Psalm 35
New King James Version
The Lord the Avenger of His People
A Psalm of David.
35 Plead[a] my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and [b]buckler,
And stand up for my help.
3 Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
4 (A)Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be (B)turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
5 (C)Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the [c]angel of the Lord chase them.
6 Let their way be (D)dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
7 For without cause they have (E)hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
8 [d]Let (F)destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10 (G)All my bones shall say,
“Lord, (H)who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
11 Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 (I)They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13 But as for me, (J)when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own [e]heart.
14 I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down [f]heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.
15 But in my [g]adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16 With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long will You (K)look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among [h]many people.
19 (L)Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21 They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”
22 This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be (M)clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.
27 (N)Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
Footnotes
- Psalm 35:1 Contend for me
- Psalm 35:2 A small shield
- Psalm 35:5 Or Angel
- Psalm 35:8 Lit. Let destruction he does not know come upon him,
- Psalm 35:13 Lit. bosom
- Psalm 35:14 in mourning
- Psalm 35:15 limping, stumbling
- Psalm 35:18 a mighty
2 Samuel 22-24
New King James Version
Praise for God’s Deliverance(A)
22 Then David (B)spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had (C)delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he (D)said:
(E)“The Lord is my rock and my (F)fortress and my deliverer;
3 The God of my strength, (G)in whom I will trust;
My (H)shield and the (I)horn[a] of my salvation,
My (J)stronghold and my (K)refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 “When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness [b]made me afraid.
6 The (L)sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7 In my distress (M)I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He (N)heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.
8 “Then (O)the earth shook and trembled;
(P)The foundations of [c]heaven quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
9 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring (Q)fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
10 He (R)bowed the heavens also, and came down
With (S)darkness under His feet.
11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He [d]was seen (T)upon the wings of the wind.
12 He made (U)darkness canopies around Him,
Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
13 From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.
14 “The Lord (V)thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
15 He sent out (W)arrows and scattered them;
Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.
16 Then the channels of the sea (X)were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered,
At the (Y)rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17 “He(Z) sent from above, 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 strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my (AA)support.
20 (AB)He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He (AC)delighted in me.
21 “The(AD) Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AE)cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
22 For I have (AF)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all His (AG)judgments were before me;
And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
24 I was also (AH)blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
25 Therefore (AI)the Lord has [e]recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to [f]my cleanness in His eyes.
26 “With (AJ)the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And (AK)with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
28 You will save the (AL)humble[g] people;
But Your eyes are on (AM)the haughty, that You may bring them down.
29 “For You are my (AN)lamp, O Lord;
The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.
30 For by You I can run against a troop;
By my God I can leap over a (AO)wall.
31 As for God, (AP)His way is perfect;
(AQ)The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
32 “For (AR)who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
33 [h]God is my (AS)strength and power,
And He (AT)makes [i]my way (AU)perfect.
34 He makes [j]my feet (AV)like the feet of deer,
And (AW)sets me on my high places.
35 He teaches my hands [k]to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your gentleness has made me great.
37 You (AX)enlarged my path under me;
So my feet did not slip.
38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen (AY)under my feet.
40 For You have (AZ)armed me with strength for the battle;
You have [l]subdued under me (BA)those who rose against me.
41 You have also [m]given me the (BB)necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
Even (BC)to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43 Then I beat them as fine (BD)as the dust of the earth;
I trod them (BE)like dirt in the streets,
And I [n]spread them out.
44 “You(BF) have also delivered me from the [o]strivings of my people;
You have kept me as the (BG)head of the nations.
(BH)A people I have not known shall serve me.
45 The foreigners submit to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 The foreigners fade away,
And [p]come frightened (BI)from their hideouts.
47 “The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted,
The (BJ)Rock of my salvation!
48 It is God who avenges me,
And (BK)subdues the peoples under me;
49 He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the (BL)violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among (BM)the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your (BN)name.
51 “He(BO) is the tower of salvation to His king,
And shows mercy to His (BP)anointed,
To David and (BQ)his descendants forevermore.”
David’s Last Words
23 Now these are the last words of David.
Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says (BR)the man raised up on high,
(BS)The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:
2 “The(BT) Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said,
(BU)The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling (BV)in the fear of God.
