David’s Last Song

23 Now these are the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse declares,
(A)The man who was raised on high,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob
And the sweet psalmist of Israel, declares,
(C)The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,
And His word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel said it;
(D)The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
(E)He who rules over mankind righteously,
(F)Who rules in the fear of God,
(G)Is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the fresh grass springs out of the earth
From sunshine after rain.’
Is my house not indeed so with God?
For (H)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Properly ordered in all things, and secured;
For will He not indeed make
All my salvation and all my delight grow?
(I)But the worthless, every one of them, are like scattered thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
Instead, the man who touches them
Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And (J)they will be completely burned with fire in their [b]place.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit filled
  2. 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit sitting

23 These are the last words of David:

“David, the son of Jesse, speaks.

David, the man to whom God gave such wonderful success;

David, the anointed of the God of Jacob;

David, sweet psalmist of Israel:

The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,

And his word was on my tongue.

The Rock of Israel said to me:

‘One shall come who rules righteously,

Who rules in the fear of God.

He shall be as the light of the morning;

A cloudless sunrise

When the tender grass

Springs forth upon the earth;

As sunshine after rain.’

And it is my family

He has chosen!

Yes, God has made

An everlasting covenant with me;

His agreement is eternal, final, sealed.

He will constantly look after

My safety and success.[a]

But the godless are as thorns to be thrown away,

For they tear the hand that touches them.

One must be armed to chop them down;

They shall be burned.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 23:5 He will constantly look after my safety and success, literally, “He will cause my salvation and my desire to sprout.”