2 Samuel 22
1 David sang the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord saved him from all his enemies, and from Saul.
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.
2 He sang: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior.
And he said: “The Lord is my rock, and my strength, and my Savior.
3 He is my God, my rock who protects me. He shields me from harm, his power saves me, he keeps me safe. He is my protector; he is my savior; he saves me from violence.
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.
4 I call for help from the Lord, who should be praised, and he saves me from those who hate me.
I will call upon the Lord, who is praiseworthy; and I will be saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swept over me; surging waters of destruction flooded over me;
For the pangs of death have encircled me. The torrents of Belial have terrified me.
The ropes of Hell have encompassed me. The snares of death have intercepted me. (Sheol h7585)
7 In my despair I called on the Lord; I called out to my God. He heard my voice from his Temple; my cry for help reached his ears.
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.
8 The earth shook to and fro; the foundations of the heavens trembled, shaking because of his anger.
The earth was shaken, and it quaked. The foundations of the mountains were struck together and violently shaken, because he was angry with them.
9 Smoke came out of his nostrils, and fire from his mouth, burning coals that blazed before him.
Smoke ascends from his nostrils, and fire from his mouth will devour; coals have been kindled by it.
10 He pushed aside the heavens and came down, with dark clouds beneath his feet.
He bent down the heavens, and it descended; and a fog was beneath his feet.
11 Riding on a heavenly being he flew, swooping on the wings of the wind.
And he climbed upon the cherubim, and he flew; and he slid upon the wings of the wind.
12 He hid himself in darkness, covering himself with black rainclouds.
He set darkness as a hiding place around himself, with waters sifted from the clouds of the heavens.
13 Burning coals blazed out of his brightness.
By means of the brightness of his glance, coals of fire were kindled.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
The Lord will thunder from heaven; and the Most High will utter his voice.
15 He fired his arrows, scattering his enemies, he routed them with his lightning bolts.
He shot arrows, and he scattered them; lightning, and he consumed them.
16 The Lord roared, and by the wind from the breath of his nostrils the valleys of the sea could be seen and the foundations of the earth were uncovered.
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.
17 He reached down his hand from above and grabbed hold of me. He dragged me out of the deep water.
He sent from on high, and he took me up. And he drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and who were much stronger than me.
He freed me from my most powerful enemy and from those who had hated me. For they were too strong for me.
19 They came at me at my worst possible moment, but the Lord supported me.
He went before me in the day of my affliction, and the Lord became my firmament.
20 He set me free, he rescued me because he's happy with me.
And he led me out to a wide-open place. He freed me, because I was pleasing to him.
21 The Lord rewarded me because I do what's right; he repaid me because I am innocent.
The Lord will reward me according to my justice. And he will repay me according to the cleanness of my hands.
22 For I have followed the Lord's ways; I have not sinned by turning away from my God.
For I have kept to the ways of the Lord, and I have not acted impiously before my God.
23 I have kept all his laws in mind; I have not ignored his commandments.
For all his judgments are in my sight. And I have not removed his precepts from me.
24 I am blameless in his sight; I keep myself from sinning.
And I shall be perfect with him. And I shall guard myself from my own iniquity.
25 The Lord rewarded me for doing what's right. I am innocent in his sight.
And the Lord will recompense me according to my justice, and according to the cleanness of my hands in the sight of his eyes.
26 You show trust to those who are trusting; you show integrity to those with integrity,
With the holy one, you will be holy, and with the strong one, you will be perfect.
27 You show yourself pure to those who are pure, but you show yourself astute to those who are crafty.
With the elect one, you will be elect, and with the perverse one, you will be perverse.
28 You save the humble, but your eyes watch the proud to bring them down.
And you will bring to salvation the poor people, and you will humble the exalted with your eyes.
29 You, Lord, are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness.
For you are my lamp, O Lord. And you, O Lord, will illuminate my darkness.
30 With you, I can charge down a troop of soldiers; with you, my God, I can climb a fortress wall.
For in you, I will run girded. In my God, I will leap over the wall.
31 God's way is absolutely right. What the Lord says is trustworthy. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
God, his way is immaculate; the eloquence of the Lord is an exacting fire. He is the shield of all who hope in him.
32 For who is God except the Lord? Who is a Rock, except our God?
Who is God except the Lord? And who is strong except our God?
33 God makes me strong and keeps me safe.
God, he has girded me with fortitude, and he has made my way perfect:
34 He makes me surefooted like the deer, able to walk the heights in safety.
making my feet like the feet of the stag, and stationing me upon my exalted places,
35 He teaches me how to fight in battle; he gives me the strength to draw a bronze bow.
teaching my hands to do battle, and making my arms like a bow of brass.
36 You protect me with the shield of your salvation; your help has made me great.
You have given me the shield of your salvation. And your mildness has multiplied me.
37 You gave me room to walk, and prevented my feet from slipping.
You will enlarge my steps under me, and my ankles will not fail.
38 I chased my enemies, and caught up with them. I did not turn around until I had destroyed them.
I will pursue my enemies, and crush them. And I will not turn back, until I consume them.
39 I struck them down—they couldn't get up. They fell at my feet.
I will consume them and break them apart, so that they cannot rise up; they will fall under my feet.
40 You made me strong for the battle; you made those who rose up against me kneel low before me.
You have girded me with strength for the battle. Those who resisted me, you have bent down under me.
41 You made my enemies run away; I destroyed all my enemies.
You have caused my enemies to turn their back to me; they have hatred for me, and I shall destroy them.
42 They cried out for help, but no one came to rescue them. They even called out to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
They will cry out, and there will be no one to save; to the Lord, and he will not heed them.
43 I ground them into dust, like the dust of the earth. I crushed them and threw them out like mud in the street.
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.
44 You rescued me from rebellious people; you have kept me as ruler over nations—people I didn't know now serve me.
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.
45 Foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey.
The sons of foreigners, who will resist me, at the hearing of the ear they will be obedient to me.
46 They lose heart, and come trembling in surrender from their strongholds.
The foreigners flowed away, but they will be drawn together in their anguishes.
47 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! May the God who saves me be praised!
The Lord lives, and my God is blessed. And the strong God of my salvation shall be exalted.
48 God avenges me, he puts peoples under me,
God gives me vindication, and he casts down the peoples under me.
49 He frees me from those who hate me. You keep me safe from those who rebel against me, you save me from violent men.
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.
50 That's why I will praise you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about who you are.
Because of this, I will confess to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and I will sing to your name:
51 You have saved the king so often, showing your trustworthy love to David, your anointed, and to his descendants forever.”
magnifying the salvation of his king, and showing mercy to David, his Christ, and to his offspring forever.”
