2 Samuel 22
1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul,
After Yahweh had rescued David from Saul and his other enemies, David sang a song to Yahweh.
2 And he said: The Lord is my rock, and my strength, and my saviour.
[This is what] he sang: Yahweh, you are like a [huge overhanging] rock [under which I can hide] [MET]; you are like my fortress, and you rescue me.
3 God is my strong one, in him will I trust: my shield, and the horn of my salvation: he lifteth me up, and is my refuge: my saviour, thou wilt deliver me from iniquity.
Yahweh, you protect me; you are like a shield; you are the powerful one [MET] who saves me; you are like a place where I (find refuge/am safe). You save me from those who act violently toward me.
4 I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised: and I shall be saved from my enemies.
I call out to you, Yahweh; you deserve to be praised, and you rescue me from my enemies.
5 For the pangs of death have surrounded me: the floods of Belial have made me afraid.
“almost died [PRS]; it was like [MET] a huge wave had crashed over me, and almost destroyed me like a flood.
I thought that I would die; it was as though death wrapped ropes around me; it was as though I was in a trap where I would surely die. [PRS, MET] (Sheol h7585)
7 In my distress I will call upon the Lord, and I will cry to my God: and he will hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry shall come to his ears.
But when I was (very distressed/in great trouble), I called out to you, Yahweh; I cried out to you, my God. And from your temple you heard me; you listened when I called to you to help me.
8 The earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the mountains were moved, and shaken, because he was angry with them.
“Then [it was as though] the earth quaked and shook; [it was as though] the foundations that ([held up/supported]) the sky trembled, because you were angry.
9 A smoke went up from his nostrils, and a devouring fire out of his mouth: coals were kindled by it.
[It was as though] smoke poured out of your nostrils and burning coals and fire that burns everything came out of your mouth.
10 He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
You tore open the sky and came down; there was a thick dark [cloud] under your feet.
11 And he rode upon the cherubims, and flew: and slid upon the wings of the wind.
You rode [through the sky] on a winged creature; the wind enabled you to travel [swiftly] [MET], like a bird.
12 He made darkness a covering round about him: dropping waters out of the clouds of the heavens.
The darkness surrounded you, like a blanket; thick clouds that were full of water also surrounded you.
13 By the brightness before him, the coals of fire were kindled.
Out of the lightning in front of you fire from burning coals flamed.
14 The Lord shall thunder from heaven: and the most high shall give forth his voice.
Then, Yahweh, you spoke like thunder from the sky; it was your voice, God, you who are greater than all other gods, that was heard.
15 He shot arrows and scattered them: lightning, and consumed them.
When you sent flashes of lightning, [it was as though] [MET] you shot your arrows and scattered your enemies.
16 And the overflowings of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid open at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the spirit of his wrath.
Then the bottom of the ocean was uncovered; the foundations of the world could be seen when you rebuked [your enemies] with a snort from your nostrils.
17 He sent from on high, and took me, and drew me out of many waters.
“Yahweh, you reached down from heaven and lifted me up; you pulled me up from the deep water.
18 He delivered me from my most mighty enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
You rescued me from my strong enemies, from those who hated me; [I could not defeat them because] they were very strong.
19 He prevented me in the day of my affliction, and the Lord became my stay.
They attacked me when I was experiencing troubles/difficulties, but Yahweh, you protected me.
20 And he brought me forth into a large place, he delivered me, because I pleased him.
You brought me to a place where I was safe; you rescued me because you were pleased with me.
21 The Lord will reward me according to my justice: and according to the cleanness of my hands he will render to me.
“Yahweh, you rewarded me because I do what is right; you did good things for me because I (was innocent/had not done things that are wrong).
22 Because I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
Yahweh, I have obeyed your laws; I have not turned away from you, my God.
23 For all his judgments are in my sight: and his precepts I have not removed from me.
All of your regulations were in my mind, and I did not turn away from [obeying] all your statutes.
24 And I shall be perfect with him: and shall keep myself from my iniquity.
You know that I have not done anything that is evil; I have kept myself from doing things for which I should be punished.
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.
So you have rewarded me in return for my doing what is right, because [you know that] I (am innocent of doing/have not done) wrong things.
26 With the holy one thou wilt be holy: and with the valiant perfect.
“Yahweh, you are faithful/loyal to those who always trust in you; you always do what is good to those whose behavior is always good.
27 With the elect thou wilt be elect: and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted.
You act sincerely toward those whose inner beings are pure, but you are hostile to those who are perverse/wicked.
