2 Samuel 22

¹ David spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

² He said:
"The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

³ my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior—you save me from violence.

⁴ I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I was saved from my enemies.

⁵ For the waves of death surrounded me,
the torrents of destruction terrified me.

⁶ The cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

⁷ In my distress I called to the LORD;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.

⁸ Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and reeled because he was angry.

⁹ Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire from his mouth;
coals blazed from him.

¹⁰ He parted the heavens and came down,
with thick darkness under his feet.

¹¹ He rode on a cherub and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

¹² He made darkness his covering around him—
a canopy of waters, thick clouds of the sky.

¹³ From the brightness before him
coals of fire blazed forth.

¹⁴ The LORD thundered from heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard.

¹⁵ He sent out arrows and scattered them—
lightning, and threw them into confusion.

¹⁶ Then the channels of the sea were exposed,
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the LORD,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷ He reached down from on high and took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.

¹⁸ He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

²⁰ He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

²¹ The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he repaid me.

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

²³ For all his ordinances were before me,
and as for his statutes, I did not turn from them.

²⁴ I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁵ The LORD repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶ With the faithful you show yourself faithful;
with the blameless warrior you show yourself blameless.

²⁷ With the pure you show yourself pure,
and with the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

²⁸ You save a humble people,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

²⁹ For you are my lamp, O LORD,
and the LORD lightens my darkness.

³⁰ For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹ As for God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is refined.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.

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

³³ God is my strong fortress;
he sets the blameless on his way.

³⁴ He makes my feet like the deer's
and sets me on my heights.

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

³⁶ You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your answering has made me great.

³⁷ You have made a wide place for my steps beneath me,
and my ankles have not slipped.

³⁸ I pursued my enemies and destroyed them;
I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁹ I consumed them and crushed them so they could not rise;
they fell under my feet.

⁴⁰ You armed me with strength for battle;
you made those who rose against me sink beneath me.

⁴¹ You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me—I destroyed them.

⁴² They looked, but there was no one to save;
to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

⁴³ I ground them fine as the dust of the earth;
like mud in the streets I crushed them and stamped them down.

⁴⁴ You delivered me from the strife of my people;
you kept me as head of the nations.
A people I did not know served me.

⁴⁵ Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard, they obeyed me.

⁴⁶ Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling from their fortresses.

⁴⁷ The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock!
Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation!

⁴⁸ The God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,

⁴⁹ who brought me out from my enemies—
you exalted me above my adversaries;
from the man of violence you rescued me.

⁵⁰ Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
and I will sing to your name.

⁵¹ Great salvation he gives to his king,
and shows loyal love to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring forever.