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 canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of 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 saviour.
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.
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.
4 I call for help from the Lord, who should be praised, and he saves me from those who hate me.
I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised: and I shall 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 surrounded me: the floods of Belial have made me afraid.
The cords of hell compassed me: the snares of death prevented 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 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.
8 The earth shook to and fro; the foundations of the heavens trembled, shaking because of his anger.
The earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the mountains were moved, and 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.
A smoke went up from his nostrils, and a devouring fire out of his mouth: coals were kindled by it.
10 He pushed aside the heavens and came down, with dark clouds beneath his feet.
He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
11 Riding on a heavenly being he flew, swooping on the wings of the wind.
And he rode upon the cherubims, and flew: and slid upon the wings of the wind.
12 He hid himself in darkness, covering himself with black rainclouds.
He made darkness a covering round about him: dropping waters out of the clouds of the heavens.
13 Burning coals blazed out of his brightness.
By the brightness before him, the coals of fire were kindled.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
The Lord shall thunder from heaven: and the most high shall give forth his voice.
15 He fired his arrows, scattering his enemies, he routed them with his lightning bolts.
He shot arrows and scattered them: lightning, and 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 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.
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 took me, and 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 delivered me from my most mighty enemy, and from them that 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 prevented me in the day of my affliction, and the Lord became my stay.
20 He set me free, he rescued me because he's happy with me.
And he brought me forth into a large place, he delivered me, because I pleased 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 according to the cleanness of my hands he will render to me.
22 For I have followed the Lord's ways; I have not sinned by turning away from my God.
Because I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from 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 his precepts I have not removed from me.
24 I am blameless in his sight; I keep myself from sinning.
And I shall be perfect with him: and shall keep myself from my 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 thou wilt be holy: and with the valiant perfect.
27 You show yourself pure to those who are pure, but you show yourself astute to those who are crafty.
With the elect thou wilt be elect: and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted.
28 You save the humble, but your eyes watch the proud to bring them down.
And the poor people thou wilt save: and with thy eyes thou wilt humble the haughty.
29 You, Lord, are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness.
For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and thou, O Lord, wilt enlighten 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 thee 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 word of the Lord is tried by fire: he is the shield of all that trust in him.
32 For who is God except the Lord? Who is a Rock, except our God?
Who is God but the Lord: and who is strong but our God?
33 God makes me strong and keeps me safe.
God who hath girded me with strength, and 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 harts, and setting me upon my high places.
35 He teaches me how to fight in battle; he gives me the strength to draw a bronze bow.
He teacheth my bands to war: and maketh my arms like a bow of brass.
36 You protect me with the shield of your salvation; your help has made me great.
Thou hast given me the shield of my salvation: and thy mildness hath multiplied me.
37 You gave me room to walk, and prevented my feet from slipping.
Thou shalt enlarge my steps under me: and my ankles shall 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 after my enemies, and crush them: and will not return again till 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 in pieces, so that they shall not rise: they shall fall under my feet.
40 You made me strong for the battle; you made those who rose up against me kneel low before me.
Thou hast girded me with strength to battle: thou hast made them that resisted me to bow under me.
41 You made my enemies run away; I destroyed all my enemies.
My enemies thou hast made to turn their back to me: them that hated 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 shall cry, and there shall be none to save: to the Lord, and he shall not hear 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 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.
44 You rescued me from rebellious people; you have kept me as ruler over nations—people I didn't know now serve me.
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,
45 Foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey.
The sons of the stranger will resist me, at the hearing of the ear they will obey me.
46 They lose heart, and come trembling in surrender from their strongholds.
The strangers are melted away, and shall be straitened in their distresses.
47 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! May the God who saves me be praised!
The Lord liveth, 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 who giveth me revenge, and bringest down people 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.
Who bringest me forth from my enemies, and liftest me up from them that resist me: from the wicked man thou shalt deliver me.
50 That's why I will praise you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about who you are.
Therefore will I give thanks to thee. O Lord, among the Gentiles, and will sing to thy name.
51 You have saved the king so often, showing your trustworthy love to David, your anointed, and to his descendants forever.”
Giving great salvation to his king, and shewing mercy to David his anointed, and to his seed for ever.
