2 Samuel 22-24

New International Version

David’s Song of Praise^(A)

22 David sang^(B) to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ²He said:

“The Lord is my rock,^(C) my fortress^(D) and my deliverer;^(E)
³    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,^(F)
    my shield^[a]^(G) and the horn^[b]^(H) of my salvation.
He is my stronghold,^(I) my refuge and my savior—
    from violent people you save me.

⁴“I called to the Lord, who is worthy^(J) of praise,
    and have been saved from my enemies.
⁵The waves^(K) of death swirled about me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
⁶The cords of the grave^(L) coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

⁷“In my distress^(M) I called^(N) to the Lord;
    I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came to his ears.
⁸The earth^(O) trembled and quaked,^(P)
    the foundations^(Q) of the heavens^[c] shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.
⁹Smoke rose from his nostrils;
    consuming fire^(R) came from his mouth,
    burning coals^(S) blazed out of it.
¹⁰He parted the heavens and came down;
    dark clouds^(T) were under his feet.
¹¹He mounted the cherubim^(U) and flew;
    he soared^[d] on the wings of the wind.^(V)
¹²He made darkness^(W) his canopy around him—
    the dark^[e] rain clouds of the sky.
¹³Out of the brightness of his presence
    bolts of lightning^(X) blazed forth.
¹⁴The Lord thundered^(Y) from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.
¹⁵He shot his arrows^(Z) and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
¹⁶The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke^(AA) of the Lord,
    at the blast^(AB) of breath from his nostrils.

¹⁷“He reached down from on high^(AC) and took hold of me;
    he drew^(AD) me out of deep waters.
¹⁸He rescued^(AE) me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.^(AF)
²⁰He brought me out into a spacious^(AG) place;
    he rescued^(AH) me because he delighted^(AI) in me.^(AJ)

²¹“The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;^(AK)
    according to the cleanness^(AL) of my hands^(AM) he has rewarded me.
²²For I have kept^(AN) the ways of the Lord;
    I am not guilty of turning from my God.
²³All his laws are before me;^(AO)
    I have not turned^(AP) away from his decrees.
²⁴I have been blameless^(AQ) before him
    and have kept myself from sin.
²⁵The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,^(AR)
    according to my cleanness^[f] in his sight.

²⁶“To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
    to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
²⁷to the pure^(AS) you show yourself pure,
    but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.^(AT)
²⁸You save the humble,^(AU)
    but your eyes are on the haughty^(AV) to bring them low.^(AW)
²⁹You, Lord, are my lamp;^(AX)
    the Lord turns my darkness into light.
³⁰With your help I can advance against a troop^[g];
    with my God I can scale a wall.

³¹“As for God, his way is perfect:^(AY)
    The Lord’s word is flawless;^(AZ)
    he shields^(BA) all who take refuge in him.
³²For who is God besides the Lord?
    And who is the Rock^(BB) except our God?^(BC)
³³It is God who arms me with strength^[h]
    and keeps my way secure.
³⁴He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;^(BD)
    he causes me to stand on the heights.^(BE)
³⁵He trains my hands^(BF) for battle;
    my arms can bend a bow^(BG) of bronze.
³⁶You make your saving help my shield;^(BH)
    your help has made^[i] me great.
³⁷You provide a broad path^(BI) for my feet,
    so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁸“I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
³⁹I crushed^(BJ) them completely, and they could not rise;
    they fell beneath my feet.
⁴⁰You armed me with strength for battle;
    you humbled my adversaries before me.^(BK)
⁴¹You made my enemies turn their backs^(BL) in flight,
    and I destroyed my foes.
⁴²They cried for help,^(BM) but there was no one to save them—^(BN)
    to the Lord, but he did not answer.^(BO)
⁴³I beat them as fine as the dust^(BP) of the earth;
    I pounded and trampled^(BQ) them like mud^(BR) in the streets.

⁴⁴“You have delivered^(BS) me from the attacks of the peoples;
    you have preserved^(BT) me as the head of nations.
People^(BU) I did not know now serve me,
⁴⁵    foreigners cower^(BV) before me;
    as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.^(BW)
⁴⁶They all lose heart;
    they come trembling^[j]^(BX) from their strongholds.

⁴⁷“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
    Exalted^(BY) be my God, the Rock, my Savior!^(BZ)
⁴⁸He is the God who avenges^(CA) me,^(CB)
    who puts the nations under me,
⁴⁹    who sets me free from my enemies.^(CC)
You exalted me^(CD) above my foes;
    from a violent man you rescued me.
⁵⁰Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing the praises^(CE) of your name.^(CF)

⁵¹“He gives his king great victories;^(CG)
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,^(CH)
to David^(CI) and his descendants forever.”^(CJ)

David’s Last Words

23 These are the last words of David:

“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse,
the utterance of the man exalted^(CK) by the Most High,
the man anointed^(CL) by the God of Jacob,
the hero of Israel’s songs:

²“The Spirit^(CM) of the Lord spoke through me;
    his word was on my tongue.
³The God of Israel spoke,
    the Rock^(CN) of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,^(CO)
    when he rules in the fear^(CP) of God,^(CQ)
⁴he is like the light^(CR) of morning^(CS) at sunrise^(CT)
    on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain^(CU)
    that brings grass from the earth.’

⁵“If my house were not right with God,
    surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,^(CV)
    arranged and secured in every part;
surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation
    and grant me my every desire.
⁶But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns,^(CW)
    which are not gathered with the hand.
⁷Whoever touches thorns
    uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;
    they are burned up where they lie.”

