2 Samuel 22  Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Lord is my rock, my fortress,^(B) and my deliverer,
³ my God, my mountain^[a] where I seek refuge.
My shield, the horn of my salvation,^(C) my stronghold,^(D) my refuge,^(E)
and my Savior, You save me from violence.
⁴ I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,^(F)
and I was saved from my enemies.
⁵ For the waves of death engulfed me;^(G)
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
⁶ The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.^(H)

⁷ I called to the Lord in my distress;
I called to my God.^(I)
From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry for help reached His ears.
⁸ Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the heavens^[b] trembled;^(J)
they shook because He burned with anger.^(K)
9 Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.^[c]
10 He parted the heavens and came down,^(L)
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
¹¹ He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring^[d] on the wings of the wind.
¹² He made darkness a canopy around Him,
a gathering^[e] of water and thick clouds.^(M)
13 From the radiance of His presence,
flaming coals were ignited.
¹⁴ The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High projected His voice.^(N)
15 He shot arrows and scattered them;^(O)
He hurled lightning bolts and routed them.^(P)
16 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath^(Q) of His nostrils.^(R)

¹⁷ He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.^(S)
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.
²⁰ He brought me out to a spacious place;^(T)
He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²¹ The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;^(U)
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.^(V)
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord^(W)
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
²³ Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances^(X) in mind^[f]
and have not disregarded His statutes.
²⁴ I was blameless before Him
and kept myself from sinning.
²⁵ So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness^[g] in His sight.

²⁶ With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
²⁷ with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.
²⁸ You rescue an afflicted people,^(Y)
but Your eyes are set against the proud—
You humble them.^(Z)
29 Lord, You are my lamp;
the Lord illuminates my darkness.^(AA)
30 With You I can attack a barrier,^[h]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.^(AB)
31 God—His way is perfect;^(AC)
the word of the Lord is pure.^(AD)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³² For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
³³ God is my strong refuge;^[i]
He makes my way perfect.^[j]
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the^[k] heights.^[l]
35 He trains my hands for war;^(AE)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁶ You have given me the shield of Your salvation;^(AF)
Your help^[m] exalts me.
³⁷ You widen a place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.
³⁸ I pursue my enemies and destroy them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
³⁹ I wipe them out and crush them,
and they do not rise;
they fall beneath my feet.
⁴⁰ You have clothed me with strength for battle;
You subdue my adversaries beneath me.^(AG)
41 You have made my enemies retreat before me;^[n]
I annihilate those who hate me.
⁴² They look, but there is no one to save them—
they look to the Lord, but He does not answer them.^(AH)
43 I pulverize them like dust of the earth;
I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.^(AI)

⁴⁴ You have freed me from the feuds among my people;^(AJ)
You have appointed me the head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.^(AK)
45 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear, they obey me.
⁴⁶ Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.^(AL)

⁴⁷ The Lord lives—may my rock be praised!
God, the rock of my salvation,^(AM) is exalted.
⁴⁸ God—He gives me vengeance
and casts down peoples under me.^(AN)
49 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
You rescue me from violent men.^(AO)

⁵⁰ Therefore I will praise You, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing about Your name.^(AP)
51 He is a tower of salvation for^[o] His king;
He shows loyalty to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.^(AQ)