2 Samuel 22
1 And David spake unto Yahweh, the words of this song, in the day when Yahweh had rescued 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, —Yahweh, was my mountain crag and my stronghold, and my deliverer—mine;
[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 My God, was my rock, I sought refuge in him, —My shield, and my horn of salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, My Saviour! from violence, thou didst save me.
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 As one worthy to be praised, called I on Yahweh, —And, from my foes, was I saved.
I call out to you, Yahweh; you deserve to be praised, and you rescue me from my enemies.
5 When the breakers of death had encompassed me, —the torrents of perdition, 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, called I on Yahweh, Yea, unto my God, did I call, —and he hearkened, out of his temple, unto my voice, and, my cry for help, was in 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 Then did the earth shake and quake, the foundations of the heavens, were deeply moved, —yea they did shake, because he was angry,
“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 There went up a smoke in his nostrils, and, a fire out of his mouth, devoured, —live coals, were kindled from 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 Then he stretched out the heavens, and came down, —and, thick gloom, was under his feet;
You tore open the sky and came down; there was a thick dark [cloud] under your feet.
11 Then he rode on a cherub, and flew, —and was seen on 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 And made of the darkness around him, pavilions, —gathering of waters, clouds of vapours.
The darkness surrounded you, like a blanket; thick clouds that were full of water also surrounded you.
13 Out of the brightness before him, were kindled live coals of fire;
Out of the lightning in front of you fire from burning coals flamed.
14 Thunder from the heavens, did Yahweh give forth, —yea, the Highest, uttered 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 And he sent forth arrows, and scattered them, —lightning, and confused them;
When you sent flashes of lightning, [it was as though] [MET] you shot your arrows and scattered your enemies.
16 Then appeared the channels of the sea, were uncovered the foundations of the world, —at the rebuke of Yahweh, the blast of the breath of his nostrils;
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, he took me, —he 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 rescued me from my foe, in his might, —from them who hated me, because 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 They confronted me, in the day of my necessity, —then became Yahweh my stay:
They attacked me when I was experiencing troubles/difficulties, but Yahweh, you protected me.
20 And brought out, into a large place, even me, —he delivered me, because he delighted in me:
You brought me to a place where I was safe; you rescued me because you were pleased with me.
21 Yahweh rewarded me, according to my righteousness—according to the cleanness of my hands, he repaid 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 For I had kept the ways of Yahweh, —and not broken away from my God;
Yahweh, I have obeyed your laws; I have not turned away from you, my God.
23 For, all his regulations, were before me, —and, as for his statutes, I turned not from them.
All of your regulations were in my mind, and I did not turn away from [obeying] all your statutes.
24 So became I blameless towards him, —and kept myself from mine 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 Yahweh therefore repaid me, according to my righteousness, —according to my pureness before 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 loving, thou didst show thyself loving, —with the blameless hero, thou didst show thyself blameless;
“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 pure, thou didst show thyself pure, —but, with the perverse, thou didst shew thyself ready to contend:
You act sincerely toward those whose inner beings are pure, but you are hostile to those who are perverse/wicked.
28 And, a patient people, thou didst save, —but, thine eyes, were on the lofty—thou layedst them low;
You rescue those who are humble, but you watch [MTY] those who are proud and humiliate them.
29 For, thou, wast my lamp, O Yahweh, —and, Yahweh, enlightened my darkness;
Yahweh, you are [like] [MET] a lamp that causes it to become light when I am in the dark.
30 For, by thee, I ran through a troop, —by my God, I leapt over a 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 As for God, blameless is his way, —the speech of Yahweh, hath been proved, a shield, he is to all who seek refuge 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 For who is a GOD, save Yahweh? and who a Rock, save 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, is my fortress of strength, —and shewed to the blameless his way;
God, you [whom I worship] are a strong refuge for me; you keep me safe on the roads that I [walk on].
34 Planting my feet like the hinds’, —yea, on my high places, he caused me to stand;
[When I walk] in the mountains, you enable me to walk safely, without stumbling [MET] like a deer runs.
35 Teaching my hands, to war, —so that a bow of bronze was bent by mine arms;
You teach me [how to fight] in a battle in order that I can shoot arrows well from a very strong bow.
36 Thus didst thou grant me, as a shield, thy salvation, —and, thy condescension, made me great.
[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 didst widen my stepping-places, under me, —so that mine ankles faltered not:
You have not allowed [my enemies] to capture me [IDM], and I have not fallen down [during battles].
38 I pursued my foes, and destroyed them, —and returned not, till they were consumed;
“pursued my enemies and defeated them; I did not stop [fighting them] until they were all killed.
39 So I consumed them, and crushed them, and they rose not again, —thus fell they 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 Thus didst thou gird me with strength, for the battle, —thou subduedst mine assailants 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 And, as for my foes, thou didst give me their neck, —yea, them who hated me, that I might destroy them:
You caused my enemies to turn and run away from me; I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They cried out, but there was none to save, —unto Yahweh, but he answered them not.
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 Then did I beat them in pieces, like the dust of the earth, —like the clay of the lanes, did I crush them, stamp them down.
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 Thus didst thou rescue me from the contentions of my people, didst keep me to be the head of nations: —a people whom I had not known, served 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 foreigner, came cringing unto me, —at the hearing of the ear, they submitted to me, —
Foreigners humbly bowed down in front of me; as soon as they heard about me, they obeyed me.
46 The sons of the foreigner, were disheartened, and came quaking, out of their fortresses.
They became afraid, and they came to me, trembling, from the places where they were hiding.
47 Yahweh liveth, and blessed be my rock, —and exalted be the God (of the rock) of my salvation: —
“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 The GOD who hath avenged me, and brought down peoples under me;
You enable me to conquer my enemies; you cause people of [other] nations to be (under my authority/my slaves).
49 And brought me forth from among my foes, —yea, from mine assailants, hast thou set me on high, from the man of violence, hast thou delivered 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 For this cause, will I praise thee, O Yahweh, among the nations, —and, to thy name, will I touch the strings: —
Because of all that, I exalt you among many people-groups and I sing to praise you.
51 Who hath made great the victories of his King, —and shown lovingkindness to his Anointed One, to David and to his Seed, unto times age-abiding.
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.
