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
Lexham English Bible
The Victory Song of David
22 Then David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song,[a] on the day Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 And he said:
“Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
3 I take refuge in God, my rock,[b] my shield, and the strength[c] of my salvation.
My stronghold and my refuge, O my savior, you will save me from violence!
4 I call upon Yahweh who is praiseworthy,
and I am saved from those who hate me.
5 For the breaker waves of death engulfed me;
the currents of chaos overwhelmed me.
6 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 In my distress I called upon Yahweh, and to my God I called.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help was to his ears.
8 The earth heaved and shook,
the foundations of heaven trembled and heaved
because he was angry.[d]
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils and fire from his mouth.
Burning coals devoured, they burned from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down;
a very thick cloud was under his feet.
11 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He put darkness as a canopy all around him,
a collection of thick rain clouds.[e]
13 From the brightness before him
flamed burning coals of fire.
14 Yahweh thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.[f]
15 He sent arrows and he scattered them,
lightning, and he directed them.
16 Then the channels of water of the sea were exposed,
the foundations of the world,
at the rebuke of Yawheh,
from the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He sent from a high position and took me;
he drew me from mighty waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemies,
from those who hate me, for they were mightier than I.
19 They approached me on the day of my disaster,
but Yahweh was my support.
20 He brought me out to a spacious place.
He delivered me because he delighted in me.
21 Yahweh rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh;
I have not acted wickedly against my God.
23 For all of his ordinances were before me,
and I did not turn aside from his statutes.
24 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness before his eyes.
26 With the loyal, you act as loyal,
and with the blameless, you show yourself blameless.
27 With the pure, you show yourself pure,
but with the crooked, you appear as a fool.
28 Humble people you will deliver,
but your eyes are on the haughty, whom you bring down.
29 For you, O Yahweh are my lamp,
and Yahweh lightens my darkness.
30 For by you I can run a raid;
by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God, his way is blameless;
the promise of Yahweh is flawless.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God apart from Yahweh?
And who is a rock apart from our God?
33 God is my strong refuge,
he has fully opened my way.[g]
34 He makes my feet[h] like a doe deer,
and on my high places he has set me.
35 He trains my hands for the war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your willingness to help has made me great.
37 You have broadened my steps beneath me;
my ankles have not wobbled.
38 I pursued those who hate me, and I destroyed them.
I did not turn back until finishing them.
39 I wiped them out and I smashed them;
they did not get up; they fell under my feet.
40 You have girded me with physical strength for the battle;
you caused those who rose up against me to kneel under me.
41 My enemies you cause to retreat from me;[i]
I destroy those who hate me.
42 They looked out, but there was no deliverer,
even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine, like the dust of the earth;
like the mire of the streets, I crushed them, I stamped them down.
44 You delivered me from the strife of my people;
you preserved me as the head of the nations.
A people I had not known served me.
45 Children of a foreign land came cringing to me;
when they heard of me,[j] they became obedient to me.
46 Children of a foreign land lost heart
and came trembling from their strongholds.
47 Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock!
May God, the rock of my salvation, be exalted!
48 God does vengeance for me,
bringing down peoples under me.
49 He brings me out from my enemies,
and from those who rose up against me you lift me up,
and from men of violence you rescue me.
50 Therefore I will extol you, Yahweh, among the nations!
I will sing praises to your name!
51 He makes great salvation for his king
and shows loyal love to his anointed one, David
and to his descendants forever.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:1 This same song is recorded in Psa 18, with minor differences
- 2 Samuel 22:3 So many LXX mss, Targum, Vulgate, and Psa 18:3. MT has “the God of my rock”
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Literally “horn”
- 2 Samuel 22:8 Literally “it was hot for him”
- 2 Samuel 22:12 Literally “clouds of thick clouds”
- 2 Samuel 22:14 Literally “gave his voice”
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Thus Qere; Kethib has “his way”
- 2 Samuel 22:34 Thus Qere; Kethib has “his feet”
- 2 Samuel 22:41 Literally “Those who hate me you give to me back”
- 2 Samuel 22:45 Literally “at the hearing of an ear”
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