2 Samuel 22
1 And David speaketh to Jehovah the words of this song in the day Jehovah hath delivered 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 saith: 'Jehovah [is] my rock, And my bulwark, and a deliverer to me,
[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 [is] my rock — I take refuge in Him; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge! My Saviour, from violence Thou savest 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 The Praised One, I call Jehovah: And from mine enemies I am 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 compassed me, The streams of the worthless terrify me,
“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 mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I call, And He heareth from His temple my voice, And my cry [is] 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 And shake and tremble doth the earth, Foundations of the heavens are troubled, And are shaken, for He hath wrath!
“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 Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by 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 And He inclineth heaven, and cometh down, And thick darkness [is] under His feet.
You tore open the sky and came down; there was a thick dark [cloud] under your feet.
11 And He rideth on a cherub, and doth fly, And is 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 He setteth darkness Round about Him — tabernacles, Darkness of waters — thick clouds of the skies.
The darkness surrounded you, like a blanket; thick clouds that were full of water also surrounded you.
13 From the brightness before Him Were brands of fire kindled!
Out of the lightning in front of you fire from burning coals flamed.
14 Thunder from the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth 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 sendeth forth arrows, And scattereth them; Lightning, and troubleth them;
When you sent flashes of lightning, [it was as though] [MET] you shot your arrows and scattered your enemies.
16 And seen are the streams of the sea, Revealed are foundations of the world, By the rebuke of Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of His anger.
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 sendeth from above — He taketh me, He draweth 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 delivereth me from my strong enemy, From those hating me, For they were stronger than I.
You rescued me from my strong enemies, from those who hated me; [I could not defeat them because] they were very strong.
19 They are before me in a day of my calamity, And Jehovah is my support,
They attacked me when I was experiencing troubles/difficulties, but Yahweh, you protected me.
20 And He bringeth me out to a large place, He draweth me out for He delighted in me.
You brought me to a place where I was safe; you rescued me because you were pleased with me.
21 Jehovah recompenseth me, According to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands, He doth return to 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 have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not done wickedly against my God.
Yahweh, I have obeyed your laws; I have not turned away from you, my God.
23 For all His judgments [are] before me, As to His statutes, I turn not from them.
All of your regulations were in my mind, and I did not turn away from [obeying] all your statutes.
24 And I am perfect before Him, And I keep 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 And Jehovah returneth to me, According to my righteousness, According to my cleanness 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 kind Thou shewest Thyself kind, With the perfect man Thou shewest Thyself perfect,
“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 shewest Thyself pure, And with the perverse Thou shewest Thyself a wrestler.
You act sincerely toward those whose inner beings are pure, but you are hostile to those who are perverse/wicked.
28 And the poor people Thou dost save, And Thine eyes on the high causest to fall.
You rescue those who are humble, but you watch [MTY] those who are proud and humiliate them.
29 For Thou [art] my lamp, O Jehovah, And Jehovah doth lighten 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 run — a troop, By my God I leap 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 God! Perfect [is] His way, The saying of Jehovah is tried, A shield He [is] to all those trusting 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 God save Jehovah? 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 — my bulwark, [my] strength, And He maketh perfect my way;
God, you [whom I worship] are a strong refuge for me; you keep me safe on the roads that I [walk on].
34 Making my feet like hinds, And on my high places causeth 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 for battle, And brought down was a bow of brass 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 And Thou givest to me the shield of Thy salvation, And Thy lowliness maketh 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 enlargest my step under me, And mine ankles have not slidden.
You have not allowed [my enemies] to capture me [IDM], and I have not fallen down [during battles].
38 I pursue mine enemies and destroy them, And I turn not till they are consumed.
“pursued my enemies and defeated them; I did not stop [fighting them] until they were all killed.
39 And I consume them, and smite them, And they rise not, and fall 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 And Thou girdest me [with] strength for battle, Thou causest my withstanders to bow 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 mine enemies — Thou givest to me the neck, Those hating me — and I cut them off.
You caused my enemies to turn and run away from me; I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They look, and there is no saviour; Unto Jehovah, and He hath not answered them.
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 And I beat them as dust of the earth, As mire of the streets I beat them small — I spread them out!
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 And — Thou dost deliver me From the strivings of my people, Thou placest me for a head of nations; A people I have not known do serve 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 Sons of a stranger feign obedience to me, At the hearing of the ear they hearken to me.
Foreigners humbly bowed down in front of me; as soon as they heard about me, they obeyed me.
46 Sons of a stranger fade away, And gird themselves by their close places.
They became afraid, and they came to me, trembling, from the places where they were hiding.
47 Jehovah liveth, and blessed [is] my Rock, And exalted is my God — 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 God — who is giving vengeance to me, And bringing 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 bringing me forth from mine enemies, Yea, above my withstanders Thou raisest me up. From a man of violence Thou deliverest 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 Therefore I confess Thee, O Jehovah, among nations. And to Thy name I sing praise.
Because of all that, I exalt you among many people-groups and I sing to praise you.
51 Magnifying the salvations of His king, And doing loving-kindness to His anointed, To David, and to his seed — unto the age!'
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.
