2 Samuel 22

New International Version

David’s Song of Praise^(A)

22 David sang^(B) to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ²He said:

“The Lord is my rock,^(C) my fortress^(D) and my deliverer;^(E)
³    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,^(F)
    my shield^[a]^(G) and the horn^[b]^(H) of my salvation.
He is my stronghold,^(I) my refuge and my savior—
    from violent people you save me.

⁴“I called to the Lord, who is worthy^(J) of praise,
    and have been saved from my enemies.
⁵The waves^(K) of death swirled about me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
⁶The cords of the grave^(L) coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

⁷“In my distress^(M) I called^(N) to the Lord;
    I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came to his ears.
⁸The earth^(O) trembled and quaked,^(P)
    the foundations^(Q) of the heavens^[c] shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.
⁹Smoke rose from his nostrils;
    consuming fire^(R) came from his mouth,
    burning coals^(S) blazed out of it.
¹⁰He parted the heavens and came down;
    dark clouds^(T) were under his feet.
¹¹He mounted the cherubim^(U) and flew;
    he soared^[d] on the wings of the wind.^(V)
¹²He made darkness^(W) his canopy around him—
    the dark^[e] rain clouds of the sky.
¹³Out of the brightness of his presence
    bolts of lightning^(X) blazed forth.
¹⁴The Lord thundered^(Y) from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.
¹⁵He shot his arrows^(Z) and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
¹⁶The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke^(AA) of the Lord,
    at the blast^(AB) of breath from his nostrils.

¹⁷“He reached down from on high^(AC) and took hold of me;
    he drew^(AD) me out of deep waters.
¹⁸He rescued^(AE) me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.^(AF)
²⁰He brought me out into a spacious^(AG) place;
    he rescued^(AH) me because he delighted^(AI) in me.^(AJ)

²¹“The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;^(AK)
    according to the cleanness^(AL) of my hands^(AM) he has rewarded me.
²²For I have kept^(AN) the ways of the Lord;
    I am not guilty of turning from my God.
²³All his laws are before me;^(AO)
    I have not turned^(AP) away from his decrees.
²⁴I have been blameless^(AQ) before him
    and have kept myself from sin.
²⁵The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,^(AR)
    according to my cleanness^[f] in his sight.

²⁶“To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
    to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
²⁷to the pure^(AS) you show yourself pure,
    but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.^(AT)
²⁸You save the humble,^(AU)
    but your eyes are on the haughty^(AV) to bring them low.^(AW)
²⁹You, Lord, are my lamp;^(AX)
    the Lord turns my darkness into light.
³⁰With your help I can advance against a troop^[g];
    with my God I can scale a wall.

³¹“As for God, his way is perfect:^(AY)
    The Lord’s word is flawless;^(AZ)
    he shields^(BA) all who take refuge in him.
³²For who is God besides the Lord?
    And who is the Rock^(BB) except our God?^(BC)
³³It is God who arms me with strength^[h]
    and keeps my way secure.
³⁴He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;^(BD)
    he causes me to stand on the heights.^(BE)
³⁵He trains my hands^(BF) for battle;
    my arms can bend a bow^(BG) of bronze.
³⁶You make your saving help my shield;^(BH)
    your help has made^[i] me great.
³⁷You provide a broad path^(BI) for my feet,
    so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁸“I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
³⁹I crushed^(BJ) them completely, and they could not rise;
    they fell beneath my feet.
⁴⁰You armed me with strength for battle;
    you humbled my adversaries before me.^(BK)
⁴¹You made my enemies turn their backs^(BL) in flight,
    and I destroyed my foes.
⁴²They cried for help,^(BM) but there was no one to save them—^(BN)
    to the Lord, but he did not answer.^(BO)
⁴³I beat them as fine as the dust^(BP) of the earth;
    I pounded and trampled^(BQ) them like mud^(BR) in the streets.

⁴⁴“You have delivered^(BS) me from the attacks of the peoples;
    you have preserved^(BT) me as the head of nations.
People^(BU) I did not know now serve me,
⁴⁵    foreigners cower^(BV) before me;
    as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.^(BW)
⁴⁶They all lose heart;
    they come trembling^[j]^(BX) from their strongholds.

⁴⁷“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
    Exalted^(BY) be my God, the Rock, my Savior!^(BZ)
⁴⁸He is the God who avenges^(CA) me,^(CB)
    who puts the nations under me,
⁴⁹    who sets me free from my enemies.^(CC)
You exalted me^(CD) above my foes;
    from a violent man you rescued me.
⁵⁰Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing the praises^(CE) of your name.^(CF)

⁵¹“He gives his king great victories;^(CG)
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,^(CH)
to David^(CI) and his descendants forever.”^(CJ)

Footnotes

2 Samuel 22:3 Or sovereign
2 Samuel 22:3 Horn here symbolizes strength.
2 Samuel 22:8 Hebrew; Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:7) mountains
2 Samuel 22:11 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Psalm 18:10); most Hebrew manuscripts appeared
2 Samuel 22:12 Septuagint (see also Psalm 18:11); Hebrew massed
2 Samuel 22:25 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:24) to the cleanness of my hands
2 Samuel 22:30 Or can run through a barricade
2 Samuel 22:33 Dead Sea Scrolls, some Septuagint manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:32); Masoretic Text who is my strong refuge
2 Samuel 22:36 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text shield; / you stoop down to make
2 Samuel 22:46 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:45); Masoretic Text they arm themselves

1 Chronicles 17

New International Version

God’s Promise to David^(A)

17 After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.^(B)”

²Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind,^(C) do it, for God is with you.”

³But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

⁴“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You^(D) are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. ⁵I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. ⁶Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders^[a] whom I commanded to shepherd my people, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?^(E)”’

⁷“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler^(F) over my people Israel. ⁸I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth. ⁹And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹⁰and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders^(G) over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.

“‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you: ¹¹When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹²He is the one who will build^(H) a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.^(I) ¹³I will be his father,^(J) and he will be my son.^(K) I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne^(L) will be established forever.^(M)’”

¹⁵Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer^(N)

¹⁶Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ¹⁷And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men.

¹⁸“What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, ¹⁹Lord. For the sake^(O) of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.^(P)

²⁰“There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you,^(Q) as we have heard with our own ears. ²¹And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem^(R) a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? ²²You made your people Israel your very own forever,^(S) and you, Lord, have become their God.

²³“And now, Lord, let the promise^(T) you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, ²⁴so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

²⁵“You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. ²⁶You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁷Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight;^(U) for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”