2Sa 22 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day that the Lord had saved him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul .

‏ 2 Samuel 22

David’s Psalm of Deliverance

1 ^aNow David spoke ^bthe words of this song to the Lord on the day that the Lord had saved him from the ^{▼▼Lit palm}hand of all his enemies and from the ^{▼▼Lit palm}hand of Saul. 2 He said,
“ ^eThe Lord is my ^{▼▼Lit crag}rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3 ^{▼▼As in LXX; MT God of my rock} ^hMy God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
My ⁱshield and ^jthe horn of my salvation, my stronghold and ^kmy refuge;
My savior, You save me from violence.
4 “I call upon the Lord, ^lwho is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
5 “For ^mthe waves of death encompassed me;
ⁿThe floods of ^{▼▼Or wickedness; Heb Belial}destruction terrified me;
6 ^pThe ropes of ^{▼▼I.e., the netherworld}Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7 “ ^rIn my distress I called upon the Lord,
Yes, I called out to my God;
And from His temple He heard my voice,
And my cry for help came into His ears.
8 “Then ^sthe earth shook and quaked,
^tThe foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
9 “Smoke went up ^{▼▼I.e., in his anger}out of His nostrils,
^vAnd fire from His mouth was devouring;
^wCoals were kindled by it.
10 “He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With ^xthick darkness under His feet.
11 “ ^yHe rode on a cherub and flew;
He ^{▼▼Many mss glided}appeared on ^aathe wings of the wind.
12 “ ^abHe made darkness canopies around Him,
A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
13 “From the brightness before Him
^acCoals of fire were kindled.
14 “ ^adThe Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
15 “ ^aeAnd He shot arrows and scattered them,
Lightning, and ^{▼▼Lit confused}routed them.
16 “Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were exposed
By the rebuke of the Lord,
^agFrom the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17 “ ^ahHe sent from on high, He took me;
^aiHe drew me out of many waters.
18 “He rescued me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
19 “They confronted me on the day of my disaster,
^ajBut the Lord was my support.
20 “ ^akHe also brought me out into an open place;
He rescued me, ^albecause He delighted in me.
21 “ ^amThe Lord has treated me in accordance with my righteousness;
^anIn accordance with the cleanliness of my hands He has repaid me.
22 “ ^aoFor I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not acted wickedly against my God.
23 “ ^apFor all His ordinances were before me,
And as for His statutes, I did not deviate from ^{▼▼Lit it}them.
24 “ ^arI was also ^{▼▼Lit complete; or having integrity}blameless toward Him,
And I have kept myself from my wrongdoing.
25 “ ^atSo the Lord has repaid me in accordance with my righteousness,
In accordance with my cleanliness before His eyes.
26 “ ^auWith the one who is faithful You show Yourself faithful,
With the ^{▼▼Lit complete; or having integrity}blameless one You prove Yourself ^{▼▼Lit complete; or having integrity}blameless;
27 ^axWith the one who is pure You show Yourself pure,
^ayBut with the perverted You ^{▼▼As in two Heb mss and Ps 18:26; MT pretend stupidity}show Yourself astute.
28 “ ^baAnd You save an afflicted people;
^bbBut Your eyes are on the haughty whom You humiliate.
29 “ ^bcFor You are my lamp, Lord;
And the Lord illuminates my darkness.
30 “ ^bdFor by You I can run at a ^{▼▼Or wall}troop of warriors;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
31 “ ^bfAs for God, His way is ^{▼▼Lit complete; or having integrity}blameless;
^bhThe word of the Lord is refined;
^biHe is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 “ ^bjFor who is God, except the Lord?
^bkAnd who is a rock, except our God?
33 “ ^blGod is my strong fortress;
And He ^{▼▼Or sets free}sets the ^{▼▼Lit complete; or having integrity}blameless on ^{▼▼Another reading is my}His way.
34 “ ^bpHe makes ^{▼▼Another reading is His}my feet like deer’s feet,
^brAnd sets me on my high places.
35 “ ^bsHe trains my hands for battle,
^btSo that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 “You have also given me ^buthe shield of Your salvation,
And Your ^{▼▼Lit answering}help makes me great.
37 “ ^bwYou enlarge my steps under me,
And my ^{▼▼Lit ankles}feet have not slipped.
38 “I pursued my enemies and ^byeliminated them,
And I did not turn back until they were finished off.
39 “And I have devoured them and smashed them, so that they would not rise;
And ^bzthey fell under my feet.
40 “For You have encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced ^cathose who rose up against me to bow down under me.
41 “You have also ^cbmade my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I ^{▼▼Or silenced}destroyed those who hated me.
42 “ ^cdThey looked, but there was no one to save them;
^ce Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43 “ ^cfThen I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;
^cgI crushed and trampled them like the mud of the streets.
44 “ ^chYou have also saved me from the contentions of my people;
^ciYou have kept me as head of the nations;
^cjA people I have not known serve me.
45 “ ^ckForeigners pretend to obey me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 “Foreigners lose heart,
^clAnd ^{▼▼Reading based on Ps 18:45; MT belt up themselves}come trembling out of their fortresses.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock;
And exalted be ^{▼▼As in LXX; MT the God of the rock} ^comy God, the rock of my salvation,
48 ^cpThe God who executes vengeance for me,
^cqAnd brings down peoples under me,
49 Who also brings me out from my enemies;
You also raise me above ^crthose who rise up against me;
^csYou rescue me from the violent person.
50 “ ^ctTherefore I will ^{▼▼Or praise}give thanks to You, Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
51 “ ^cvHe is a tower of ^{▼▼Lit acts of salvation}salvation to His king,
And ^cxshows favor to His anointed,
^cyTo David and his ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants forever.”