2 Samuel 22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 22
Song of Thanksgiving.[a] 1 David proclaimed the words of this song to the Lord when the Lord had rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul.(A) 2 He said:(B)
O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock of refuge!
My shield, my saving horn,[b]
my stronghold, my refuge,
my savior, from violence you keep me safe.(C)
4 Praised be the Lord, I exclaim!
I have been delivered from my enemies.
5 The breakers of death surged round about me,
the menacing floods[c] terrified me;
6 The cords of Sheol tightened;
the snares of death lay in wait for me.
7 In my distress I called out: Lord!
I cried out to my God;
From his temple[d] he heard my voice,
my cry reached his ears.
8 The earth rocked and shook;[e]
the foundations of the heavens trembled;
they shook as his wrath flared up.
9 Smoke rose in his nostrils,
a devouring fire from his mouth;
it kindled coals into flame.
10 He parted the heavens and came down,
a dark cloud under his feet.(D)
11 Mounted on a cherub[f] he flew,
borne along on the wings of the wind.(E)
12 He made darkness the cover about him,
a mass of water, heavy thunderheads.
13 From the brightness of his presence
coals were kindled to flame.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High made his voice resound.
15 He let fly arrows and scattered them;
lightning, and dispersed them.(F)
16 Then the bed of the sea appeared;
the world’s foundations lay bare,
At the roar of the Lord,
at the storming breath of his nostrils.(G)
17 He reached down from on high and seized me,
drew me out of the deep waters.(H)
18 He rescued me from my mighty enemy,
from foes too powerful for me.
19 They attacked me on a day of distress,
but the Lord came to my support.
20 He set me free in the open;
he rescued me because he loves me.
21 The Lord acknowledged my righteousness;
rewarded my clean hands.
22 For I kept the ways of the Lord;
I was not disloyal to my God.
23 His laws were all before me,
his decrees I did not cast aside.
24 I was honest toward him;
I was on guard against sin.
25 So the Lord rewarded my righteousness,
the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
26 (I)Toward the faithful you are faithful;[g]
to the honest you are honest;
27 Toward the sincere you are sincere;
but to the perverse you are devious.
28 Humble people you save,
though on the haughty your eyes look down.
29 You are my lamp, O Lord!
My God brightens the darkness about me.
30 With you I can rush an armed band,
with my God to help I can leap a wall.
31 God’s way is unerring;
the Lord’s promise is tried and true;
he is a shield for all who trust in him.(J)
32 Truly, who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is the rock?
33 This God who girded me with might,
kept my way unerring,
34 Who made my feet swift as a deer’s,
set me safe on the heights,(K)
35 Who trained my hands for war,
my arms to bend even a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me your protecting shield,
and your help has made me great.
37 You gave me room to stride;
my feet never stumbled.
38 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till I destroyed them.
39 I struck them down, and they did not rise;
they fell dead at my feet.
40 You girded me with strength for war;
subdued adversaries at my feet.
41 My foes you put to flight before me;
those who hated me I destroyed.
42 They cried for help, but no one saved them,
cried to the Lord but got no answer.
43 I ground them fine as the dust of the earth;
like mud in the streets I trod them down.
44 You rescued me from the strife of my people;
you made me head over nations.
A people I had not known became my slaves;
45 Foreigners cringed before me;
as soon as they heard of me they obeyed.
46 Their courage failed;
they came trembling from their fortresses.
47 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock!
Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation.
48 O God who granted me vindication,
subdued peoples under me,
49 and helped me escape from my enemies,
Truly you have exalted me above my adversaries,
from the violent you have rescued me.
50 Thus I will proclaim you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.(L)
51 You have given great victories to your king,
and shown kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
Footnotes
- 22:1–51 This psalm of thanksgiving also appears in the Psalter, with a few small variants, as Ps 18. In both places it is attributed to David. Two main sections can be distinguished. In the first part, after an introductory stanza of praise to God (vv. 2–4), the writer describes the peril he was in (vv. 5–7), and then poetically depicts, under the form of a theophany, God’s intervention in his behalf (vv. 8–20), concluding with an acknowledgment of God’s justice (vv. 21–31). In the second part, God is praised for having prepared the psalmist for war (vv. 32–35), given him victory over his enemies (vv. 36–39), whom he put to flight (vv. 40–43), and bestowed on him dominion over many peoples (vv. 44–46). The entire song ends with an expression of grateful praise (vv. 47–51).
- 22:3 My saving horn: my strong savior. The horn, such as that of an enraged bull, was a symbol of strength; cf. Lk 1:69.
- 22:5–6 Breakers…floods: traditional Old Testament imagery for lethal danger, from which the Lord is uniquely able to rescue; cf. Ps 69:2, 15–16; 89:10–11; Jon 2:3–6.
- 22:7 His temple: his heavenly abode.
- 22:8–10 The Lord’s coming is depicted by means of a storm theophany, including earthquake (vv. 8, 16) and thunderstorm (vv. 9–15); cf. Jgs 5:4–5; Ps 29; 97:2–6; Hb 3.
- 22:11 Mounted on a cherub: in the traditional storm theophany, as here, the Lord appears with thunder, lightning, earthquake, rain, darkness, cloud, and wind. Sometimes these are represented as his retinue; sometimes he is said to ride upon the clouds or “the wings of the wind” (Ps 104:3). The parallelism in v. 11 suggests that the winged creatures called cherubim are imagined as bearing the Lord aloft. In the iconography of the ark of the covenant, the Lord was “enthroned upon the cherubim”; cf. Ex 37:7–9; 1 Sm 4:4; 2 Sm 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15; Ps 80:2; 99:1.
- 22:26–27 People are treated by God in the same way they treat him and other people.
2 Samuel 22
King James Version
22 And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
2 And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
4 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
7 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the Lord, 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 delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.
24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.
25 Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.
27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.
29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.
30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.
31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
32 For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God?
33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.
35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.
37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.
38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.
39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.
40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.
41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.
42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.
45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.
47 The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.
48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me.
49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.
51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.