2 Samuel 22
1 After Yahweh had rescued David from Saul and his other enemies, David sang a song to Yahweh.
David sang to Yahweh the words of this song on the day that Yahweh rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of 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.
He prayed, “Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, the one who rescues me.
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.
God is my rock. I take refuge in him. He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, and my refuge, the one who saves me from violence.
4 I call out to you, Yahweh; you deserve to be praised, and you rescue me from my enemies.
I will call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised, and I will be saved from my enemies.
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 surrounded me, the rushing waters of destruction overwhelmed me.
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 Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death trapped 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 distress I called to Yahweh; I called to my God; he heard my voice from his temple, and my call for help went into 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 shook and trembled. The foundations of the heavens trembled and were shaken, because God 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.
Smoke went up from out of his nostrils, and blazing fire came out of his mouth. Coals were ignited by it.
10 You tore open the sky and came down; there was a thick dark [cloud] under your feet.
He opened the heavens and came down, and thick darkness was under his feet.
11 You rode [through the sky] on a winged creature; the wind enabled you to travel [swiftly] [MET], like a bird.
He rode on a cherub and flew. He was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 The darkness surrounded you, like a blanket; thick clouds that were full of water also surrounded you.
He made darkness a tent around him, gathering heavy rain clouds in the skies.
13 Out of the lightning in front of you fire from burning coals flamed.
From the lightning before him coals of fire fell.
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.
Yahweh thundered from the heavens. The Most High shouted.
15 When you sent flashes of lightning, [it was as though] [MET] you shot your arrows and scattered your enemies.
He shot arrows and scattered his enemies— lightning bolts and dispersed them.
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 channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare at the rebuke of Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 “Yahweh, you reached down from heaven and lifted me up; you pulled me up from the deep water.
He reached down from above; he took hold of me! He pulled me out of the surging water.
18 You rescued me from my strong enemies, from those who hated me; [I could not defeat them because] they were very strong.
He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
19 They attacked me when I was experiencing troubles/difficulties, but Yahweh, you protected me.
They came against me on the day of my distress, but Yahweh was my support.
20 You brought me to a place where I was safe; you rescued me because you were pleased with me.
He also brought me out to a wide open place. He saved me because he was pleased with 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).
Yahweh has rewarded me to the measure of my righteousness; he has restored me to the measure of the cleanness of my hands.
22 Yahweh, I have obeyed your laws; I have not turned away from you, my God.
For I have kept the ways of Yahweh and have not acted wickedly by turning 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 righteous decrees have been before me; as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.
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.
I have also been innocent before him, and I have 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.
Therefore Yahweh has restored me to the measure of my righteousness, to the degree of my cleanness in his sight.
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.
To one who is faithful, you show yourself to be faithful; to a man who is blameless, you show yourself to be blameless.
27 You act sincerely toward those whose inner beings are pure, but you are hostile to those who are perverse/wicked.
With the pure you show yourself pure, but you are perverse to the twisted.
28 You rescue those who are humble, but you watch [MTY] those who are proud and humiliate them.
You save afflicted people, but your eyes are against the proud, and you bring them down.
29 Yahweh, you are [like] [MET] a lamp that causes it to become light when I am in the dark.
For you are my lamp, Yahweh. Yahweh lights up my darkness.
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].
For by you I can run over a barricade; by my God I can leap 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 perfect. The word of Yahweh is pure. He is a shield to everyone who takes refuge 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 except Yahweh, and who is a rock except 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 is my refuge, and he leads the blameless person on his path.
34 [When I walk] in the mountains, you enable me to walk safely, without stumbling [MET] like a deer runs.
He makes my feet swift like a deer and places me on the high hills.
35 You teach me [how to fight] in a battle in order that I can shoot arrows well from a very strong bow.
He trains my hands for war, and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.
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 shield of your salvation, and your favor 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 a wide place for my feet beneath me, so my feet have not slipped.
38 “pursued my enemies and defeated them; I did not stop [fighting them] until they were all killed.
I pursued my enemies and destroyed them. I did not turn back until they were destroyed.
39 I struck them down; I stabbed them with my sword; they fell down at my feet and did not stand up again.
I devoured them and smashed them; they cannot rise. They have fallen 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.
You put strength on me like a belt for battle; you put under me those who rise up against me.
41 You caused my enemies to turn and run away from me; I destroyed those who hated me.
You gave me the back of my enemies' necks; I annihilated those who hated me.
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 cried for help, but no one saved them; they cried out to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
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.
I beat them into fine pieces like dust on the ground, I pulverized them like mud in 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 also have rescued me from the disputes of my own people. You have kept me as the head of nations. A people that I have not known serves me.
45 Foreigners humbly bowed down in front of me; as soon as they heard about me, they obeyed me.
Foreigners were forced to bow to me. As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 They became afraid, and they came to me, trembling, from the places where they were hiding.
The foreigners came trembling out of their strongholds.
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.
Yahweh lives! May my rock be praised. May God be exalted, the rock of my salvation.
48 You enable me to conquer my enemies; you cause people of [other] nations to be (under my authority/my slaves).
This is the God who executes vengeance for me, the one who brings down peoples under me.
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 sets me free from my enemies. Indeed, you lifted me up above those who rose up against me. You rescue me from violent men.
50 Because of all that, I exalt you among many people-groups and I sing to praise you.
Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations; I will sing praises 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.
God gives great victory to his king, and he shows his covenant loyalty to his anointed one, to David and to his descendants forever.”
