2 Samuel 22

New American Standard Bible

“^(C)The Lord is my ^[c]rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
^3 [d](D)My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
My ^(E)shield and ^(F)the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and ^(G)my refuge;
My savior, You save me from violence.
⁴ I call upon the Lord, ^(H)who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
⁵ For ^(I)the waves of death encompassed me;
^(J)The floods of ^[e]destruction terrified me;
^6 (K)The ropes of ^[f]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
^7 (L)In 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 ^(M)the earth shook and quaked,
^(N)The foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
⁹ Smoke went up ^[g]out of His nostrils,
^(O)And fire from His mouth was devouring;
^(P)Coals were kindled by it.
¹⁰ He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With ^(Q)thick darkness under His feet.
^11 (R)He rode on a cherub and flew;
He ^[h]appeared on ^(S)the wings of the wind.
^12 (T)He made darkness canopies around Him,
A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
¹³ From the brightness before Him
^(U)Coals of fire were kindled.
^14 (V)The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
^15 (W)And He shot arrows and scattered them,
Lightning, and ^[i]routed them.
¹⁶ Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were exposed
By the rebuke of the Lord,
^(X)From the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
^17 (Y)He sent from on high, He took me;
^(Z)He 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,
^(AA)But the Lord was my support.
^20 (AB)He also brought me out into an open place;
He rescued me, ^(AC)because He delighted in me.
^21 (AD)The Lord has treated me in accordance with my righteousness;
^(AE)In accordance with the cleanliness of my hands He has repaid me.
^22 (AF)For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not acted wickedly against my God.
^23 (AG)For all His ordinances were before me,
And as for His statutes, I did not deviate from ^[j]them.
^24 (AH)I was also ^[k]blameless toward Him,
And I have kept myself from my wrongdoing.
^25 (AI)So the Lord has repaid me in accordance with my righteousness,
In accordance with my cleanliness before His eyes.
^26 (AJ)With the one who is faithful You show Yourself faithful,
With the ^[l]blameless one You prove Yourself ^[m]blameless;
^27 (AK)With the one who is pure You show Yourself pure,
^(AL)But with the perverted You ^[n]show Yourself astute.
^28 (AM)And You save an afflicted people;
^(AN)But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You humiliate.
^29 (AO)For You are my lamp, Lord;
And the Lord illuminates my darkness.
^30 (AP)For by You I can run at a ^[o]troop of warriors;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
^31 (AQ)As for God, His way is ^[p]blameless;
^(AR)The word of the Lord is refined;
^(AS)He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
^32 (AT)For who is God, except the Lord?
^(AU)And who is a rock, except our God?
^33 (AV)God is my strong fortress;
And He ^[q]sets the ^[r]blameless on ^[s]His way.
^34 (AW)He makes ^[t]my feet like deer’s feet,
^(AX)And sets me on my high places.
^35 (AY)He trains my hands for battle,
^(AZ)So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁶ You have also given me ^(BA)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your ^[u]help makes me great.
^37 (BB)You enlarge my steps under me,
And my ^[v]feet have not slipped.
³⁸ I pursued my enemies and ^(BC)eliminated 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 ^(BD)they fell under my feet.
⁴⁰ For You have encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced ^(BE)those who rose up against me to bow down under me.
⁴¹ You have also ^(BF)made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I ^[w]destroyed those who hated me.
^42 (BG)They looked, but there was no one to save them;
^(BH)Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
^43 (BI)Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;
^(BJ)I crushed and trampled them like the mud of the streets.
^44 (BK)You have also saved me from the contentions of my people;
^(BL)You have kept me as head of the nations;
^(BM)A people I have not known serve me.
^45 (BN)Foreigners pretend to obey me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
⁴⁶ Foreigners lose heart,
^(BO)And ^[x]come trembling out of their fortresses.
⁴⁷ The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock;
And exalted be ^[y](BP)my God, the rock of my salvation,
^48 (BQ)The God who executes vengeance for me,
^(BR)And brings down peoples under me,
⁴⁹ Who also brings me out from my enemies;
You also raise me above ^(BS)those who rise up against me;
^(BT)You rescue me from the violent person.
^50 (BU)Therefore I will ^[z]give thanks to You, Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
^51 (BV)He is a tower of ^[aa]salvation to His king,
And ^(BW)shows favor to His anointed,
^(BX)To David and his ^[ab]descendants forever.”