2 Samuel 22

1 After Yahweh had rescued David from Saul and his other enemies, David sang a song to Yahweh.

And David made a song to the Lord in these words, on the day when the Lord made him free from the hands of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul:

2 [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.

And he said, The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour, even mine;

3 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.

My God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my safe place; my saviour, who keeps me safe from the violent man.

4 I call out to you, Yahweh; you deserve to be praised, and you rescue me from my enemies.

I will send up my cry to the Lord, who is to be praised; so will I be made safe from those who are against me.

5 “almost died [PRS]; it was like [MET] a huge wave had crashed over me, and almost destroyed me like a flood.

For the waves of death came round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear;

6 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)

The cords of hell were round me: the nets of death came on me. (Sheol h7585)

7 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.

In my trouble my voice went up to the Lord, and my cry to my God: my voice came to his hearing in his holy Temple, and my prayer came to his ears.

8 “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.

Then the earth was moved with a violent shock; the bases of heaven were moved and shaking, because he was angry.

9 [It was as though] smoke poured out of your nostrils and burning coals and fire that burns everything came out of your mouth.

There went up a smoke from his nose, and a fire of destruction from his mouth: coals were lighted by it.

10 You tore open the sky and came down; there was a thick dark [cloud] under your feet.

The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet.

11 You rode [through the sky] on a winged creature; the wind enabled you to travel [swiftly] [MET], like a bird.

And he went through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly on the wings of the wind.

12 The darkness surrounded you, like a blanket; thick clouds that were full of water also surrounded you.

And he made the dark his tent round him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

13 Out of the lightning in front of you fire from burning coals flamed.

Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and coals of fire.

14 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.

The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out.

15 When you sent flashes of lightning, [it was as though] [MET] you shot your arrows and scattered your enemies.

And he sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled.

16 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.

Then the deep beds of the sea were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of the Lord's wrath, because of the breath of his mouth.

17 “Yahweh, you reached down from heaven and lifted me up; you pulled me up from the deep water.

He sent from on high, he took me, pulling me out of great waters.

18 You rescued me from my strong enemies, from those who hated me; [I could not defeat them because] they were very strong.

He made me free from my strong hater, from those who were against me, because they were stronger than I.

19 They attacked me when I was experiencing troubles/difficulties, but Yahweh, you protected me.

They came on me in the day of my trouble: but the Lord was my support.

20 You brought me to a place where I was safe; you rescued me because you were pleased with me.

He took me out into a wide place; he was my saviour because he had delight in me.

21 “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).

The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him.

22 Yahweh, I have obeyed your laws; I have not turned away from you, my God.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not been turned away in sin from my God.

23 All of your regulations were in my mind, and I did not turn away from [obeying] all your statutes.

For all his decisions were before me, and I did not put away his laws from me.

24 You know that I have not done anything that is evil; I have kept myself from doing things for which I should be punished.

And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin.

25 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.

Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes.

26 “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.

On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright;

27 You act sincerely toward those whose inner beings are pure, but you are hostile to those who are perverse/wicked.

He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge.

28 You rescue those who are humble, but you watch [MTY] those who are proud and humiliate them.

For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but your eyes are on men of pride, to make them low.

29 Yahweh, you are [like] [MET] a lamp that causes it to become light when I am in the dark.

For you are my light, O Lord; and the Lord will make the dark bright for me.

30 With your strength/help I can run through a line of enemy soldiers and I can climb over the wall [that surrounds their city].

By your help I have made a way through the wall which was shutting me in: by the help of my God I have gone over a wall.

31 “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.

As for God, his way is all good: the word of the Lord is tested; he is a safe cover for all those who put their faith in him.

32 Yahweh, you are [RHQ] the only one who is God; only you are like a huge rock [MET] [under which we are protected/safe].

For who is God but the Lord? and who is a Rock but our God?

33 God, you [whom I worship] are a strong refuge for me; you keep me safe on the roads that I [walk on].

God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way.

34 [When I walk] in the mountains, you enable me to walk safely, without stumbling [MET] like a deer runs.

He makes my feet like roes' feet, and puts me on high places.

35 You teach me [how to fight] in a battle in order that I can shoot arrows well from a very strong bow.

He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms.

36 [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.

You have given me the breastplate of your salvation, and your mercy has made me great.

37 You have not allowed [my enemies] to capture me [IDM], and I have not fallen down [during battles].

You have made my steps wide under me, so that my feet make no slip.

38 “pursued my enemies and defeated them; I did not stop [fighting them] until they were all killed.

I go after my haters and overtake them; not turning back till they are all overcome.

39 I struck them down; I stabbed them with my sword; they fell down at my feet and did not stand up again.

I have sent destruction on them and given them wounds, so that they are not able to get up: they are stretched under my feet.

40 You have given me strength for fighting battles and caused those who were attacking me to fall down, and I trampled on them.

For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who came out against me.

41 You caused my enemies to turn and run away from me; I destroyed those who hated me.

By you their backs are turned in flight, so that my haters are cut off.

42 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.

They were crying out, but there was no one to come to their help: even to the Lord, but he gave them no answer.

43 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.

Then they were crushed as small as the dust of the earth, stamped down under my feet like the waste of the streets.

44 “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).

You have made me free from the fightings of my people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants.

45 Foreigners humbly bowed down in front of me; as soon as they heard about me, they obeyed me.

Men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority: from the time when my name comes to their ears, they will be ruled by me.

46 They became afraid, and they came to me, trembling, from the places where they were hiding.

They will be wasted away, they will come out of their secret places shaking with fear.

47 “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.

The Lord is living; praise be to my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be honoured:

48 You enable me to conquer my enemies; you cause people of [other] nations to be (under my authority/my slaves).

It is God who sends punishment on my haters, and puts peoples under my rule.

49 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.

He makes me free from my haters: I am lifted up over those who come up against me: you have made me free from the violent man.

50 Because of all that, I exalt you among many people-groups and I sing to praise you.

Because of this I will give you praise, O Lord, among the nations, and will make a song of praise to your name.

51 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.

Great salvation does he give to his king; he has mercy on the king of his selection, David, and on his seed for ever.