David’s Last Song

23 Now these are the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse declares,
(A)The man who was raised on high,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob
And the sweet psalmist of Israel, declares,
(C)The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,
And His word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel said it;
(D)The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
(E)He who rules over mankind righteously,
(F)Who rules in the fear of God,
(G)Is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the fresh grass springs out of the earth
From sunshine after rain.’
Is my house not indeed so with God?
For (H)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Properly ordered in all things, and secured;
For will He not indeed make
All my salvation and all my delight grow?
(I)But the worthless, every one of them, are like scattered thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
Instead, the man who touches them
Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And (J)they will be completely burned with fire in their [b]place.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit filled
  2. 2 Samuel 23:7 Lit sitting

David’s Last Words

23 These are the last words of David:

“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse,
    the utterance of the man exalted(A) by the Most High,
the man anointed(B) by the God of Jacob,
    the hero of Israel’s songs:

“The Spirit(C) of the Lord spoke through me;
    his word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke,
    the Rock(D) of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,(E)
    when he rules in the fear(F) of God,(G)
he is like the light(H) of morning(I) at sunrise(J)
    on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain(K)
    that brings grass from the earth.’

“If my house were not right with God,
    surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,(L)
    arranged and secured in every part;
surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation
    and grant me my every desire.
But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns,(M)
    which are not gathered with the hand.
Whoever touches thorns
    uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;
    they are burned up where they lie.”

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