2 Samuel 22
World English Bible
22 David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul, 2 and he said:
“Yahweh is my rock,
my fortress,
and my deliverer, even mine;
3 God is my rock in whom I take refuge;
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my high tower, and my refuge.
My savior, you save me from violence.
4 I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 For the waves of death surrounded me.
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
6 The cords of Sheol[a] were around me.
The snares of death caught me.
7 In my distress, I called on Yahweh.
Yes, I called to my God.
He heard my voice out of his temple.
My cry came into his ears.
8 Then the earth shook and trembled.
The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken,
because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up out of his nostrils.
Consuming fire came out of his mouth.
Coals were kindled by it.
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down.
Thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub, and flew.
Yes, he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness a shelter around himself:
gathering of waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13 At the brightness before him,
coals of fire were kindled.
14 Yahweh thundered from heaven.
The Most High uttered his voice.
15 He sent out arrows and scattered them,
lightning and confused them.
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared.
The foundations of the world were laid bare by Yahweh’s rebuke,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He sent from on high and 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 on me in the day of my calamity,
but Yahweh was my support.
20 He also brought me out into a large place.
He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
21 Yahweh rewarded me according to my righteousness.
He rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands.
22 For I have kept Yahweh’s ways,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his ordinances were before me.
As for his statutes, I didn’t depart from them.
24 I was also perfect toward him.
I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness in his eyesight.
26 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful.
With the perfect man you will show yourself perfect.
27 With the pure you will show yourself pure.
With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.
28 You will save the afflicted people,
But your eyes are on the arrogant, that you may bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, Yahweh.
Yahweh will light up my darkness.
30 For by you, I run against a troop.
By my God, I leap over a wall.
31 As for God, his way is perfect.
Yahweh’s word is tested.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God, besides Yahweh?
Who is a rock, besides our God?
33 God is my strong fortress.
He makes my way perfect.
34 He makes his feet like hinds’ feet,
and sets me on my high places.
35 He teaches my hands to war,
so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have also given me the shield of your salvation.
Your gentleness has made me great.
37 You have enlarged my steps under me.
My feet have not slipped.
38 I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them.
I didn’t turn again until they were consumed.
39 I have consumed them,
and struck them through,
so that they can’t arise.
Yes, they have fallen under my feet.
40 For you have armed me with strength for the battle.
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
41 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
that I might cut off those who hate me.
42 They looked, but there was no one to save;
even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.
43 Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth.
I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad.
44 You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people.
You have kept me to be the head of the nations.
A people whom I have not known will serve me.
45 The foreigners will submit themselves to me.
As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
46 The foreigners will fade away,
and will come trembling out of their close places.
47 Yahweh lives!
Blessed be my rock!
Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,
48 even the God who executes vengeance for me,
who brings down peoples under me,
49 who brings me away from my enemies.
Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me.
You deliver me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations,
and will sing praises to your name.
51 He gives great deliverance to his king,
and shows loving kindness to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring, forever more.”
Footnotes
- 22:6 Sheol is the place of the dead.
2 Samuel 22
New Living Translation
David’s Song of Praise
22 David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. 2 He sang:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my savior,
the one who saves me from violence.
4 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
5 “The waves of death overwhelmed me;
floods of destruction swept over me.
6 The grave[a] wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
7 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I cried to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry reached his ears.
8 “Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the heavens shook;
they quaked because of his anger.
9 Smoke poured from his nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
10 He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
11 Mounted on a mighty angelic being,[b] he flew,
soaring[c] on the wings of the wind.
12 He shrouded himself in darkness,
veiling his approach with dense rain clouds.
13 A great brightness shone around him,
and burning coals[d] blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered his enemies;
his lightning flashed, and they were confused.
16 Then at the command of the Lord,
at the blast of his breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
17 “He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
19 They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
20 He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me for doing right;
he restored me because of my innocence.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I have not turned from my God to follow evil.
23 I have followed all his regulations;
I have never abandoned his decrees.
24 I am blameless before God;
I have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord rewarded me for doing right.
He has seen my innocence.
26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show integrity.
27 To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
28 You rescue the humble,
but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them.
29 O Lord, you are my lamp.
The Lord lights up my darkness.
30 In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.
31 “God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
32 For who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?
33 God is my strong fortress,
and he makes my way perfect.
34 He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
enabling me to stand on mountain heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle;
he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.
36 You have given me your shield of victory;
your help[e] has made me great.
37 You have made a wide path for my feet
to keep them from slipping.
38 “I chased my enemies and destroyed them;
I did not stop until they were conquered.
39 I consumed them;
I struck them down so they did not get up;
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You have armed me with strength for the battle;
you have subdued my enemies under my feet.
41 You placed my foot on their necks.
I have destroyed all who hated me.
42 They looked for help, but no one came to their rescue.
They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer.
43 I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I trampled them[f] in the gutter like dirt.
44 “You gave me victory over my accusers.
You preserved me as the ruler over nations;
people I don’t even know now serve me.
45 Foreign nations cringe before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they submit.
46 They all lose their courage
and come trembling[g] from their strongholds.
47 “The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!
48 He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he brings down the nations under me
49 and delivers me from my enemies.
You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents.
50 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.
51 You give great victories to your king;
you show unfailing love to your anointed,
to David and all his descendants forever.”
Footnotes
- 22:6 Hebrew Sheol.
- 22:11a Hebrew a cherub.
- 22:11b As in some Hebrew manuscripts (see also Ps 18:10); other Hebrew manuscripts read appearing.
- 22:13 Or and lightning bolts.
- 22:36 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads your answering.
- 22:43 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Ps 18:42); Masoretic Text reads I crushed and trampled them.
- 22:46 As in parallel text at Ps 18:45; Hebrew reads come girding themselves.
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