2 Samuel 22

2 Samuel 22:1 David spoke the words of this song to Yahveh on the day Yahveh rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul.

2 Samuel 22:2 He said: Yahveh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

2 Samuel 22:3 my God, my rock where I seek refuge. My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, you save me from violence.

2 Samuel 22:4 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

2 Samuel 22:5 For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me.

2 Samuel 22:6 The ropes of Sheol[1] entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

2 Samuel 22:7 I called to Yahveh in my distress; I called to my God. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry for help reached his ears.

2 Samuel 22:8 Then the land shook and quaked; the foundations of the sky trembled; they shook because he burned with anger.

2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; coals were burned by it.

2 Samuel 22:10 He bent the sky and came down, total darkness beneath his feet.

2 Samuel 22:11 He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.[2]

2 Samuel 22:12 He made darkness a canopy around him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.

2 Samuel 22:13 From the radiance of his presence, blazing coals were burning.

2 Samuel 22:14 Yahveh thundered from the sky; the Most High made his voice heard.

2 Samuel 22:15 He shot arrows and scattered them; he hurled lightning bolts and routed them.

2 Samuel 22:16 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the Lord, at the breathing[3] of the breath of his nostrils.

2 Samuel 22:17 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of deep water.

2 Samuel 22:18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

2 Samuel 22:19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but Yahveh was my support.

2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

2 Samuel 22:21 Yahveh rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of Yahveh and have not turned from my God to wickedness.

2 Samuel 22:23 Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me and have not disregarded his statutes.

2 Samuel 22:24 I was blameless before him and kept myself from my iniquity.

2 Samuel 22:25 So Yahveh repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

2 Samuel 22:26 With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless,

2 Samuel 22:27 with the pure you prove yourself pure; but with the crooked you prove yourself shrewd.

2 Samuel 22:28 You rescue an oppressed people, but your eyes are set against the proud– you humble them.

2 Samuel 22:29 Lord, you are my lamp; Yahveh illuminates my darkness.

2 Samuel 22:30 With you I can attack a barricade, and with my God I can leap over a wall.

2 Samuel 22:31 God– his way is perfect; the word of Yahveh is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.

2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God.

2 Samuel 22:33 God is my strong refuge; he makes my way perfect.

2 Samuel 22:34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.

2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

2 Samuel 22:36 You have given me the shield of your salvation; your help exalts me.

2 Samuel 22:37 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.

2 Samuel 22:38 I pursue my enemies and exterminatethem; I do not turn back until they are wiped out.

2 Samuel 22:39 I wipe them out and crush them, and they do not rise; they fall beneath my feet.

2 Samuel 22:40 You have clothed me with strength for battle; you subdue my adversaries beneath me.

2 Samuel 22:41 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me.

2 Samuel 22:42 They look, but there is no one to save them– they look to the Lord, but he does not answer them.

2 Samuel 22:43 I pulverize them like dust of the land; I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.

2 Samuel 22:44 You have freed me from the feuds among my people; you have preserved me as head of nations; a people I had not known serve me.

2 Samuel 22:45 Foreigners submit to me cringing; as soon as they hear, they obey me.

2 Samuel 22:46 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.

2 Samuel 22:47 Yahveh lives– blessed be my rock! God, the rock of my salvation, is exalted.

2 Samuel 22:48 God– he grants me vengeance and casts down peoples under me.

2 Samuel 22:49 He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; you rescue me from violent men.

2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about your name.

2 Samuel 22:51 He is a tower of salvation for his king; he shows loyalty to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

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[1] שְׁאוֹל = Sheol (the death state). 2 Samuel 22:6.

[2]רוּחַ = wind, breath. 2 Samuel 22:11, 16; 23:2.

[3]נְשָׁמָה = breathing. 2 Samuel 22:16.

links:

famous last words
Sheol in the Bible- The Old Testament Consensus
where did all the spirits go?

The 2 SAMUEL shelf in Jeff’s library