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.
2 Samuel 22
International Standard Version
David’s Psalm of Deliverance
22 David composed the words of this song to the Lord the very day the Lord delivered him from the domination[a] of all of his enemies, including from Saul’s hands. 2 This is what[b] he said:
Lord, you are[c] my stone stronghold
and my fortified place;
you are continuously delivering[d] me.
3 He is my God,
my strong stone—
in him I will find my refuge—
my shield,
the strength[e] of my salvation,
my high tower,
my way of escape,
and the one who is saving me.
You will save me from violence.
4 As I am praising him,[f]
I will call out to the Lord,
and I will be saved from my enemies.
5 Because deadly breakers[g] engulfed me,
while torrents of abuse[h] from the ungodly overwhelmed[i] me.
6 Binding ropes from Sheol entangled me
while lethal snares hindered me.
7 I cried out to the Lord in the middle of my troubles;
I cried out to my God.
He listened to my voice from his sanctuary,
and my call for help was heard.
8 Just then the earth shook and trembled!
The foundations of heaven reeled and quaked
because the Lord[j] was angry.
9 Smoke poured out of his nostrils,
and fire from his mouth
kindling coals to flame by it.
10 He deformed heaven itself as he descended.
Thick darkness enveloped his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind!
12 The darkness around him was his canopies—
amassed water was his overhanging clouds!
13 From the shining light[k] that was his presence[l]
coals of fire blazed into flame!
14 The Lord roared from heaven!
The Most High let his voice be heard!
15 He launched his arrows and scattered them—
his lightning routed them.
16 The currents of the sea were revealed
and the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the Lord
and at the blazing breath from his nostrils!
17 He sent for me from on high!
He grabbed hold of me,
drawing me out of deep water.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy—
from those who hate me continually,
since they were stronger than I.
19 They confronted me when I was in trouble,[m]
but the Lord remained my support!
20 He brought me to a wide open area,
rescuing me because he was pleased with me!
21 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness,
rewarding me according to the degree of my innocence,[n]
22 because I have kept the Lord’s way—
I haven’t willfully abandoned my God—
23 and because all of his decrees remain in my thoughts,[o]
I have not turned aside from his statutes,
24 I have been innocent before him,
and I’ve kept myself from incurring[p] guilt.
25 The Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,
that is, according to my clean standing as he[q] looks at me.[r]
26 In the company of the gracious
you demonstrate your gracious love.
In the company of the blamelessly valiant
you demonstrate your blamelessness.
27 In the company of the pure
you demonstrate your purity.
In the company of the perverted
you will appear to be perverse.
28 You save the nation who is humble
but your eyes watch the proud,
to bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, Lord,
the Lord who illuminates my darkness.
30 By you I devastate armies,
by my God I scale walls.
31 This God! His way is perfect!
What the Lord declares proves true.
He shields[s] everyone who flees for protection to him!
32 For who is God apart from the Lord?
And who is a Rock, apart from our God?
33 This God is my strong place of valor!
He has made my life[t] blameless.
34 He has made my feet like those of a deer,
setting me secure on his high places!
35 He has trained my hands for battle readiness—
I can bend a bow made out of bronze.
36 He has equipped me with the shield that is your salvation,
Your gentleness[u] has made me great.
37 You’ve made room beneath me for my footsteps,
and my feet didn’t slip.
38 I pursued my enemies and conquered them;
I didn’t return until they were consumed.
39 I devoured them,
striking them down
until they could not get up again.
They fell beneath my feet.
40 You strengthened me with valor sufficient for the battle;
you made those who rebelled against me fall beneath me.
41 You made my enemies turn and run—[v]
that is, those who hate me—
and I destroyed them!
42 They looked around, but there was no one to save[w] them[x]—
they looked[y] to the Lord, but he paid no attention!
43 I pulverized them to powder,
like the dust of the earth;
I crushed them,
stomping on them like mud on a street.
44 You delivered me from civil war among my own people.
You preserved me as head of the nations.
People whom I had never known served me!
45 Foreigners[z] came cringing to me;
they obeyed as soon as they heard[aa] me.
46 Foreigners[ab] lost their courage,
coming trembling from their strongholds.
47 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock,
and may my God be exalted,
the Rock who is my salvation!
48 The God who keeps on avenging me,
subjugating people beneath me,
49 delivering me from my enemies.
You exalted me above those who rebelled against me,
delivering me from violent men.
50 Because of all of this I will praise you among the nations, Lord,
and I will sing praises to your name!
51 Great is the salvation he brings to his king,
showing gracious love to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring[ac] forever.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:1 Lit. hand
- 2 Samuel 22:2 The Heb. lacks This is what
- 2 Samuel 22:2 So LXX. MT reads The Lord is
- 2 Samuel 22:2 So MT LXX reads rescuing
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Lit. horn
- 2 Samuel 22:4 The Heb. lacks him
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Or currents
- 2 Samuel 22:5 The Heb. lacks of abuse
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Or terrified
- 2 Samuel 22:8 Lit. because he
- 2 Samuel 22:13 Or the brightness
- 2 Samuel 22:13 Or counterpart; MT word is perhaps a word play on the noun shining light
- 2 Samuel 22:19 Lit. in the day of my calamity
- 2 Samuel 22:21 Lit. the cleanness of my hands
- 2 Samuel 22:23 Lit. presence
- 2 Samuel 22:24 The Heb. lacks incurring
- 2 Samuel 22:25 Lit. standing to the counterpart
- 2 Samuel 22:25 Or standing in his eyes
- 2 Samuel 22:31 Lit. He is a shield for
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Lit. way
- 2 Samuel 22:36 So MT; LXX reads Obedience to you
- 2 Samuel 22:41 Lit. away their backs to me
- 2 Samuel 22:42 MT verb looked around sounds like MT verb to save
- 2 Samuel 22:42 The Heb. lacks them
- 2 Samuel 22:42 The Heb. lacks they looked
- 2 Samuel 22:45 Lit. Children of foreigners
- 2 Samuel 22:45 MT verbs obeyed and heard are identical in spelling
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Lit. Children of foreigners
- 2 Samuel 22:51 Lit. seed; MT is sing.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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