Outline of Chapter 22:

Introduction

         vv.     1–2a         Prose setup

         vv.    2b–4           God is David’s Strength and Salvation

         vv.     5–7           David Calling for God When in Personal Disaster

         vv.     8–13         God Comes Down from Heaven to Execute Judgment

         vv.    14–16         God’s Judgments Upon the Earth

         vv.    17–20         God Delivers David

         vv.    21–25         David’s Fidelity to the Ways of God

         vv.    26–28         God’s Interaction with Mankind

         vv.    29–31         God Shows David the Way

         vv.    32–35         God Directly Impacts David’s Life

         vv.    36–37         God Preserves and Protects David

         vv.    38–43         David Destroys His Enemies with God’s Power

         vv.    44–46         David Rules Under God’s Power

         vv.    47–49         It is God Who Makes David who he is

         vv.    50–51         Gratitude and Praise to God from the Psalmist

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Introduction         The Principals of 2Samuel 22

         Introduction         The Prequel of 2Samuel 22

         Introduction         The Abbreviated Davidic Timeline

         Introduction         A Synopsis of 2Samuel 22

         Introduction         Dr. Thomas Constable’s Epigrammatic Outline for 2Samuel 22

         Introduction         Arno Gaebelein’s Outline of 2Samuel 22

         Introduction         Two Views of the Differences Between 2Samuel 22 and Psalm 18

         v.       1              Why There Is 2Samuel 22 AND Psalm 18 in the Bible

         v.       2              The Abbreviated Doctrine of the Rock in the Old Testament

         v.       2              2Samuel 22:2 Graphic

         v.       3              Contrasting the Hebrew Words for “Rock”

         v.       3              2Samuel 22:2–3a Graphic

         v.       3              2Samuel 22:2–3 Graphic

         v.       3              Summarizing 2Samuel 22:2–3

         v.       7              The Trinity in the Old Testament (the Abbreviated Version)

         v.       7              The Doctrine of Omnipresence of God

         v.       7              2Samuel 22:7 Graphic

         v.       8              The Dual Authorship of the Holy Scriptures

         v.       8              David and the Key to 2Samuel 22

         v.      13              2Samuel 22:8–13 Expressed as a Chiasmos

         v.      17              2Samuel 22:17 Graphic

         v.      20              L. J. Hooge Presents 2Samuel 22:1–20 as a Chiasmos

         v.      21              2Samuel 22:21 Graphic

         v.      23              The Meaning of Mish^emereth

         v.      23              The Ordinances or Statutes of God

         v.      23              Explaining 2Samuel 22:23 in the Light of David’s Sin Nature

         v.      24              Understanding Tâmîym in the Context of 2Samuel 22:24

         v.      24              The Abbreviated Doctrine of Rebound (Confession of Personal Sin)

         v.      25              2Samuel 22:21–25: A Short Chiasmos

         v.      29              God and Light

         v.      29              2Samuel 22:29 Graphic

         v.      30              2Samuel 22:30 Graphic

         v.      31              2Samuel 22:31a Graphic

         v.      31              2Samuel 22:31 Graphic

         v.      32              A Chart of the Transliterated Names of God

         v.      33              2Samuel 22:33 Graphic

         v.      34              2Samuel 22:34 Graphic

         v.      37              2Samuel 22:37 Graphic

         v.      40              2Samuel 22:40 Graphic

         v.      43              2Samuel 22:43 Graphic

         v.      45              2Samuel 22:45 Graphic

         v.      47              2Samuel 22:47 Graphic

         v.      50              The Divine Attributes

         Addendum          Why 2Samuel 22 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from 2Samuel 22

         Addendum          An Alternate Chiasmos for 2Samuel 22

         Addendum          Peter Pett’s Chiasmos Organization of 2Samuel 22

         Addendum          Parallels Between 2Samuel 22 and Hannah’s Song

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of 2Samuel 22

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of 2Samuel 22

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of 2Samuel 22

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An Introduction to 2Samuel 22

I ntroduction: 2Sam. 22 is a psalm written by David, clearly after he had become king (and probably had become king over all Israel, as he speak of foreigners obeying him in 2Sam. 22:44–46). David may have begun this psalm in his mind after several deliverances from Saul (in the first verse, David speaks of being delivered out of the hands of his enemies and out from the hand of Saul). As time went on, David returned to this psalm and continued to work on it. The defeat of many gentiles and the reference to the Davidic Covenant at the very end, suggests that David took over 20 years to write this psalm, completing it about halfway through the book of 2Samuel. In the book of Psalms, it is the 3^rd longest psalm (2Sam. 22 = Psalm 18).

Briefly, David takes a look back over his life—we do not know when this occurs—and he recognizes just how much God has done on his behalf. He can see, from hindsight, how much God’s hand has been in his life, protecting him from his many enemies.

Application: As a believer in Jesus Christ, once you have begun to mature, you will see a variety of changes which take place in your life, and you will see how God, through His Word, has guided you through your life. There may be nothing by way of a miraculous nature in your life; but, if you are a growing believer, the clear hand of God should be something that you can see and recognize.

