2 Samuel 22

David spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

1And 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:

NoteIn the King James Version, "LORD" printed in capitals stands for the personal name of God in Hebrew, written YHWH. Jewish readers did not say it aloud, substituting the ordinary word for "lord," and English Bibles have followed that practice ever since. Nearly the same song appears again, with small differences of wording, as Psalm 18; Saul is singled out from the other enemies because David spent years as a fugitive from him before becoming king.

2He said: The LORD is my rock, my strong walled place, and the one who sets me free.

2And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

Note"Rock" is not a decoration here. In the rocky hill country of Judah, where David hid from Saul, a crag or cliff was a literal place of safety: hard to climb, easy to defend, impossible to surround. The "strong walled place" is a mountain stronghold of the same kind.

3He is the God who is my rock; I will trust in him. He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, my high tower and my safe place, the one who saves me. You save me from violence.

3The 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.

Note"The horn of my salvation" is an image taken from a bull or a ram: the horn is where the animal's strength is concentrated and where it strikes. To call someone your horn is to call him the force that fights for you. A raised horn means power and victory; a horn cut off means defeat.

4I will call on the LORD, who deserves to be praised, and I will be saved from my enemies.

4I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

5The waves of death closed in around me. The rushing floods of ruin filled me with fear.

5When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;

NoteThe word behind the King James "ungodly men" is the Hebrew *belial*, which means something like "worthlessness" or "destruction." It is not certain here whether it names hostile people or, as many take it, the destructive floodwaters themselves; the rendering follows the second sense.

6The ropes of the grave wrapped around me. The traps of death were set right in front of me.

6The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

Note"Hell" in the King James does not mean a place of punishment. The Hebrew is *Sheol*, the underworld where all the dead were thought to go, good and bad alike, the grave understood as a realm. Also note that "prevented" in 1611 English meant "came before" or "confronted," the opposite of what it means now.

7When I was in trouble, I called on the LORD; I cried out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry reached his ears.

7In 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.

NoteDavid lived before the temple in Jerusalem was built. The Hebrew word means "palace" as much as "temple," and here refers to God's own dwelling in the heavens, not a building on earth.

8Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of the heavens shifted and shook, because he was angry.

8Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.

NoteAncient Hebrew poetry pictures the sky as a vast solid structure resting on foundations, like a building. When God appears in anger, the whole structure shakes.

9Smoke went up from his nose, and fire came out of his mouth and devoured. Coals caught fire from it.

9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

NoteSmoke from the nostrils is the standard Hebrew picture of rage. The ordinary Hebrew idiom for being angry is literally "his nose burned", the flared, hot nostrils of a snorting animal.

10He bent the heavens open and came down, with darkness under his feet.

10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

NoteThe sky is imagined as a solid vault or a stretched tent, which God bends downward as he descends.

11He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen riding on the wings of the wind.

11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

NoteA cherub in the Hebrew Bible is not a plump winged baby: that image comes from much later European art. Cherubim are powerful winged creatures that guard sacred space and carry or support God's throne; here one serves as his mount.

12He made darkness into tents all around him: dark waters and thick clouds of the sky.

12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

Note"Pavilions" in the King James means tents or canopies. The storm cloud is pictured as a tent God pitches around himself, hiding him from sight.

13Out of the brightness in front of him, coals of fire blazed up.

13Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

14The LORD thundered from the heavens. The Most High let his voice be heard.

14The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

Note"The Most High" (Hebrew *Elyon*) is an ancient title for God as the highest of all powers. Thunder as the voice of the storm-god is a standard image across the ancient Near East.

15He shot out arrows and scattered my enemies; he sent lightning and threw them into confusion.

15And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.

NoteLightning bolts as arrows shot from the sky is a fixed poetic image of the time. The enemies scattering is the response of an army broken by a sudden storm.

16The channels at the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare, when the LORD spoke against them, at the blast of breath from his nose.

16And 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.

NoteThe picture is of the sea blown back to expose its bed, and of the disc of the earth lifted to show the pillars it rests on, the world stripped down to its structure by a single blast of breath.

17He reached down from above and took hold of me. He pulled me out of deep waters.

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

18He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, because they were stronger than I was.

18He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

19They came at me on the day disaster struck me, but the LORD held me up.

19They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

Note"Prevented" in the King James means "confronted" or "came at me first," not "stopped." The sense of the English word has reversed since 1611.

20He also brought me out into an open space. He rescued me because he was pleased with me.

20He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

21The LORD paid me back for doing right. He repaid me because my hands were clean.

21The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

Note"Clean hands" is a legal-sounding idiom for innocence, hands not stained by wrongdoing, especially bloodshed or bribery. The claim is to being in the right in a specific dispute, not to being sinless in general.

22For I have kept to the ways of the LORD, and I have not done evil by turning away from my God.

22For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

23All his decisions were in front of me, and I did not turn away from his rules.

23For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

24I was honest and whole before him, and I kept myself from my own sin.

24I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.

25So the LORD repaid me for doing right, because I was clean in his sight.

25Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.

26To the person who is faithful and kind, you show yourself faithful and kind. To the person who is honest and whole, you show yourself the same.

