King James Version · The united kingdom
Psalms 18
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
To the , , the , who spake unto the words of this song in the day that him from the hand of all his , and from the hand of : And he said, I will love thee, O , my strength. is , and my , and my deliverer; my , my strength, in whom I will ; my buckler, and of my , and my high tower. I will call upon , who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be from mine . The sorrows of compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of prevented me. In my distress I called upon , and cried unto my : he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and out of his devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed also, and came down: and was . And he rode upon a , and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the of the wind. He made his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of . also thundered in , and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of . Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O , at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he me, because he delighted in me. rewarded me according to my ; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of , and have not wickedly departed from my . For all his judgments were before me, and I did not his from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine . Therefore hath recompensed me according to my , according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. For thou wilt people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt my candle: my will enlighten my . For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my have I leaped over a wall. As for , his way is perfect: the word of is tried: he is a buckler to all those that in him. For who is ? or who is a our ? It is that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my . He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy : and thy hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. I have pursued mine , and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine ; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to them: even unto , but he answered them not. Then did I beat them small as before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. Thou hast me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. liveth; and be ; and let the of my be exalted. It is that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine : yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast me from the man. Therefore will I unto thee, O , among the heathen, and sing unto thy name. Great giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his , to , and to for evermore.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.
All of Psalms
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150