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2 Samuel 22
New American Standard Bible

David’s Psalm of Deliverance

22 (A)Now David spoke (B)the words of this song to the Lord on the day that the Lord had saved him from the [a]hand of all his enemies and from the [b]hand of Saul. 2 He said,

“(C)The Lord is my [c]rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3 [d](D)My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
My (E)shield and (F)the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and (G)my refuge;
My savior, You save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, (H)who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
5 For (I)the waves of death encompassed me;
(J)The floods of [e]destruction terrified me;
6 (K)The ropes of [f]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7 (L)In my distress I called upon the Lord,
Yes, I called out to my God;
And from His temple He heard my voice,
And my cry for help came into His ears.
8 Then (M)the earth shook and quaked,
(N)The foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
9 Smoke went up [g]out of His nostrils,
(O)And fire from His mouth was devouring;
(P)Coals were kindled by it.
10 He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With (Q)thick darkness under His feet.
11 (R)He rode on a cherub and flew;
He [h]appeared on (S)the wings of the wind.
12 (T)He made darkness canopies around Him,
A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
13 From the brightness before Him
(U)Coals of fire were kindled.
14 (V)The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
15 (W)And He shot arrows and scattered them,
Lightning, and [i]routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were exposed
By the rebuke of the Lord,
(X)From the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17 (Y)He sent from on high, He took me;
(Z)He drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me on the day of my disaster,
(AA)But the Lord was my support.
20 (AB)He also brought me out into an open place;
He rescued me, (AC)because He delighted in me.
21 (AD)The Lord has treated me in accordance with my righteousness;
(AE)In accordance with the cleanliness of my hands He has repaid me.
22 (AF)For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not acted wickedly against my God.
23 (AG)For all His ordinances were before me,
And as for His statutes, I did not deviate from [j]them.
24 (AH)I was also [k]blameless toward Him,
And I have kept myself from my wrongdoing.
25 (AI)So the Lord has repaid me in accordance with my righteousness,
In accordance with my cleanliness before His eyes.
26 (AJ)With the one who is faithful You show Yourself faithful,
With the [l]blameless one You prove Yourself [m]blameless;
27 (AK)With the one who is pure You show Yourself pure,
(AL)But with the perverted You [n]show Yourself astute.
28 (AM)And You save an afflicted people;
(AN)But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You humiliate.
29 (AO)For You are my lamp, Lord;
And the Lord illuminates my darkness.
30 (AP)For by You I can run at a [o]troop of warriors;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
31 (AQ)As for God, His way is [p]blameless;
(AR)The word of the Lord is refined;
(AS)He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 (AT)For who is God, except the Lord?
(AU)And who is a rock, except our God?
33 (AV)God is my strong fortress;
And He [q]sets the [r]blameless on [s]His way.
34 (AW)He makes [t]my feet like deer’s feet,
(AX)And sets me on my high places.
35 (AY)He trains my hands for battle,
(AZ)So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have also given me (BA)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your [u]help makes me great.
37 (BB)You enlarge my steps under me,
And my [v]feet have not slipped.
38 I pursued my enemies and (BC)eliminated them,
And I did not turn back until they were finished off.
39 And I have devoured them and smashed them, so that they would not rise;
And (BD)they fell under my feet.
40 For You have encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced (BE)those who rose up against me to bow down under me.
41 You have also (BF)made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I [w]destroyed those who hated me.
42 (BG)They looked, but there was no one to save them;
(BH)Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43 (BI)Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;
(BJ)I crushed and trampled them like the mud of the streets.
44 (BK)You have also saved me from the contentions of my people;
(BL)You have kept me as head of the nations;
(BM)A people I have not known serve me.
45 (BN)Foreigners pretend to obey me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 Foreigners lose heart,
(BO)And [x]come trembling out of their fortresses.
47 The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock;
And exalted be [y](BP)my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 (BQ)The God who executes vengeance for me,
(BR)And brings down peoples under me,
49 Who also brings me out from my enemies;
You also raise me above (BS)those who rise up against me;
(BT)You rescue me from the violent person.
50 (BU)Therefore I will [z]give thanks to You, Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
51 (BV)He is a tower of [aa]salvation to His king,
And (BW)shows favor to His anointed,
(BX)To David and his [ab]descendants forever.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit palm
  2. 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit palm
  3. 2 Samuel 22:2 Lit crag
  4. 2 Samuel 22:3 As in LXX; MT God of my rock
  5. 2 Samuel 22:5 Or wickedness; Heb Belial
  6. 2 Samuel 22:6 I.e., the netherworld
  7. 2 Samuel 22:9 I.e., in his anger
  8. 2 Samuel 22:11 Many mss glided
  9. 2 Samuel 22:15 Lit confused
  10. 2 Samuel 22:23 Lit it
  11. 2 Samuel 22:24 Lit complete; or having integrity
  12. 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
  13. 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
  14. 2 Samuel 22:27 As in two Heb mss and Ps 18:26; MT pretend stupidity
  15. 2 Samuel 22:30 Or wall
  16. 2 Samuel 22:31 Lit complete; or having integrity
  17. 2 Samuel 22:33 Or sets free
  18. 2 Samuel 22:33 Lit complete; or having integrity
  19. 2 Samuel 22:33 Another reading is my
  20. 2 Samuel 22:34 Another reading is His
  21. 2 Samuel 22:36 Lit answering
  22. 2 Samuel 22:37 Lit ankles
  23. 2 Samuel 22:41 Or silenced
  24. 2 Samuel 22:46 Reading based on Ps 18:45; MT belt up themselves
  25. 2 Samuel 22:47 As in LXX; MT the God of the rock
  26. 2 Samuel 22:50 Or praise
  27. 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit acts of salvation
  28. 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit seed
Close CEB

2 Samuel 22
Common English Bible

David’s thanksgiving psalm

22 [a] David spoke the words of this song to the Lord after the Lord delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from Saul.

