David’s Psalm of Deliverance

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

(C)The Lord is my [c]rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
[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.
“I call upon the Lord, (H)who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
“For (I)the waves of death encompassed me;
(J)The torrents of [e]destruction [f]overwhelmed me;
(K)The cords of [g]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
(L)In my distress I called upon the Lord,
Yes, I [h]cried to my God;
And from His temple He heard my voice,
And my cry for help came into His ears.
“Then (M)the earth shook and quaked,
(N)The foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
“Smoke went up [i]out of His nostrils,
(O)Fire from His mouth devoured;
(P)Coals were kindled by it.
10 “He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With (Q)thick darkness under His feet.
11 (R)And He rode on a cherub and flew;
And He [j]appeared on (S)the wings of the wind.
12 (T)And He made darkness [k]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 sent out arrows, and scattered them,
Lightning, and [l]routed them.
16 “Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were [m]laid bare
By the rebuke of the Lord,
(X)At 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 delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
19 “They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
(AA)But the Lord was my support.
20 (AB)He also brought me forth into a broad place;
He rescued me, (AC)because He delighted in me.
21 (AD)The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
(AE)According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed 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 depart from [n]them.
24 (AH)I was also [o]blameless toward Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 (AI)Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness before His eyes.
26 (AJ)With the [p]kind You show Yourself [q]kind,
With the [r]blameless You show Yourself [s]blameless;
27 (AK)With the pure You show Yourself pure,
(AL)And with the perverted You show Yourself [t]astute.
28 (AM)And You save an afflicted people;
(AN)But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.
29 (AO)For You are my lamp, O Lord;
And the Lord illumines my darkness.
30 (AP)For by You I can [u]run upon a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
31 (AQ)As for God, His way is [v]blameless;
(AR)The word of the Lord is tested;
(AS)He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 (AT)For who is God, besides the Lord?
(AU)And who is a rock, besides our God?
33 (AV)God is my strong fortress;
And He [w]sets the [x]blameless in [y]His way.
34 (AW)He makes [z]my feet like hinds’ 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 [aa]help makes me great.
37 (BB)You enlarge my steps under me,
And my [ab]feet have not slipped.
38 “I pursued my enemies and (BC)destroyed them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 “And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise;
And (BD)they fell under my feet.
40 “For You have girded me with strength for battle;
You have [ac]subdued under me (BE)those who rose up against me.
41 “You have also (BF)made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I [ad]destroyed those who hated me.
42 (BG)They looked, but there was none to save;
(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 stamped them as the mire of the streets.
44 (BK)You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;
(BL)You have kept me as head of the nations;
(BM)A people whom I have not known serve me.
45 (BN)Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 “Foreigners [ae]lose heart,
(BO)And [af]come trembling out of their [ag]fortresses.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be [ah](BP)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 even lift me above (BS)those who rise up against me;
(BT)You rescue me from the violent man.
50 (BU)Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
51 (BV)He is a tower of [ai]deliverance to His king,
And (BW)shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
(BX)To David and his [aj]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 Lit God of my rock
  5. 2 Samuel 22:5 Heb Belial
  6. 2 Samuel 22:5 Or terrified
  7. 2 Samuel 22:6 I.e. the nether world
  8. 2 Samuel 22:7 Or called
  9. 2 Samuel 22:9 Or in His wrath
  10. 2 Samuel 22:11 Many mss read sped
  11. 2 Samuel 22:12 Or pavilions
  12. 2 Samuel 22:15 Lit confused
  13. 2 Samuel 22:16 Or uncovered
  14. 2 Samuel 22:23 Lit it
  15. 2 Samuel 22:24 Lit complete; or having integrity
  16. 2 Samuel 22:26 Or loyal
  17. 2 Samuel 22:26 Or loyal
  18. 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
  19. 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
  20. 2 Samuel 22:27 Lit twisted
  21. 2 Samuel 22:30 Or crush a troop
  22. 2 Samuel 22:31 Lit complete; or having integrity
  23. 2 Samuel 22:33 Or sets free
  24. 2 Samuel 22:33 Lit complete; or having integrity
  25. 2 Samuel 22:33 Another reading is my
  26. 2 Samuel 22:34 Another reading is His
  27. 2 Samuel 22:36 Lit answering
  28. 2 Samuel 22:37 Lit ankles
  29. 2 Samuel 22:40 Lit caused to bow down
  30. 2 Samuel 22:41 Or silenced
  31. 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit languish
  32. 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit gird themselves
  33. 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit fastnesses
  34. 2 Samuel 22:47 Lit the God of the rock
  35. 2 Samuel 22:51 I.e. victories; lit salvation
  36. 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit seed

The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, [a]who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,

18 “I love You, O Lord, (A)my strength.”
The Lord is (B)my [b]rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.

The (J)cords of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of [c]ungodliness [d]terrified me.
The (L)cords of [e]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my (M)distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)out of His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
Smoke went up [f]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
He (S)bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [g]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 The Lord also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [h]routed them.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were [i]laid bare
At Your (AD)rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.

16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my calamity,
But (AK)the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a (AL)broad place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.

20 The Lord has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have (AQ)not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all (AR)His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [j](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the Lord has (AV)recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25 With (AW)the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the [k]blameless (AX)You show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [l]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But (BB)haughty eyes You abase.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
The Lord my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [m](BE)run upon a troop;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.

30 As for God, His way is [n](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of the Lord is tried;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)girds me with strength
And [o]makes my way [p](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And (BO)sets me upon my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [q]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my [r](BV)feet have not slipped.

37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)girded me with strength for battle;
You have [s](CB)subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [t](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)none to save,
Even to the Lord, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners [u](CK)submit to me.
45 Foreigners (CL)fade away,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [v]fortresses.

46 The Lord (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And exalted be (CP)the God of my salvation,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 He (CS)delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [w](CX)deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his [x]descendants forever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 18:1 2 Sam 22:1-51
  2. Psalm 18:2 Or crag
  3. Psalm 18:4 Or destruction; Heb Belial
  4. Psalm 18:4 Or were assailing or terrifying
  5. Psalm 18:5 I.e. the nether world
  6. Psalm 18:8 Or in His wrath
  7. Psalm 18:11 Or pavilion
  8. Psalm 18:14 Lit confused
  9. Psalm 18:15 Or uncovered
  10. Psalm 18:23 Lit complete; or having integrity; or perfect
  11. Psalm 18:25 V 23, note 1
  12. Psalm 18:26 Lit twisted
  13. Psalm 18:29 Or crush a troop
  14. Psalm 18:30 V 23, note 1
  15. Psalm 18:32 Or has made
  16. Psalm 18:32 Lit complete; or having integrity
  17. Psalm 18:35 Or condescension
  18. Psalm 18:36 Lit ankles
  19. Psalm 18:39 Lit caused to bow down
  20. Psalm 18:40 Or silenced
  21. Psalm 18:44 Lit deceive me; i.e. give feigned obedience
  22. Psalm 18:45 Lit fastnesses
  23. Psalm 18:50 I.e. victories; lit salvations
  24. Psalm 18:50 Lit seed