2 Samuel 22 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Composed across David's reign, roughly 1010 to 970 BC, and placed here as a retrospective on his whole life
Location
No single setting, though the poem's imagery ranges over the wilderness strongholds, mountain caves and battlefields of David's career
Audience
Israelites of the later monarchy who sang this song in worship, a version of it also preserved as Psalm 18
Situation
David sings a long thanksgiving poem for rescue from Saul and from all his enemies, describing God storming out of heaven to pull him from deep water and set him on high ground. It is one of the two poems the editors placed at the centre of the closing section of 2 Samuel.
Key Background
Victory songs by a king were a standard ancient Near Eastern form, and this one borrows the storm imagery common to the region, thunder, smoke, lightning as arrows, but credits the one God of Israel rather than a weather deity. The heavy stacking of shelter words, rock, fortress, shield, horn, stronghold, reflects a life spent hiding in the limestone crags of the Judean desert, so the metaphors are drawn from real terrain. Its near-duplicate in the book of Psalms shows how court poetry moved into congregational worship, with small wording differences preserved in both places.
David sang this song to Yahweh on the day Yahweh him from the of all his enemies — and from the of Saul.
Yahweh is my my stronghold, the one who me
My God — my where I cover, my the of my rescue, my high tower, my refuge. You are the one who pulls me from violence.
I call out to Yahweh — who all — and I am rescued from my enemies.
The of wrapped around me, of swept me under.
The of the tightened around me; closed in on my face.
In my I cried out to Yahweh; to my God I screamed for help. From his he heard my voice; my cry for help reached his ears.
Then the earth heaved and shuddered; the foundations of the sky trembled — they convulsed because he with
Smoke rose from his nostrils; poured from his mouth — white-hot coals blazed out from him.
He the and came down, beneath his feet.
He mounted a and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He wrapped darkness around himself like a — a canopy of storm-clouds, thick masses of water.
From the before him coals of fire flared to life.
Yahweh from the sky; the Most let his voice crash down.
He shot his and scattered them; he hurled and threw them into chaos.
The of the were exposed; the foundations of the world laid bare at Yahweh's battle-cry, at the of from
He down from the heights and took hold of me; he pulled me out of
He me from my powerful enemy, from those who hated me — they were too strong for me.
They me on the of my life, but Yahweh was my
He brought me out into space; he pulled me free he me.
Yahweh dealt with me according to my integrity; the of my — he paid me back for that.
For I have kept Yahweh's ways and have not from my in
All his stand before me; his — I have not pushed past them.
I was before him; I kept myself from my own
So Yahweh repaid me for my integrity, for the cleanness of my hands in
With the you show yourself loyal; with the you show yourself
With the you show yourself pure; with the you show yourself
You rescue the afflicted, but your eyes are against the — you bring them low.
You are my Yahweh; Yahweh turns my darkness into light.
With you I can a barricade; with my God I can a
As for God — his way is flawless. The word of Yahweh is and true. He is a shield for everyone who in him.
For who is God besides Yahweh? And who is a besides our God?
God is my stronghold; he clears a flawless path for me.
He makes my a deer's and sets me steady on the
He my for war; my arms can bend a of
You give me the of rescue; to me has made me great.
You for my beneath me; my ankles have not buckled.
I chased my enemies and them; I did not turn back until they were finished.
I them, I crushed them — they could not rise; they my
You me with for battle; you forced my attackers to their knees beneath me.
You made my enemies their to me; those who hated me — I them.
They looked around — but no to them. They cried out to Yahweh — but he did not answer.
I them as the of the earth; like in the I crushed them, I stomped them flat.
You pulled me free from the of my people; you kept me as of the nations. A I had not known now serve me.
Foreigners before me; the moment they hear of me, they in
Foreigners wither; they from their
And my deserves praise! Let God be lifted high — the of my
The God who hands me vengeance and brings peoples down beneath me,
who me from my enemies. You lifted me above my attackers; from violent men you me
This is why I will you the Yahweh, and sing to