who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
Parallel translations
- WEB He rescues me from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man.
- KJV He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
- NKJV He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.
- NASB He rescues me from my enemies; You indeed lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from a violent man.
- NLT and rescues me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God rescues David, lifts him above his attackers, and delivers him from violent men. Every form of deliverance is ascribed to the Lord.
Overview
David layers verbs of rescue, exaltation, and deliverance to stress how completely God preserves him from violence. The shift to direct address ('you lift me up') makes the praise personal and grateful. Such deliverance from the hand of the violent foreshadows the Father's vindication of Christ, raised up above all his enemies.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 140:11May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
- Ps 140:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence,
- Ps 140:4Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble.
- Ps 86:14The arrogant rise against me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, with no regard for You.
- Ps 59:1–2For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise against me.
- Ps 7:16His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
- Ps 89:13Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand. Your right hand is exalted.
- Ps 22:27–30All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Phil 2:9Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 18:48 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.