4 And (BW)he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,
By clear shining after rain.’
5 “Although my house is not so with God,
(BX)Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
Will He not make it increase?
6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away,
Because they cannot be taken with hands.
7 But the man who touches them
Must be [q]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”
David’s Mighty Men(BY)
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: [r]Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among [s]the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. 9 And after him was (BZ)Eleazar the son of [t]Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was (CA)weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to (CB)plunder. 11 And after him was (CC)Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. (CD)The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Then (CE)three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at (CF)the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in (CG)the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in (CH)the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. 17 And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not (CI)the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it.
These things were done by the three mighty men.
18 Now (CJ)Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of [u]another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. 19 Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.
20 Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from (CK)Kabzeel, [v]who had done many deeds. (CL)He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, [w]a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 23 He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him (CM)over his guard.
24 (CN)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 (CO)Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of (CP)Gaash, 31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite (of the sons of Jashen), Jonathan, 33 (CQ)Shammah the [x]Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of (CR)Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 [y]Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of (CS)Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), 38 (CT)Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 and (CU)Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.
David’s Census of Israel and Judah(CV)
24 Again (CW)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, (CX)“Go, [z]number Israel and Judah.”
2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, (CY)from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that (CZ)I may know the number of the people.”
3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God (DA)add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s word [aa]prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in (DB)Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward (DC)Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to (DD)Dan Jaan and around to (DE)Sidon; 7 and they came to the stronghold of (DF)Tyre and to all the cities of the (DG)Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. (DH)And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
The Judgment on David’s Sin(DI)
10 And (DJ)David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So (DK)David said to the Lord, (DL)“I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have (DM)done very foolishly.”
11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet (DN)Gad, David’s (DO)seer, saying, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall (DP)seven[ab] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”
14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, (DQ)for His mercies are great; but (DR)do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
15 So (DS)the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 (DT)And when the [ac]angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, (DU)the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of [ad]Araunah the Jebusite.
17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely (DV)I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”
The Altar on the Threshing Floor(DW)
18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, (DX)“Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. 20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.
21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
(DY)And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that (DZ)the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. (EA)Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. 23 All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”
And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God (EB)accept you.”
24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So (EC)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. (ED)So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and (EE)the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Strength
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Or overwhelmed
- 2 Samuel 22:8 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Syr., Vg. hills (cf. Ps. 18:7)
- 2 Samuel 22:11 So with MT, LXX; many Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. flew (cf. Ps. 18:10); Tg. spoke with power
- 2 Samuel 22:25 rewarded
- 2 Samuel 22:25 LXX, Syr., Vg. the cleanness of my hands in His sight (cf. Ps. 18:24); Tg. my cleanness before His word
- 2 Samuel 22:28 afflicted
- 2 Samuel 22:33 DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. It is God who arms me with strength (cf. Ps. 18:32); Tg. It is God who sustains me with strength
- 2 Samuel 22:33 So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:32); Kt. His
- 2 Samuel 22:34 So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:33); Kt. His
- 2 Samuel 22:35 Lit. for the war
- 2 Samuel 22:40 Lit. caused to bow down
- 2 Samuel 22:41 given me victory over
- 2 Samuel 22:43 scattered
- 2 Samuel 22:44 contentions
- 2 Samuel 22:46 So with LXX, Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:45); MT gird themselves
- 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit. filled
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Lit. One Who Sits in the Seat (1 Chr. 11:11)
- 2 Samuel 23:8 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. the three
- 2 Samuel 23:9 Dodai, 1 Chr. 27:4
- 2 Samuel 23:18 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. thirty; Tg. the mighty men
- 2 Samuel 23:20 Lit. great of acts
- 2 Samuel 23:21 Lit. a man of appearance
- 2 Samuel 23:33 Or Ararite
- 2 Samuel 23:35 Hezro, 1 Chr. 11:37
- 2 Samuel 24:1 take a census of
- 2 Samuel 24:4 overruled
- 2 Samuel 24:13 So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX three (cf. 1 Chr. 21:12)
- 2 Samuel 24:16 Or Angel
- 2 Samuel 24:16 Ornan, 1 Chr. 21:15
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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