2 Samuel 22
1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this verse, in the day that the Lord freed him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
And David made a song to the Lord in these words, on the day when the Lord made him free from the hands of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul:
2 And he said: “The Lord is my rock, and my strength, and my Savior.
And he said, The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour, even mine;
3 I will hope in him. God is my strong one, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. He lifts me up, and he is my refreshment. You, O my Savior, will free me from iniquity.
My God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my safe place; my saviour, who keeps me safe from the violent man.
4 I will call upon the Lord, who is praiseworthy; and I will be saved from my enemies.
I will send up my cry to the Lord, who is to be praised; so will I be made safe from those who are against me.
5 For the pangs of death have encircled me. The torrents of Belial have terrified me.
For the waves of death came round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear;
The cords of hell were round me: the nets of death came on me. (Sheol h7585)
7 In my tribulation, I will call upon the Lord, and I will cry out to my God. And he will heed my voice from his temple, and my outcry will reach his ears.
In my trouble my voice went up to the Lord, and my cry to my God: my voice came to his hearing in his holy Temple, and my prayer came to his ears.
8 The earth was shaken, and it quaked. The foundations of the mountains were struck together and violently shaken, because he was angry with them.
Then the earth was moved with a violent shock; the bases of heaven were moved and shaking, because he was angry.
9 Smoke ascends from his nostrils, and fire from his mouth will devour; coals have been kindled by it.
There went up a smoke from his nose, and a fire of destruction from his mouth: coals were lighted by it.
10 He bent down the heavens, and it descended; and a fog was beneath his feet.
The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet.
11 And he climbed upon the cherubim, and he flew; and he slid upon the wings of the wind.
And he went through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly on the wings of the wind.
12 He set darkness as a hiding place around himself, with waters sifted from the clouds of the heavens.
And he made the dark his tent round him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
13 By means of the brightness of his glance, coals of fire were kindled.
Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and coals of fire.
14 The Lord will thunder from heaven; and the Most High will utter his voice.
The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out.
15 He shot arrows, and he scattered them; lightning, and he consumed them.
And he sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled.
16 And the overflow of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the globe were revealed, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the exhale of the breath of his fury.
Then the deep beds of the sea were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of the Lord's wrath, because of the breath of his mouth.
17 He sent from on high, and he took me up. And he drew me out of many waters.
He sent from on high, he took me, pulling me out of great waters.
18 He freed me from my most powerful enemy and from those who had hated me. For they were too strong for me.
He made me free from my strong hater, from those who were against me, because they were stronger than I.
19 He went before me in the day of my affliction, and the Lord became my firmament.
They came on me in the day of my trouble: but the Lord was my support.
20 And he led me out to a wide-open place. He freed me, because I was pleasing to him.
He took me out into a wide place; he was my saviour because he had delight in me.
21 The Lord will reward me according to my justice. And he will repay me according to the cleanness of my hands.
The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him.
22 For I have kept to the ways of the Lord, and I have not acted impiously before my God.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not been turned away in sin from my God.
23 For all his judgments are in my sight. And I have not removed his precepts from me.
For all his decisions were before me, and I did not put away his laws from me.
24 And I shall be perfect with him. And I shall guard myself from my own iniquity.
And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin.
25 And the Lord will recompense me according to my justice, and according to the cleanness of my hands in the sight of his eyes.
Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes.
26 With the holy one, you will be holy, and with the strong one, you will be perfect.
On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright;
27 With the elect one, you will be elect, and with the perverse one, you will be perverse.
He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge.
28 And you will bring to salvation the poor people, and you will humble the exalted with your eyes.
For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but your eyes are on men of pride, to make them low.
29 For you are my lamp, O Lord. And you, O Lord, will illuminate my darkness.
For you are my light, O Lord; and the Lord will make the dark bright for me.
30 For in you, I will run girded. In my God, I will leap over the wall.
By your help I have made a way through the wall which was shutting me in: by the help of my God I have gone over a wall.
31 God, his way is immaculate; the eloquence of the Lord is an exacting fire. He is the shield of all who hope in him.
As for God, his way is all good: the word of the Lord is tested; he is a safe cover for all those who put their faith in him.
32 Who is God except the Lord? And who is strong except our God?
For who is God but the Lord? and who is a Rock but our God?
33 God, he has girded me with fortitude, and he has made my way perfect:
God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way.
34 making my feet like the feet of the stag, and stationing me upon my exalted places,
He makes my feet like roes' feet, and puts me on high places.
35 teaching my hands to do battle, and making my arms like a bow of brass.
He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation. And your mildness has multiplied me.
You have given me the breastplate of your salvation, and your mercy has made me great.
37 You will enlarge my steps under me, and my ankles will not fail.
You have made my steps wide under me, so that my feet make no slip.
38 I will pursue my enemies, and crush them. And I will not turn back, until I consume them.
I go after my haters and overtake them; not turning back till they are all overcome.
39 I will consume them and break them apart, so that they cannot rise up; they will fall under my feet.
I have sent destruction on them and given them wounds, so that they are not able to get up: they are stretched under my feet.
40 You have girded me with strength for the battle. Those who resisted me, you have bent down under me.
For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who came out against me.
41 You have caused my enemies to turn their back to me; they have hatred for me, and I shall destroy them.
By you their backs are turned in flight, so that my haters are cut off.
42 They will cry out, and there will be no one to save; to the Lord, and he will not heed them.
They were crying out, but there was no one to come to their help: even to the Lord, but he gave them no answer.
43 I will wipe them away like the dust of the earth. I will break them apart and crush them, like the mud of the streets.
Then they were crushed as small as the dust of the earth, stamped down under my feet like the waste of the streets.
44 You will save me from the contradictions of my people. You will preserve me to be the head of the Gentiles; a people I do not know shall serve me.
You have made me free from the fightings of my people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants.
45 The sons of foreigners, who will resist me, at the hearing of the ear they will be obedient to me.
Men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority: from the time when my name comes to their ears, they will be ruled by me.
46 The foreigners flowed away, but they will be drawn together in their anguishes.
They will be wasted away, they will come out of their secret places shaking with fear.
47 The Lord lives, and my God is blessed. And the strong God of my salvation shall be exalted.
The Lord is living; praise be to my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be honoured:
48 God gives me vindication, and he casts down the peoples under me.
It is God who sends punishment on my haters, and puts peoples under my rule.
49 He leads me away from my enemies, and he lifts me up from those who resist me. You will free me from the iniquitous man.
He makes me free from my haters: I am lifted up over those who come up against me: you have made me free from the violent man.
50 Because of this, I will confess to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and I will sing to your name:
Because of this I will give you praise, O Lord, among the nations, and will make a song of praise to your name.
51 magnifying the salvation of his king, and showing mercy to David, his Christ, and to his offspring forever.”
Great salvation does he give to his king; he has mercy on the king of his selection, David, and on his seed for ever.
