2 Samuel 22:21-51

English Standard Version

²¹ “The Lord ^(A)dealt with me according to my righteousness;
    according to the ^(B)cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
^22 (C)For I have kept the ways of the Lord
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.
^23 (D)For all his rules were before me,
    and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
²⁴ I was ^(E)blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from guilt.
^25 (F)And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to my cleanness in his sight.

^26 (G)“With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the ^(H)blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁷ with the purified you deal purely,
    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
^28 (I)You save a humble people,
    ^(J)but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
^29 (K)For you are my lamp, O Lord,
    and my God lightens my darkness.
³⁰ For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³¹ This God—^(L)his way is perfect;
    the ^(M)word of the Lord proves true;
    he is ^(N)a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

³² “For who is God, but the Lord?
    ^(O)And who is a rock, except our God?
³³ This God is my ^(P)strong refuge
    and has made my^[a] way blameless.^[b]
34 (Q)He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure ^(R)on the heights.
^35 (S)He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁶ You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your gentleness made me great.
^37 (T)You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet^[c] did not slip;
³⁸ I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
    and did not turn back until they were consumed.
³⁹ I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
    they fell ^(U)under my feet.
⁴⁰ For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made ^(V)those who rise against me sink under me.
⁴¹ You ^(W)made my enemies turn their backs to me,^[d]
    those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
⁴² They looked, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the Lord, but ^(X)he did not answer them.
⁴³ I beat them fine ^(Y)as the dust of the earth;
    I crushed them and stamped them down ^(Z)like the mire of the streets.

⁴⁴ “You delivered me from strife with my people;^[e]
    you kept me as the head of ^(AA)the nations;
    ^(AB)people whom I had not known served me.
⁴⁵ Foreigners came cringing to me;
    as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
⁴⁶ Foreigners lost heart
    and came trembling^{[f] (AC)}out of their fortresses.

⁴⁷ “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be ^(AD)my God, ^(AE)the rock of my salvation,
⁴⁸ the God who gave me vengeance
    and ^(AF)brought down peoples under me,
⁴⁹ who brought me out from my enemies;
    you exalted me above ^(AG)those who rose against me;
    you delivered me from ^(AH)men of violence.

^50 (AI)“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
    and sing praises to your name.
^51 (AJ)Great salvation he brings^[g] to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to ^(AK)his anointed,
    to David and his offspring ^(AL)forever.”