2 Samuel 22

CHAPTER 22

David’s Song of Deliverance

^1aAnd David spoke to Yahweh ^bthe words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the ¹hand of all his enemies and from the ²hand of Saul.

²He said,

“^aYahweh is my ¹rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

^31aMy God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

My ^bshield and ^cthe horn of my salvation, my stronghold and ^dmy refuge;

My savior, You save me from violence.

⁴“I call upon Yahweh, ^awho is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

⁵“For ^athe waves of death encompassed me;

^bThe torrents of ¹vileness terrorized me;

^6aThe cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

⁷“^aIn my distress I called upon Yahweh,

And I called to my God;

And out of His temple He heard my voice,

And my cry for help came into His ears.

⁸“Then ^athe earth shook and quaked;

^bThe foundations of heaven were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

⁹“Smoke went up ¹out of His nostrils,

^aAnd fire from His mouth devoured;

^bCoals were kindled by it.

¹⁰“He bowed the heavens and came down

With ^athick darkness under His feet.

¹¹“^aHe rode on a cherub and flew;

And He ¹appeared upon ^bthe wings of the wind.

¹²“^aAnd He made darkness ¹canopies around Him,

A mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹³“From the brightness before Him

^aCoals of fire were kindled.

¹⁴“^aYahweh thundered from heaven,

And the Most High gave forth His voice.

¹⁵“^aAnd He sent out arrows, and scattered them,

Lightning, and ¹threw them into confusion.

¹⁶“Then the channels of the sea appeared,

The foundations of the world were ¹laid bare

By the rebuke of Yahweh,

^aAt the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

¹⁷“^aHe sent from on high, He took me;

^bHe drew me out of many waters.

¹⁸“He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁹“They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

^aBut Yahweh was my support.

²⁰“^aHe brought me forth also into a broad place;

He rescued me, ^bbecause He delighted in me.

²¹“^aYahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

^bAccording to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

²²“^aFor I have kept the ways of Yahweh,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

²³“^aFor all His ¹judgments were before me,

And as for His statutes, I did not depart from ²them.

²⁴“^aI was also ¹blameless toward Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁵“^aTherefore Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to my cleanness before His eyes.

²⁶“^aWith the ¹kind You show Yourself ²kind,

With the ³blameless You show Yourself ⁴blameless;

^27aWith the pure You show Yourself pure,

^bAnd with the crooked You show Yourself ¹astute.

²⁸“^aAnd You save an afflicted people;

^bBut Your eyes are on the haughty whom You bring down.

²⁹“^aFor You are my lamp, O Yahweh;

And Yahweh illumines my darkness.

³⁰“^aFor by You I can ¹run upon a troop;

By my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹“^aAs for God, His way is ¹blameless;

^bThe word of Yahweh is ²tried;

^cHe is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³²“^aFor who is God, but Yahweh?

^bAnd who is a rock, but our God?

³³“^aGod is my strong fortress;

And He ¹sets the ²blameless in ³His way.

³⁴“^aHe makes ¹my feet like hinds’ feet,

^bAnd sets me on my high places.

³⁵“^aHe trains my hands for battle,

^bSo that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶“You have also given me ^athe shield of Your salvation,

And Your answer to me makes me great.

³⁷“^aYou enlarge my steps under me,

And my ankles have not given way.

³⁸“I pursued my enemies and ^adestroyed them,

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁹“And I have consumed them and crushed them, so that they did not rise;

And ^athey fell under my feet.

⁴⁰“For You have girded me with strength for battle;

You have ¹subdued under me ^athose who rose up against me.

⁴¹“¹You have also ^amade my enemies turn their backs to me,

And I ²destroyed those who hated me.

⁴²“^aThey looked, but there was none to save;

^bEven to Yahweh, but He did not answer them.

⁴³“^aThen I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;

^bI pulverized and stamped them as the mire of the streets.

⁴⁴“^aYou have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;

^bYou have kept me as head of the nations;

^cA people whom I have not known serve me.

⁴⁵“^aForeigners cower before me;

As soon as they hear, they obey me.

⁴⁶“Foreigners fade away,

^aAnd ¹come trembling out of their ²fortresses.

⁴⁷“Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock;

And let ^1aGod, the rock of my salvation, be lifted high,

^48aThe God who executes vengeance for me,

^bAnd brings down peoples under me,

⁴⁹Who also brings me out from my enemies;

You even lift me above ^athose who rise up against me;

^bYou rescue me from the violent man.

⁵⁰“^aTherefore I will give thanks to You, O Yahweh, among the nations,

And I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵¹“^aHe ¹gives great salvation to His king,

And ^bshows lovingkindness to His anointed,

^cTo David and his seed forever.”