 I grind them as fine as the dust of the ground; I crush them and stomp on them like clay in the streets. 44 You rescue me from a hostile army; you preserve me as a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. 45 Foreigners are powerless before me; when they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. 46 Foreigners lose their courage; they shake with fear as they leave their strongholds. 47 The LORD is alive! My protector is praiseworthy! The God who delivers me is exalted as king! 48 The one true God completely vindicates me; he makes nations submit to me. 49 He delivers me from my enemies; you snatch me away from those who attack me; you rescue me from violent men. 50 So I will give you thanks, O LORD, before the nations! I will sing praises to you. 51 He gives his king magnificent victories; he is faithful to his chosen ruler, to David and to his descendants forever!”
• Col 1:11 : 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully
• 1 John 4:19 : 19 We love because he loved us first.
• Phil 4:13 : 13 I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.
• Isa 12:1-6 : 1 At that time you will say:“I praise you, O LORD, for even though you were angry with me, your anger subsided, and you consoled me. 2 Look, God is my deliverer! I will trust in him and not fear. For the LORD gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.” 3 Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of deliverance. 4 At that time you will say:“Praise the LORD! Ask him for help! Publicize his mighty acts among the nations! Make it known that he is unique! 5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done magnificent things, let this be known throughout the earth! 6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel acts mightily among you!”
• Ps 34:19 : 19 The godly face many dangers, but the LORD saves them from each one of them.
• Ps 36:1 : 1 For the music director; written by the LORD’s servant, David; an oracle. An evil man is rebellious to the core. He does not fear God,
• Ps 116:16 : 16 Yes, LORD! I am indeed your servant; I am your servant, the son of your female servant. You saved me from death.
• Ps 118:14 : 14 The LORD gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.”
• Ps 144:1-2 : 1 By David. The LORD, my protector, deserves praise– the one who trains my hands for battle, and my fingers for war, 2 who loves me and is my stronghold, my refuge and my deliverer, my shield and the one in whom I take shelter, who makes nations submit to me.
• Ps 18:32 : 32 The one true God gives me strength; he removes the obstacles in my way.
• Ps 28:7-8 : 7 The LORD strengthens and protects me; I trust in him with all my heart. I am rescued and my heart is full of joy; I will sing to him in gratitude. 8 The LORD strengthens his people; he protects and delivers his chosen king.
• Exod 15:1-9 : 1 The Song of Triumph Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD. They said,“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is his name. 4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea, and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them, they went down to the bottom like a stone. 6 Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power, your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. 7 In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You sent forth your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said,‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you?– majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place. 14 The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake. 16 Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people whom you have bought pass by. 17 You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in the place you made for your residence, O LORD, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. 18 The LORD will reign forever and ever! 19 For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.” 20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand-drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand-drums and with dances. 21 Miriam sang in response to them,“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.”
• Judg 5:1-9 : 1 Celebrating the Victory in Song On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song: 2 “When the leaders took the lead in Israel, When the people answered the call to war– Praise the LORD! 3 Hear, O kings! Pay attention, O rulers! I will sing to the LORD! I will sing to the LORD God of Israel! 4 O LORD, when you departed from Seir, when you marched from Edom’s plains, the earth shook, the heavens poured down, the clouds poured down rain. 5 The mountains trembled before the LORD, the God of Sinai; before the LORD God of Israel. 6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael caravans disappeared; travelers had to go on winding side roads. 7 Warriors were scarce, they were scarce in Israel, until you arose, Deborah, until you arose as a motherly protector in Israel. 8 God chose new leaders, then fighters appeared in the city gates; but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, among forty military units in Israel. 9 My heart went out to Israel’s leaders, to the people who answered the call to war. Praise the LORD! 10 You who ride on light-colored female donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, you who walk on the road, pay attention! 11 Hear the sound of those who divide the sheep among the watering places; there they tell of the LORD’s victorious deeds, the victorious deeds of his warriors in Israel. Then the LORD’s people went down to the city gates– 12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, sing a song! Get up, Barak! Capture your prisoners of war, son of Abinoam! 13 Then the survivors came down to the mighty ones; the LORD’s people came down to me as warriors. 14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, they follow after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers. From Makir leaders came down, from Zebulun came the ones who march carrying an officer’s staff. 15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah, the men of Issachar supported Barak; into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. Among the clans of Reuben there was intense heart searching. 16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks? As for the clans of Reuben– there was intense searching of heart. 17 Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River. As for Dan– why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? Asher remained on the seacoast, he stayed by his harbors. 18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; Naphtali charged on to the battlefields. 19 Kings came, they fought; the kings of Canaan fought, at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no silver as plunder. 20 From the sky the stars fought, from their paths in the heavens they fought against Sisera. 21 The Kishon River carried them off; the river confronted them– the Kishon River. Step on the necks of the strong! 22 The horses’ hooves pounded the ground; the stallions galloped madly. 23 ‘Call judgment down on Meroz,’ says the LORD’s angel;‘Be sure to call judgment down on those who live there, because they did not come to help in the LORD’s battle, to help in the LORD’s battle against the warriors.’ 24 The most rewarded of women should be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite! She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents. 25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for a king, she served him curds. 26 Her left hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. She“hammered” Sisera, she shattered his skull, she smashed his head, she drove the tent peg through his temple. 27 Between her feet he collapsed, he fell limp and was lifeless; between her feet he collapsed and fell, in the spot where he collapsed, there he fell– violently killed! 28 Through the window she looked; Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:‘Why is his chariot so slow to return? Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot-horses delayed?’ 29 The wisest of her ladies answer; indeed she even thinks to herself, 30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder– a girl or two for each man to rape! Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth, for the neck of the plunderer!’ 31 May all your enemies perish like this, O LORD! But may those who love you shine like the rising sun at its brightest!” And the land had rest for forty years.
• 1 Sam 2:1-9 : 1 Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer Hannah prayed,“My heart has rejoiced in the LORD; my horn has been raised high because of the LORD. I have loudly denounced my enemies. Indeed I rejoice in your deliverance. 2 No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one other than you! There is no rock like our God! 3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly. Proud talk should not come out of your mouth! For the LORD is a God who knows; he evaluates what people do. 4 The bows of warriors are shattered, but those who stumbled have taken on strength. 5 The well-fed hire themselves out to earn food, but the hungry no longer lack. Even the barren woman has given birth to seven, but the one with many children has declined. 6 The LORD both kills and gives life; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The LORD impoverishes and makes wealthy; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He lifts the weak from the dust; he raises the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes– he bestows on them an honored position. The foundations of the earth belong to the LORD– he placed the world on them. 9 He watches over his holy ones, but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness, for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails. 10 The LORD shatters his adversaries; he thunders against them from the heavens. The LORD executes judgment to the ends of the earth. He will strengthen his king and exalt the power of his anointed one.”
• Acts 13:36 : 36 For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died, was buried with his ancestors, and experienced decay,
• Heb 3:5 : 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken.
• Ps 116:1-6 : 1 I love the LORD because he heard my plea for mercy, 2 and listened to me. As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 3 The ropes of death tightened around me, the snares of Sheol confronted me. I was confronted with trouble and sorrow. 4 I called on the name of the LORD,“Please LORD, rescue my life!” 5 The LORD is merciful and fair; our God is compassionate. 6 The LORD protects the untrained; I was in serious trouble and he delivered me.