2 Samuel 22:1-49 ▼

1 And David spoke to YHWH the words of this song on the day when YHWH had snatched him up from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

2 And he said: “YHWH is my rock and stronghold and rescuer to me.

3 God is my rock, I will take refuge in Him, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior; from violence You save me.

4 I will call upon YHWH who is to be praised, and from my enemies I shall be saved.

5 For the waves of death surrounded me, the floods of ungodliness terrified me,

6 the sorrows of Sheol surrounded me, the snares of death confronted me.

7 In my distress I called upon YHWH, and to my God I cried out, and He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry is in His ears.

8 And the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the heavens quaked. And they were shaken, because He was hot.

9 Smoke went up from His nostrils, and consuming fire from His mouth; glowing coals were kindled by it.

10 And He stretched out the heavens and came down, and darkness was under His feet.

11 And He rode upon a cherub and flew, and He soared on the wings of the wind.

12 And He made darkness around Him as a covering, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

13 From the brightness before Him coals of fire blazed forth.

14 YHWH thundered from the heavens, and the Most High gave forth His voice.

15 And He sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and He vanquished them.

16 And the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of YHWH, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

17 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

18 He snatched me up from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me,

19 they confronted me in the day of my calamity, and YHWH was support to me.

20 And He brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

21 YHWH rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has repaid to me.

22 For I have kept the ways of YHWH, and have not done wickedly against my God.

23 For all His ordinances are before me, and His statutes—I have not turned away from them.

24 And I was blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.

25 And YHWH has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness before His eyes.

26 With the kind You show Yourself kind, with a blameless man You show Yourself blameless,

27 with the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

28 And the humble people You will save, and Your eyes are on the haughty, to bring them down.

29 For You are my lamp, O YHWH, and YHWH shall enlighten my darkness.

30 For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall.

31 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of YHWH is refined; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

32 For who is God, except YHWH? And who is a rock, except our God?

33 God is is my stronghold of strength, and He makes perfect my way.

34 He makes my feet like those of a deer, and on my high places He sets me.

35 He teaches my hands for war, and my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 And You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your gentleness has made me great.

37 You enlarged my path under me, and my feet did not slip.

38 I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and neither did I turn back again until they were consumed.

39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them, so that they could not rise, and they have fallen under my feet.

40 And You have girded me with strength for the battle; those who rose against me You have subdued under me.

41 And You have given me the necks of my enemies—of those who hated me—and I destroyed them.

42 They looked, and there was none to save, to YHWH, and He did not answer them.

43 And I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth, like dirt in the streets I crushed them and trampled them.

44 And You have rescued me from the strife of my people, You have kept me as the head of the nations; a people I have not known shall serve me.

45 Sons of a stranger submit to me; at the hearing of an ear, they listen to me.

46 Sons of a stranger fade away and come trembling from their strongholds.

47 YHWH lives, and blessed be my Rock, and may God the Rock of my salvation be exalted.

48 It is God who gives vengeance to me and subdues the peoples under me,

49 and He delivers me from my enemies; and those who rise against me You lift me up above, from the man of violence You deliver me.