The Meaning of Psalms 18:18 Explained

Psalms 18:18

KJV: They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

YLT: They go before me in a day of my calamity And Jehovah is for a support to me.

Darby: They encountered me in the day of my calamity, but Jehovah was my stay.

ASV: They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They prevented  me in the day  of my calamity:  but the LORD  was my stay. 

What does Psalms 18:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 18:1-26 - A Wonderful Deliverance
There is another edition of this psalm in 2 Samuel 22:1-51. Psalms 18:2 and Psalms 18:49 are applied in the New Testament to the Lord Jesus, Hebrews 2:13 and Romans 15:9. We begin with the psalmist's good resolve, Psalms 18:1-3. No single metaphor can comprehend the whole of God's helpfulness to men; but can we say, "I love thee"? See John 21:17. "Thou knowest!"
The story of the past, Psalms 18:4-19. We also have our Red Seas. In our distress let us also cry. The voice of the sufferer may be weak and solitary, but it reaches through the gates of pearl and moves creation! Luke 8:46.
The confident claim of the righteous, Psalms 18:20-26. We cannot boast a righteousness of our own, but we stand in Christ. We are full of impurity and evil, but we may claim at least integrity of motive. Compare Psalms 18:26 with Leviticus 26:21-24. The wind blows in one direction; you can walk against it or with it-take your choice. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 18

1  David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings

What do the individual words in Psalms 18:18 mean?

they confronted me in the day of my calamity but was Yahweh my support to
יְקַדְּמ֥וּנִי בְיוֹם־ אֵידִ֑י וַֽיְהִי־ יְהוָ֖ה לְמִשְׁעָ֣ן לִֽי

יְקַדְּמ֥וּנִי  they  confronted  me 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: קָדַם  
Sense: to meet, come or be in front, confront, go before.
בְיוֹם־  in  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אֵידִ֑י  of  my  calamity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אֵיד  
Sense: distress, burden, calamity.
וַֽיְהִי־  but  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לְמִשְׁעָ֣ן  my  support 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁעָן 
Sense: support, staff.