2 Samuel 22
Holman Christian Standard Bible
David’s Song of Thanksgiving
22 David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:(A)
The Lord is my rock, my fortress,(B) and my deliverer,
3 my God, my mountain[a] where I seek refuge.
My shield, the horn of my salvation,(C) my stronghold,(D) my refuge,(E)
and my Savior, You save me from violence.
4 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(F)
and I was saved from my enemies.
5 For the waves of death engulfed me;(G)
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
6 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(H)
7 I called to the Lord in my distress;
I called to my God.(I)
From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry for help reached His ears.
8 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the heavens[b] trembled;(J)
they shook because He burned with anger.(K)
9 Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[c]
10 He parted the heavens and came down,(L)
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring[d] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness a canopy around Him,
a gathering[e] of water and thick clouds.(M)
13 From the radiance of His presence,
flaming coals were ignited.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High projected His voice.(N)
15 He shot arrows and scattered them;(O)
He hurled lightning bolts and routed them.(P)
16 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath(Q) of His nostrils.(R)
17 He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.(S)
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out to a spacious place;(T)
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(U)
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(V)
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord(W)
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
23 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances(X) in mind[f]
and have not disregarded His statutes.
24 I was blameless before Him
and kept myself from sinning.
25 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[g] in His sight.
26 With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
27 with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.
28 You rescue an afflicted people,(Y)
but Your eyes are set against the proud—
You humble them.(Z)
29 Lord, You are my lamp;
the Lord illuminates my darkness.(AA)
30 With You I can attack a barrier,[h]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(AB)
31 God—His way is perfect;(AC)
the word of the Lord is pure.(AD)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
33 God is my strong refuge;[i]
He makes my way perfect.[j]
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the[k] heights.[l]
35 He trains my hands for war;(AE)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of Your salvation;(AF)
Your help[m] exalts me.
37 You widen a place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.
38 I pursue my enemies and destroy them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
39 I wipe them out and crush them,
and they do not rise;
they fall beneath my feet.
40 You have clothed me with strength for battle;
You subdue my adversaries beneath me.(AG)
41 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[n]
I annihilate those who hate me.
42 They look, but there is no one to save them—
they look to the Lord, but He does not answer them.(AH)
43 I pulverize them like dust of the earth;
I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.(AI)
44 You have freed me from the feuds among my people;(AJ)
You have appointed me the head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.(AK)
45 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(AL)
47 The Lord lives—may my rock be praised!
God, the rock of my salvation,(AM) is exalted.
48 God—He gives me vengeance
and casts down peoples under me.(AN)
49 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
You rescue me from violent men.(AO)
50 Therefore I will praise You, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing about Your name.(AP)
51 He is a tower of salvation for[o] His king;
He shows loyalty to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(AQ)
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:3 LXX; MT reads God of my mountain; Ps 18:2
- 2 Samuel 22:8 Some Hb mss, Syr, Vg read mountains; Ps 18:7
- 2 Samuel 22:9 Or ablaze from Him
- 2 Samuel 22:11 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, Syr, Tg read He was seen
- 2 Samuel 22:12 Or sieve, or mass; Hb obscure
- 2 Samuel 22:23 Lit Indeed, all His ordinances have been in front of me
- 2 Samuel 22:25 LXX, Syr, Vg read to the cleanness of my hands; Ps 18:24
- 2 Samuel 22:30 Or ridge
- 2 Samuel 22:33 DSS, some LXX mss, Syr, Vg read God clothes me with strength; Ps 18:32
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Some LXX mss, Syr; MT reads He sets free the blameless His way; Hb obscure
- 2 Samuel 22:34 LXX; some Hb mss read my; other Hb mss read His
- 2 Samuel 22:34 Or on my high places
- 2 Samuel 22:36 LXX reads humility; Ps 18:35
- 2 Samuel 22:41 Lit You gave me the neck of my enemies
- 2 Samuel 22:51 DSS read He gives great victory to
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
- 2 Samuel 22:1 This poem also occurs in Psalm 18 with some variations.
- 2 Samuel 22:4 Heb uncertain
- 2 Samuel 22:6 Heb Sheol
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Qere; Kethib his way
- 2 Samuel 22:34 Qere; Kethib his step
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Or prisons
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