2 Samuel 22

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,^(B)
3     my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
    my stronghold and my refuge,
    my savior; you save me from violence.^(C)
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.^(D)

⁵ For the waves of death encompassed me;
    the torrents of perdition assailed me;^(E)
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.^(F)

⁷ In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry came to his ears.^(G)

⁸ Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations of the heavens trembled
    and reeled because he was angry.^(H)
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.^(I)
10 He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.^(J)
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he was seen upon the wings of the wind.^(K)
12 He made darkness around him a canopy,
    thick clouds, a gathering of water.^(L)
13 Out of the brightness before him
    coals of fire flamed forth.
¹⁴ The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the Most High uttered his voice.^(M)
15 He sent out arrows and scattered them,
    lightning and routed them.
¹⁶ Then the channels of the sea were seen;
    the foundations of the world were laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.^(N)

¹⁷ He reached from on high; he took me;
    he drew me out of mighty waters.^(O)
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
    from those who hated me,
    for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁹ They came upon me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my stay.^(P)
20 He brought me out into a broad place;
    he delivered me because he delighted in me.^(Q)

²¹ The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
    according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.^(R)
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.^(S)
23 For all his ordinances were before me,
    and from his statutes I did not turn aside.^(T)
24 I was blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from guilt.^(U)
25 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
    according to my cleanness in his sight.^(V)

²⁶ With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
    with the blameless^[a] you show yourself blameless;^(W)
27 with the pure you show yourself pure,
    and with the crooked you show yourself shrewd.^(X)
28 You deliver a humble people,
    but your eyes are upon the haughty to bring them down.^(Y)
29 Indeed, you are my lamp, O Lord;
    the Lord lightens my darkness.^(Z)
30 By you I can outrun a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³¹ This God—his way is perfect;
    the promise of the Lord proves true;
    he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.^(AA)

³² For who is God but the Lord?
    And who is a rock except our God?^(AB)
33 The God who has girded me with strength^[b]
    has opened wide my path.^[c](AC)
34 He made my feet like the feet of deer
    and set me secure on the heights.^(AD)
35 He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.^(AE)
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your help^[d] has made me great.
³⁷ You have made me stride freely,
    and my feet do not slip;^(AF)
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them
    and did not turn back until they were consumed.
³⁹ I consumed them; I struck them down so that they did not rise;
    they fell under my feet.^(AG)
40 For you girded me with strength for the battle;
    you made my assailants sink under me.^(AH)
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
    those who hated me, and I destroyed them.^(AI)
42 They looked, but there was no one to save them;
    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.^(AJ)
43 I beat them fine like the dust of the earth;
    I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.^(AK)

⁴⁴ You delivered me from strife with the peoples;^[e]
    you kept me as the head of the nations;
    people whom I had not known served me.^(AL)
45 Foreigners came cringing to me;
    as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.^(AM)
46 Foreigners lost heart
    and came trembling out^[f] of their strongholds.^(AN)

⁴⁷ The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,^(AO)
48 the God who gave me vengeance
    and brought down peoples under me,^(AP)
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
    you exalted me above my adversaries;
    you delivered me from the violent.^(AQ)

⁵⁰ For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations
    and sing praises to your name.^(AR)
51 He is a tower of salvation for his king
    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
    to David and his descendants forever.”^(AS)