2 Samuel 22
New American Standard Bible
David’s Psalm of Deliverance
22 (A)Now David spoke (B)the words of this song to the Lord on the day that the Lord had saved 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 floods of [e]destruction terrified me;
6 (K)The ropes of [f]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7 (L)In my distress I called upon the Lord,
Yes, I called out 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 [g]out of His nostrils,
(O)And fire from His mouth was devouring;
(P)Coals were kindled by it.
10 He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With (Q)thick darkness under His feet.
11 (R)He rode on a cherub and flew;
He [h]appeared on (S)the wings of the wind.
12 (T)He made darkness 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 shot arrows and scattered them,
Lightning, and [i]routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were exposed
By the rebuke of the Lord,
(X)From 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 rescued me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me on the day of my disaster,
(AA)But the Lord was my support.
20 (AB)He also brought me out into an open place;
He rescued me, (AC)because He delighted in me.
21 (AD)The Lord has treated me in accordance with my righteousness;
(AE)In accordance with the cleanliness of my hands He has repaid 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 deviate from [j]them.
24 (AH)I was also [k]blameless toward Him,
And I have kept myself from my wrongdoing.
25 (AI)So the Lord has repaid me in accordance with my righteousness,
In accordance with my cleanliness before His eyes.
26 (AJ)With the one who is faithful You show Yourself faithful,
With the [l]blameless one You prove Yourself [m]blameless;
27 (AK)With the one who is pure You show Yourself pure,
(AL)But with the perverted You [n]show Yourself astute.
28 (AM)And You save an afflicted people;
(AN)But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You humiliate.
29 (AO)For You are my lamp, Lord;
And the Lord illuminates my darkness.
30 (AP)For by You I can run at a [o]troop of warriors;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
31 (AQ)As for God, His way is [p]blameless;
(AR)The word of the Lord is refined;
(AS)He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 (AT)For who is God, except the Lord?
(AU)And who is a rock, except our God?
33 (AV)God is my strong fortress;
And He [q]sets the [r]blameless on [s]His way.
34 (AW)He makes [t]my feet like deer’s 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 [u]help makes me great.
37 (BB)You enlarge my steps under me,
And my [v]feet have not slipped.
38 I pursued my enemies and (BC)eliminated them,
And I did not turn back until they were finished off.
39 And I have devoured them and smashed them, so that they would not rise;
And (BD)they fell under my feet.
40 For You have encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced (BE)those who rose up against me to bow down under me.
41 You have also (BF)made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I [w]destroyed those who hated me.
42 (BG)They looked, but there was no one to save them;
(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 trampled them like the mud of the streets.
44 (BK)You have also saved me from the contentions of my people;
(BL)You have kept me as head of the nations;
(BM)A people I have not known serve me.
45 (BN)Foreigners pretend to obey me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 Foreigners lose heart,
(BO)And [x]come trembling out of their fortresses.
47 The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock;
And exalted be [y](BP)my 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 also raise me above (BS)those who rise up against me;
(BT)You rescue me from the violent person.
50 (BU)Therefore I will [z]give thanks to You, Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
51 (BV)He is a tower of [aa]salvation to His king,
And (BW)shows favor to His anointed,
(BX)To David and his [ab]descendants forever.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit palm
- 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit palm
- 2 Samuel 22:2 Lit crag
- 2 Samuel 22:3 As in LXX; MT God of my rock
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Or wickedness; Heb Belial
- 2 Samuel 22:6 I.e., the netherworld
- 2 Samuel 22:9 I.e., in his anger
- 2 Samuel 22:11 Many mss glided
- 2 Samuel 22:15 Lit confused
- 2 Samuel 22:23 Lit it
- 2 Samuel 22:24 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:26 Lit complete; or having integrity
- 2 Samuel 22:27 As in two Heb mss and Ps 18:26; MT pretend stupidity
- 2 Samuel 22:30 Or wall
- 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 22:41 Or silenced
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Reading based on Ps 18:45; MT belt up themselves
- 2 Samuel 22:47 As in LXX; MT the God of the rock
- 2 Samuel 22:50 Or praise
- 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit acts of salvation
- 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit seed
2 Samuel 22
Revised Standard Version
David’s Song of Thanksgiving
22 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,
“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
3 my[a] God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; thou savest me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me,
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.
8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub, and flew;
he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him
his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 “He reached from on high, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They came upon me in the day of my calamity;
but the Lord was my stay.
20 He brought me forth into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
21 “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his ordinances were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
25 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 “With the loyal thou dost show thyself loyal;
with the blameless man thou dost show thyself blameless;
27 with the pure thou dost show thyself pure,
and with the crooked thou dost show thyself perverse.
28 Thou dost deliver a humble people,
but thy eyes are upon the haughty to bring them down.
29 Yea, thou art my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
30 Yea, by thee I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God—his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my strong refuge,
and has made[b] my[c] way safe.
34 He made my[d] feet like hinds’ feet,
and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation,
and thy help[e] made me great.
37 Thou didst give a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet[f] did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
they fell under my feet.
40 For thou didst gird me with strength for the battle;
thou didst make my assailants sink under me.
41 Thou didst make my enemies turn their backs to me,
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth,
I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.
44 “Thou didst deliver me from strife with the peoples;[g]
thou didst keep me as the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart,
and came trembling[h] out of their fastnesses.
47 “The Lord lives; and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
thou didst exalt me above my adversaries,
thou didst deliver me from men of violence.
50 “For this I will extol thee, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to thy name.
51 Great triumphs he gives[i] to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David, and his descendants for ever.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Gk Ps 18.2: Heb lacks my
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Ps 18.32: Heb set free
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Another reading is his
- 2 Samuel 22:34 Another reading is his
- 2 Samuel 22:36 Or gentleness
- 2 Samuel 22:37 Heb ankles
- 2 Samuel 22:44 Gk: Heb from strife with my people
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Ps 18.45: Heb girded themselves
- 2 Samuel 22:51 Another reading is He is a tower of salvation
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.