2 He said:
    The Lord is my solid rock, my fortress, my rescuer.
3     My God is my rock—I take refuge in him!—
    he’s my shield and my salvation’s strength,
    my place of safety and my shelter.
    My savior! Save me from violence!
4 Because he is praiseworthy,[b]
    I cried out to the Lord,
    and I was saved from my enemies.
5 Death’s waves were all around me;
    rivers of wickedness terrified me.
6 The cords of the grave[c] surrounded me;
    death’s traps held me tight.
7 In my distress I cried out to the Lord;
    I cried out to my God.
God heard my voice from his temple;
    my cry for help reached his ears.

8 The earth rocked and shook;
    the sky’s foundations trembled
    and reeled because of God’s anger.
9 Smoke went up from God’s nostrils;
    out of his mouth came a devouring fire;
    flaming coals blazed out in front of him!
10 God parted the skies and came down;
    thick darkness was beneath his feet.
11 God mounted the heavenly creatures and flew;
    he was seen on the wind’s wings.
12 God made darkness his covering;
    water gathered in dense clouds!
13 Coals of fire blazed out of the brightness before him.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the Most High made his voice heard.
15 God shot arrows, scattering the enemy;
    he sent the lightning and whipped them into confusion.
16 The seabeds were exposed;
    the earth’s foundations were laid bare at the Lord’s rebuke,
        at the angry blast of air coming from his nostrils.

17 From on high God reached down and grabbed me;
    he took me out of deep waters.
18 God saved me from my powerful enemy,
    saved me from my foes, who were too much for me.
19 They came at me on the very day of my distress,
    but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out to wide-open spaces;
    he pulled me out, because he is pleased with me.
21 The Lord rewarded me for my righteousness;
    he restored me because my hands are clean,
22     because I have kept the Lord’s ways.
    I haven’t acted wickedly against my God.
23 All his rules are right in front of me;
    I haven’t turned away from any of his laws.
24 I have lived with integrity before him;
    I’ve kept myself from wrongdoing.
25 And so the Lord restored me for my righteousness,
    because I am clean in his eyes.

26 You deal faithfully with the faithful;
    you show integrity toward the one who has integrity.
27 You are pure toward the pure,
    but toward the crooked, you are tricky.
28 You are the one who saves people who suffer,
    but your eyes are against the proud.
    You bring them down!
29 You are my lamp, Lord;
    the Lord illumines my darkness.
30 With you I can charge into battle;
    with my God I can leap over a wall.
31 God! His way is perfect;
    the Lord’s word is tried and true.
    He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

32 Now really, who is divine except the Lord?
    And who is a rock except our God?
33 Only God! My mighty fortress,
    who makes my way[d] perfect,
34 who makes my step[e] as sure as the deer’s,
    who lets me stand securely on the heights,
35 who trains my hands for war
    so my arms can bend a bronze bow.
36 You’ve given me the shield of your salvation;
        your help has made me great.
37 You’ve let me walk fast and safe,
    without even twisting an ankle.
38 I chased my enemies and destroyed them!
    I didn’t come home until I finished them off.
39 I ate them up! I struck them down!
    They couldn’t get up;
        they fell under my feet.
40 You equipped me with strength for war;
    you brought my adversaries down underneath me.
41 You made my enemies turn tail from me;
    I destroyed my foes.
42 They looked around, but there was no one to save them.
    They looked to the Lord, but he wouldn’t answer them.
43 I crushed them like dust on the ground;
    I stomped on them, trampled them like mud dumped in the streets.
44 You delivered me from struggles with many people;
    you appointed me the leader of many nations.
    Strangers come to serve me.
45 Foreigners grovel before me;
    after hearing about me, they obey me.
46     Foreigners lose their nerve;
    they come trembling out of their fortresses.[f]

47 The Lord lives! Bless God, my rock!
    Let my God, the rock of my salvation, be lifted high!
48 This is the God who avenges on my behalf,
    who subdues peoples before me,
49     who rescues me from my enemies.
You lifted me high above my adversaries;
    you delivered me from violent people.
50 That’s why I thank you, Lord, in the presence of the nations.
    That’s why I sing praises to your name.
51 You are the one who gives great victories to your king,
    who shows faithful love to your anointed one—
    to David and to his descendants forever.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 22:1 This poem also occurs in Psalm 18 with some variations.
  2. 2 Samuel 22:4 Heb uncertain
  3. 2 Samuel 22:6 Heb Sheol
  4. 2 Samuel 22:33 Qere; Kethib his way
  5. 2 Samuel 22:34 Qere; Kethib his step
  6. 2 Samuel 22:46 Or prisons
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2 Samuel 21
2 Samuel 23
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