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 unto the Lord the words of this song, and on the day that the Lord had 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, Lord, my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer;
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, my rock, in whom I trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour! from violence dost thou save me!
4 I call for help from the Lord, who should be praised, and he saves me from those who hate me.
Praised, I cried, be the Lord, and from my enemies was I saved.
5 The waves of death swept over me; surging waters of destruction flooded over me;
For the waves of death encompassed me, the floods of destruction made me afraid;
The bonds of hell encircled me, the snares of death seized on 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.
[When] in my distress I called upon the Lord, and to my God I cried; and he heard from his temple my voice, and my complaint [entered] into his ears.
8 The earth shook to and fro; the foundations of the heavens trembled, shaking because of his anger.
Then shook and trembled the earth; the foundations of the heavens were moved; and they shook, because he was wroth.
9 Smoke came out of his nostrils, and fire from his mouth, burning coals that blazed before him.
Smoke went up in his anger, and consuming fire out of his mouth, coals flamed forth from him.
10 He pushed aside the heavens and came down, with dark clouds beneath his feet.
And he bent the heavens, and came down, and thick darkness was under his feet.
11 Riding on a heavenly being he flew, swooping on the wings of the wind.
And he rode upon a cherub, and flew along, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12 He hid himself in darkness, covering himself with black rainclouds.
And he made darkness round about him into pavilions, heavy masses of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
13 Burning coals blazed out of his brightness.
From the brightness before him flamed forth coals of fire.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered forth his voice.
15 He fired his arrows, scattering his enemies, he routed them with his lightning bolts.
And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited 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 then were seen the channels of the sea, there were laid open the foundations of the world; at the rebuke of the Lord, through the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He reached down his hand from above and grabbed hold of me. He dragged me out of the deep water.
He stretched out from above [his hand], he took me; he drew me out from the mighty 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 enemy, the strong, from those that hated me, when they were too mighty for me.
19 They came at me at my worst possible moment, but the Lord supported me.
They overcame me on the day of my calamity; but 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 space: he delivered me, because he had delight in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me because I do what's right; he repaid me because I am innocent.
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the purity of my hands did he recompense me.
22 For I have followed the Lord's ways; I have not sinned by turning away from my God.
For I had kept the ways of the Lord, and had not wickedly departed from my God.
23 I have kept all his laws in mind; I have not ignored his commandments.
For all his ordinances were before me, and from none of his statutes did I depart.
24 I am blameless in his sight; I keep myself from sinning.
I was also upright toward him, and I guarded myself against my iniquity.
25 The Lord rewarded me for doing what's right. I am innocent in his sight.
Therefore did the Lord recompense me according to my righteousness, according to my purity before his eyes.
26 You show trust to those who are trusting; you show integrity to those with integrity,
With the kind thou wilt show thyself kind; with the upright mighty man thou wilt show thyself upright.
27 You show yourself pure to those who are pure, but you show yourself astute to those who are crafty.
With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the perverse thou wilt wage a contest.
28 You save the humble, but your eyes watch the proud to bring them down.
And the afflicted people thou wilt save; but thy eyes are upon the haughty, [that] thou mayest bring [them] down.
29 You, Lord, are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness.
For thou art my lamp, O Lord! and the Lord will 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 [aided] by thee I run through a troop: [helped] by my God I leap over a 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.
As for God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; he is a shield to all that trust in him.
32 For who is God except the Lord? Who is a Rock, except our God?
For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God?
33 God makes me strong and keeps me safe.
God is my strength and power; and he rendereth free from obstruction my way.
34 He makes me surefooted like the deer, able to walk the heights in safety.
He maketh my feet like those of the hinds, and upon my high places he causeth me to stand.
35 He teaches me how to fight in battle; he gives me the strength to draw a bronze bow.
He teaches my hands for the war, so that a brazen bow is bent by my arms.
36 You protect me with the shield of your salvation; your help has made me great.
And thou gavest me the shield of thy salvation; and thy assistance hath made me great.
37 You gave me room to walk, and prevented my feet from slipping.
Thou enlargest my steps under me, so that my joints do not slip.
38 I chased my enemies, and caught up with them. I did not turn around until I had destroyed them.
I pursue my enemies and destroy them; and I return not again until I have made an end of them.
39 I struck them down—they couldn't get up. They fell at my feet.
And I make an end of them, and I crush them, that they cannot rise; and they fall under my feet.
40 You made me strong for the battle; you made those who rose up against me kneel low before me.
For thou hast girded me with strength for the war; thou subduest my opponents under me.
41 You made my enemies run away; I destroyed all my enemies.
And my enemies thou causest to turn their back to me; those that hate me, —that I may 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 look about, but there is none to help; unto the Lord—but he answereth them not.
43 I ground them into dust, like the dust of the earth. I crushed them and threw them out like mud in the street.
And I beat them small as the dust of the earth; as the mire of the street, I stamp them, I tread them down.
44 You rescued me from rebellious people; you have kept me as ruler over nations—people I didn't know now serve me.
Thou hast also delivered me from the contests of my people: thou preservest me to be the head of nations, a people which I know not shall serve me.
45 Foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey.
The children of the stranger shall utter flattery unto me; as soon as their ear heareth they shall be obedient unto me.
46 They lose heart, and come trembling in surrender from their strongholds.
The children of the stranger shall fade away, and come forth tottering out of their close places.
47 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! May the God who saves me be praised!
The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God, the Rock of my salvation;
48 God avenges me, he puts peoples under me,
The God, that granteth me vengeance, and bringeth down nations 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.
And that bringeth me forth from my enemies: also above my opponents thou liftest me up, from the man of violence thou deliverest 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 unto thee, O Lord, among the nations, and unto thy name will I sing praises;
51 You have saved the king so often, showing your trustworthy love to David, your anointed, and to his descendants forever.”
[To] the tower of salvation of his king, and who showeth kindness to his anointed, to David and to his seed forever.