26With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

27To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked person you show yourself clever and hard to deal with.

27With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.

NoteThe King James "froward" means crooked or perverse, and "unsavoury" translates a Hebrew word meaning twisted, or shrewd and hard to outmanoeuvre. The Hebrew makes a deliberate pun: to the twisted person, God shows himself twisty.

28You save people who are beaten down, but your eyes are on the proud, to bring them low.

28And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

29You, LORD, are my lamp. The LORD lights up my darkness.

29For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

NoteA lamp is the small clay oil lamp of an ordinary house. In Hebrew idiom a person's lamp burning means their life and line continuing; a lamp put out means death or the end of a family.

30With your help I can charge at a band of soldiers. With my God I can climb over a wall.

30For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.

NoteThe Hebrew of the first half is disputed. It can mean charging at a raiding band of soldiers, or running at a barricade or wall; the second half, scaling a city wall, favors a military-assault image either way.

31As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the LORD has been tested and proved true. He is a shield to everyone who takes shelter in him.

31As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

Note"Tried" in the King James means tested, as metal is tested by fire to prove it pure. "Buckler" is a small round shield carried on the arm.

32For who is God except the LORD? And who is a rock except our God?

32For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?

33God is my strength and my power, and he makes my way clear and straight.

33God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

34He makes my feet like a deer's feet and sets me safely on the high places.

34He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

NoteA hind is a female deer. The point is not speed but footing: deer cross broken rock and cliff ledges without slipping. "High places" here means literal heights, the mountain ground a soldier must hold, not the hilltop shrines the phrase refers to elsewhere in the Bible.

35He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

NoteThe King James "bow of steel" is a mistranslation; steel did not exist in this period. The Hebrew is bronze, meaning a bow reinforced with bronze fittings, extremely stiff, so bending it to string or draw it was a recognized feat of strength.

36You have given me your shield that saves me, and your gentleness has made me great.

36Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

NoteThe Hebrew word rendered "gentleness" is uncertain and much argued over. It can mean God's gentleness or condescension in stooping to help, or his answering when called on, or his discipline. The ambiguity is in the original, not the translation.

37You have made a wide path for my steps, so that my feet did not slip.

37Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.

38I chased my enemies and destroyed them. I did not turn back until they were finished.

38I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.

39I finished them off and struck them down so they could not get up again. They fell under my feet.

39And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.

40You wrapped me with strength for the battle. You put those who rose against me under me.

40For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.

NoteTo "gird" is to belt something on. A soldier tied up his loose robe with a belt before fighting, so being girded with strength means being equipped and made ready for battle.

41You made my enemies turn their backs and run, so that I could destroy those who hated me.

41Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.

Note"Given me the necks of mine enemies" is a battlefield idiom. It means the enemy turned their backs and ran, showing the napes of their necks, and possibly also carries the image of a victor putting his foot on a defeated man's neck.

42They looked for help, but no one saved them. They looked to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

42They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

43Then I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth. I stamped on them like mud in the street and spread them out.

43Then 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.

NoteStreets in an ancient town were unpaved earth that turned to churned mud in the rains. Being trampled like street mud is an image of total humiliation, not just defeat.

44You also rescued me from the fighting among my own people. You kept me as the head of the nations. A people I did not know will serve me.

44Thou 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.

Note"The strivings of my people" refers to conflict inside Israel itself, the long war with Saul's house and later Absalom's revolt, as distinct from the foreign wars in the surrounding lines. "Heathen" in the King James simply translates the Hebrew word for foreign nations or peoples; it carried no sneer in 1611 and implies nothing about their beliefs.

45Foreigners will bow down to me. As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.

45Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.

NoteThe Hebrew verb means to cringe or cower, and often to submit falsely, to go through the motions of obedience out of fear rather than loyalty. The submission described is not necessarily sincere.

46Foreigners will lose heart, and they will come trembling out of their walled hiding places.

46Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.

Note"Close places" in the King James means enclosed places: walled fortresses and hill strongholds. The image is of defenders abandoning defenses they can no longer trust.

47The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock! May God, the rock who saves me, be lifted high.

47The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

Note"The LORD liveth" is a set formula, the same words used to begin a solemn oath. It asserts that this God is a living, acting one, in contrast to gods that do nothing.

48He is the God who pays back those who wrong me, and who brings peoples down under me,

48It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me,

Note"Avengeth" here carries the sense of a legal wrong being put right (the punishment a judge or a kinsman exacts on behalf of someone who has been injured), rather than private spite.

49and who brings me out from my enemies. You also lifted me high above those who rose against me. You rescued me from the violent man.

49And 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.

50So I will give thanks to you, LORD, among the nations, and I will sing praises to your name.

50Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.

51He is a tower of rescue for his king. He shows steady love to the king he chose and poured oil on, to David and to his descendants forever.

51He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.

Note"Anointed" translates the Hebrew *mashiach* (the source of the English word "messiah"), meaning smeared or poured over with olive oil. Pouring oil on a man's head was the ceremony that installed him as king; here it means simply the reigning king, David himself. The opening phrase differs between the two versions of this song: the Hebrew here reads "tower of salvation," while Psalm 18 has a similar-looking word meaning "he gives great victories."