28 And the poor people thou wilt save: and with thy eyes thou wilt humble the haughty.
You rescue those who are humble, but you watch [MTY] those who are proud and humiliate them.
29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and thou, O Lord, wilt enlighten my darkness.
Yahweh, you are [like] [MET] a lamp that causes it to become light when I am in the dark.
30 For in thee I will run girded: in my God I will leap over the wall.
With your strength/help I can run through a line of enemy soldiers and I can climb over the wall [that surrounds their city].
31 God, his way is immaculate, the word of the Lord is tried by fire: he is the shield of all that trust in him.
“My God whom I worship, everything that you do is perfect; you always do what you promise that you will do. You are like a shield [MET] to all those who request you to protect them.
32 Who is God but the Lord: and who is strong but our God?
Yahweh, you are [RHQ] the only one who is God; only you are like a huge rock [MET] [under which we are protected/safe].
33 God who hath girded me with strength, and made my way perfect.
God, you [whom I worship] are a strong refuge for me; you keep me safe on the roads that I [walk on].
34 Making my feet like the feet of harts, and setting me upon my high places.
[When I walk] in the mountains, you enable me to walk safely, without stumbling [MET] like a deer runs.
35 He teacheth my bands to war: and maketh my arms like a bow of brass.
You teach me [how to fight] in a battle in order that I can shoot arrows well from a very strong bow.
36 Thou hast given me the shield of my salvation: and thy mildness hath multiplied me.
[It is as though] [MET] you have given me a shield by which you have saved/rescued me, and you have answered my prayers and caused me to become famous/great.
37 Thou shalt enlarge my steps under me: and my ankles shall not fail.
You have not allowed [my enemies] to capture me [IDM], and I have not fallen down [during battles].
38 I will pursue after my enemies, and crush them: and will not return again till I consume them.
“pursued my enemies and defeated them; I did not stop [fighting them] until they were all killed.
39 I will consume them and break them in pieces, so that they shall not rise: they shall fall under my feet.
I struck them down; I stabbed them with my sword; they fell down at my feet and did not stand up again.
40 Thou hast girded me with strength to battle: thou hast made them that resisted me to bow under me.
You have given me strength for fighting battles and caused those who were attacking me to fall down, and I trampled on them.
41 My enemies thou hast made to turn their back to me: them that hated me, and I shall destroy them.
You caused my enemies to turn and run away from me; I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They shall cry, and there shall be none to save: to the Lord, and he shall not hear them.
They (looked for/wanted) someone to rescue them, but no one did. They cried out to you, Yahweh, [for help, ] but you did not answer them.
43 I shall beat them as small as the dust of the earth: I shall crush them and spread them abroad like the mire of the streets.
I crushed them, and as a result they became like [SIM] tiny particles of dust. I trampled them, and they became like [SIM] mud in the streets.
44 Thou wilt save me from the contradictions of my people: thou wilt keep me to be the head of the Gentiles: the people which I know not, shall serve me,
“You rescued me from those who tried to rebel [against me], and you appointed me to rule many nations; people whom I did not know previously are now (under my authority/my slaves).
45 The sons of the stranger will resist me, at the hearing of the ear they will obey me.
Foreigners humbly bowed down in front of me; as soon as they heard about me, they obeyed me.
46 The strangers are melted away, and shall be straitened in their distresses.
They became afraid, and they came to me, trembling, from the places where they were hiding.
47 The Lord liveth, and my God is blessed: and the strong God of my salvation shall be exalted:
“Yahweh, you are alive! I praise you! You are like [MET] a [huge overhanging] rock under which I am safe/protected! You are the one who rescues me [MET]. Everyone should exalt/honor/praise you.
48 God who giveth me revenge, and bringest down people under me,
You enable me to conquer my enemies; you cause people of [other] nations to be (under my authority/my slaves).
49 Who bringest me forth from my enemies, and liftest me up from them that resist me: from the wicked man thou shalt deliver me.
You delivered me from my enemies; you caused me to be honored more than they were; you rescued me from men who [always] acted violently.
50 Therefore will I give thanks to thee. O Lord, among the Gentiles, and will sing to thy name.
Because of all that, I exalt you among many people-groups and I sing to praise you.
51 Giving great salvation to his king, and shewing mercy to David his anointed, and to his seed for ever.
You enable me, whom you appointed to be king, to powerfully conquer [my enemies]; you faithfully love me, David, and you will love my descendants forever.