David’s Mighty Warriors^(CX)

⁸These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:^(CY)

Josheb-Basshebeth,^[k]^(CZ) a Tahkemonite,^[l] was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed^[m] in one encounter.

⁹Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai^(DA) the Ahohite.^(DB) As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim^[n] for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, ¹⁰but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.

¹¹Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. ¹²But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹³During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam,^(DC) while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.^(DD) ¹⁴At that time David was in the stronghold,^(DE) and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.^(DF) ¹⁵David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁶So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured^(DG) it out before the Lord. ¹⁷“Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood^(DH) of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.

¹⁸Abishai^(DI) the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three.^[o] He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. ¹⁹Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.

²⁰Benaiah^(DJ) son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel,^(DK) performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²¹And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²²Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. ²³He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁴Among the Thirty were:

Asahel^(DL) the brother of Joab,

Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,

²⁵Shammah the Harodite,^(DM)

Elika the Harodite,

²⁶Helez^(DN) the Paltite,

Ira^(DO) son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,

²⁷Abiezer^(DP) from Anathoth,^(DQ)

Sibbekai^[p] the Hushathite,

²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite,

Maharai^(DR) the Netophathite,^(DS)

²⁹Heled^[q]^(DT) son of Baanah the Netophathite,

Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah^(DU) in Benjamin,

³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite,^(DV)

Hiddai^[r] from the ravines of Gaash,^(DW)

³¹Abi-Albon the Arbathite,

Azmaveth the Barhumite,^(DX)

³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

the sons of Jashen,

Jonathan ³³son of^[s] Shammah the Hararite,

Ahiam son of Sharar^[t] the Hararite,

³⁴Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maakathite,^(DY)

Eliam^(DZ) son of Ahithophel^(EA) the Gilonite,

³⁵Hezro the Carmelite,^(EB)

Paarai the Arbite,

³⁶Igal son of Nathan from Zobah,^(EC)

the son of Hagri,^[u]

³⁷Zelek the Ammonite,

Naharai the Beerothite,^(ED) the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,

³⁸Ira the Ithrite,^(EE)

Gareb the Ithrite

³⁹and Uriah^(EF) the Hittite.

There were thirty-seven in all.

David Enrolls the Fighting Men^(EG)

24 Again^(EH) the anger of the Lord burned against Israel,^(EI) and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of^(EJ) Israel and Judah.”

²So the king said to Joab^(EK) and the army commanders^[v] with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba^(EL) and enroll^(EM) the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

³But Joab^(EN) replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over,^(EO) and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

⁴The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

⁵After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer,^(EP) south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.^(EQ) ⁶They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.^(ER) ⁷Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre^(ES) and all the towns of the Hivites^(ET) and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba^(EU) in the Negev^(EV) of Judah.

⁸After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.^(EW)

¹⁰David was conscience-stricken^(EX) after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned^(EY) greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.^(EZ)”

¹¹Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad^(FA) the prophet, David’s seer:^(FB) ¹²“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

¹³So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three^[w] years of famine^(FC) in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague^(FD) in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹⁴David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy^(FE) is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.^(FF) ¹⁶When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented^(FG) concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord^(FH) was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,^[x] have done wrong. These are but sheep.^(FI) What have they done?^(FJ) Let your hand fall on me and my family.”^(FK)

David Builds an Altar^(FL)

¹⁸On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah^(FM) the Jebusite.” ¹⁹So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. ²⁰When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”^(FN)

²²Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen^(FO) for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. ²³Your Majesty, Araunah^[y] gives^(FP) all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

²⁴But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”^(FQ)

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels^[z]^(FR) of silver for them. ²⁵David built an altar^(FS) to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer^(FT) in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

Footnotes

2 Samuel 22:3 Or sovereign
2 Samuel 22:3 Horn here symbolizes strength.
2 Samuel 22:8 Hebrew; Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:7) mountains
2 Samuel 22:11 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Psalm 18:10); most Hebrew manuscripts appeared
2 Samuel 22:12 Septuagint (see also Psalm 18:11); Hebrew massed
2 Samuel 22:25 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:24) to the cleanness of my hands
2 Samuel 22:30 Or can run through a barricade
2 Samuel 22:33 Dead Sea Scrolls, some Septuagint manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:32); Masoretic Text who is my strong refuge
2 Samuel 22:36 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text shield; / you stoop down to make
2 Samuel 22:46 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:45); Masoretic Text they arm themselves
2 Samuel 23:8 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts suggest Ish-Bosheth, that is, Esh-Baal (see also 1 Chron. 11:11 Jashobeam).
2 Samuel 23:8 Probably a variant of Hakmonite (see 1 Chron. 11:11)
2 Samuel 23:8 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:11); Hebrew and other Septuagint manuscripts Three; it was Adino the Eznite who killed eight hundred men
2 Samuel 23:9 See 1 Chron. 11:13; Hebrew gathered there.
2 Samuel 23:18 Most Hebrew manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:20); two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Thirty
2 Samuel 23:27 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 21:18; 1 Chron. 11:29); Hebrew Mebunnai
2 Samuel 23:29 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate (see also 1 Chron. 11:30); most Hebrew manuscripts Heleb
2 Samuel 23:30 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:32) Hurai
2 Samuel 23:33 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:34); Hebrew does not have son of.
2 Samuel 23:33 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:35) Sakar
2 Samuel 23:36 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:38); Hebrew Haggadi
2 Samuel 24:2 Septuagint (see also verse 4 and 1 Chron. 21:2); Hebrew Joab the army commander
2 Samuel 24:13 Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 21:12); Hebrew seven
2 Samuel 24:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd.
2 Samuel 24:23 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts King Araunah
2 Samuel 24:24 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams