2 Samuel 22-23
New American Standard Bible 1995
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. 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 torrents of [e]destruction [f]overwhelmed me;
6 (K)The cords of [g]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7 “(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.
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 [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.”
David’s Last Song
23 Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares,
(BY)The man who was raised on high declares,
(BZ)The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel,
2 “(CA)The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 “The God of Israel said,
(CB)The Rock of Israel spoke to me,
‘(CC)He who rules over men righteously,
(CD)Who rules in the fear of God,
4 (CE)Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the tender grass springs out of the earth,
Through sunshine after rain.’
5 “Truly is not my house so with God?
For (CF)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Ordered in all things, and secured;
For all my salvation and all my desire,
Will He not indeed make it grow?
6 “(CG)But the worthless, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 But the man who touches them
Must be [ak]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And (CH)they will be completely burned with fire in their [al]place.”
His Mighty Men
8 (CI)These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the [am]captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time; 9 and after him was Eleazar the son of (CJ)Dodo the (CK)Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they [an]defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had [ao]withdrawn. 10 (CL)He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and [ap]clung to the sword, and (CM)the Lord brought about a great [aq]victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.
11 Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a (CN)Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered [ar]into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and (CO)the Lord brought about a great [as]victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the (CP)cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in (CQ)the valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then (CR)in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 (CS)David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16 (CT)So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but (CU)poured it out to the Lord; 17 and he said, “Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. (CV)Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
18 (CW)Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was (CX)chief of the [at]thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred [au]and killed them, and had a name as well as the three. 19 He was most honored of the thirty, therefore he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the three.
20 Then (CY)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of (CZ)Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, [av]killed the [aw]two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. 21 He [ax]killed an Egyptian, [ay]an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things (DA)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. 23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.
24 (DB)Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 (DC)Shammah the (DD)Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the (DE)Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the (DF)Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the (DG)Netophathite, 29 (DH)Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of (DI)Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah a (DJ)Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of (DK)Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the (DL)Barhumite, 32 Eliahba the (DM)Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 (DN)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of (DO)the Maacathite, (DP)Eliam the son of (DQ)Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 (DR)Hezro the (DS)Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of (DT)Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the (DU)Beerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the (DV)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 (DW)Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit palm
- 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit palm
- 2 Samuel 22:2 Lit crag
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Lit God of my rock
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Heb Belial
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Or terrified
- 2 Samuel 22:6 I.e. the nether world
- 2 Samuel 22:7 Or called
- 2 Samuel 22:9 Or in His wrath
- 2 Samuel 22:11 Many mss read sped
- 2 Samuel 22:12 Or pavilions
- 2 Samuel 22:15 Lit confused
- 2 Samuel 22:16 Or uncovered
- 2 Samuel 22:23 Lit it
- 2 Samuel 22:24 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:26 Or loyal
- 2 Samuel 22:26 Or loyal
- 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:27 Lit twisted
- 2 Samuel 22:30 Or crush a troop
- 2 Samuel 22:31 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Or sets free
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Another reading is my
- 2 Samuel 22:34 Another reading is His
- 2 Samuel 22:36 Lit answering
- 2 Samuel 22:37 Lit ankles
- 2 Samuel 22:40 Lit caused to bow down
- 2 Samuel 22:41 Or silenced
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit languish
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit gird themselves
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit fastnesses
- 2 Samuel 22:47 Lit the God of the rock
- 2 Samuel 22:51 I.e. victories; lit salvation
- 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit seed
- 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit filled
- 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit sitting
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Or three
- 2 Samuel 23:9 Lit reproached
- 2 Samuel 23:9 Lit gone up
- 2 Samuel 23:10 Lit his hand clung
- 2 Samuel 23:10 Lit salvation
- 2 Samuel 23:11 Possibly, at Lehi
- 2 Samuel 23:12 Lit salvation
- 2 Samuel 23:18 So two Heb mss and Syriac; M.T. three
- 2 Samuel 23:18 Lit slain ones
- 2 Samuel 23:20 Lit smote
- 2 Samuel 23:20 Or two lion-like heroes
- 2 Samuel 23:21 Lit smote
- 2 Samuel 23:21 Lit a man of appearance
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