Ron Daniel places this after 2Sam. 8, which is as good a place as any. Dummelow suggests 2Sam. 7. Many psalms are not really given a clear time frame, as the principles of the psalm are generally timeless. It certainly helps in the interpretation to know when a psalm was written, so that we can integrate with the historical narratives; but the principles found in any psalm ought to be timeless.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary: The date of this song is not to be determined by the place which it occupies in the history. We have already seen that the last few chapters of Samuel consist of supplementary narratives, not introduced at their regular places, but needful to give completeness to the history. It is likely that this psalm was written considerably before the end of David's reign. Two considerations make it all but certain that its date is earlier than Absalom's rebellion. In the first place, the mention of the name of Saul in the first verse - "in the day when God delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul" - would seem to imply that the deliverance from Saul was somewhat recent, certainly not so remote as it would have been at the end of David's reign. And secondly, while the affirmation of David's sincerity and honesty in serving God might doubtless have been made at any period of his life, yet some of his expressions would not have been likely to be used after his deplorable fall. There is no little legalism applied when determining the date of this psalm. Those who mention David’s clean hands often assume this cannot have been written after his sin with Bathsheba. However, David confessed this sin [Psalm 51 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD)] and God dealt with David’s foray into the interlocking systems of arrogance. Furthermore, we may reasonably surmise that David’s silent years were made up of the time that he schooled his 4 sons by Bathsheba in Bible doctrine. Solomon’s love of wisdom did not just happen; David had to engender this in him. Much of the writing of the book of Proverbs and possibly the completion of many of David’s psalms occurred at this time. The legalism of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary is clear when they ask this question: Even with this explanation, some of the expressions may seem too strong. How could he speak of the cleanness of his hands, and of his not having wickedly departed from his God? Granting that the song was written before his sin in the case of Uriah, yet remembering how he had lied at Nob and equivocated at Gath, might he not have used less sweeping words? But it is not the way of burning, enthusiastic minds to be forever weighing their words, and guarding against misunderstandings. Enthusiasm sweeps along in a rapid current. And David correctly describes the prevailing features of his public endeavours. The key to David’s purity is rebound (naming one’s sins to God).

David had a complicated relationship to Saul, to say the least, and his attitude toward Saul is to be a guide to us today when it comes to submission to the governmental authorities over us. Although Christians are often more oriented to authority than unbelievers, this does not mean that we simply obey every damn law there is and bow and scrape before every person in authority over us. However, even when it was clear that Saul had partially lost his mind and even when it was clear that David had enough supporters to become king in Saul’s stead, David, on at least two occasions, chose not to kill Saul, even though he had the chance to do so. And, by not killing Saul, David knew that his problems with Saul would continue.

Most Christians today (I write this in 2014) recognize what a train wreck the current presidency is under Barack Obama (who I believe is the worst president in my lifetime, which is saying quite a bit). Furthermore, he is treating his presidency as an imperial presidency. Since he has no ability to meet any opposition halfway, our president runs around the country blaming Bush and the Republicans for everything that is wrong, and does everything he can to run the country in his own way, ignoring some laws and enforcing others. Quite frankly, there are a lot of people who would love to see this man gone; but he is our ruler. He is the ruler over us; and just as David respected the office of Saul and respect that God placed Saul over Israel, so we must do that same when it comes to Barack Obama.

God did eventually grant David reprieve from the constant attacks of Saul—for which he thanks God in this psalm—but Saul’s death was not by David’s hand, nor did David pull any strings behind the scenes to rid Israel of King Saul. Therefore, even though this psalm represents a celebration of God delivering David from the hand of Saul and from the hand of his enemies, don’t think for even a minute that David could have treated Saul the same way he treated Israel’s enemies.

When it comes to Israel’s enemies, this is a whole different thing. Israel represented God on earth. Just as believers represent Jesus on earth during the Church Age (a shaky proposition in itself), so nation Israel represented God on earth during the Age of Israel. Therefore, the attitude of this or that nation toward Israel was indicative of the attitude of that people toward God.

We have the same thing today. If you are a confused Christian, listen carefully: if a nation is in opposition to the United States or if a nation is in opposition to nation Israel, then that nation is out of line and an enemy of God. I don’t say this simply because I am an egotistical American; America, because it is a client nation to God, represents Jesus Christ to the world. The Jews are God’s people, and even though they are God’s people from another dispensation, God is not through with them yet. Therefore, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you ought to support the United States and the nation Israel; and you ought to be against those who are against either country.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: The song contained in this chapter is the same as the eighteenth Psalm, where the full commentary will be given [see on Psalm 18:1, &c.]. It may be sufficient simply to remark that Jewish writers have noticed a great number of very minute variations in the language of the song as recorded here, from that embodied in the Book of Psalms––which may be accounted for by the fact that this, the first copy of the poem, was carefully revised and altered by David afterwards, when it was set to the music of the tabernacle. This inspired ode was manifestly the effusion of a mind glowing with the highest fervor of piety and gratitude, and it is full of the noblest imagery that is to be found within the range even of sacred poetry. It is David's grand tribute of thanksgiving for deliverance from his numerous and powerful enemies, and establishing him in the power and glory of the kingdom.

Matthew Henry has very much the same opinion: This chapter is a psalm, a psalm of praise; we find it afterwards inserted among David's psalms (Ps. 18) with some little variation. We have it here as it was first composed for his own closed and his own harp; but there we have it as it was afterwards delivered to the chief musician for the service of the church, a second edition with some amendments; for, though it was calculated primarily for David's case, yet it might indifferently serve the devotion of others, in giving thanks for their deliverances; or it was intended that his people should thus join with him in his thanksgivings, because, being a public person, his deliverances were to be accounted public blessings and called for public acknowledgments.

Whether or not 2Sam. 22 is the first draft of David’s psalm, which he later revised for public use as Psalm 18 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), I cannot say; but there will be clear differences between the psalm as found in both places. Bear in mind that when these manuscripts were copied and recopied, they would have been on separate scrolls. Rex the Scribe might have worked on the Book of Samuel in February, but not begun work on the Psalms until May. So it is possible that distinct errors crept into the text of both chapters. Furthermore, the book of Samuel is one of the most poorly preserved of the Old Testament books. Therefore, we are going to come across a lot of alternate readings. Do not let this greatly concern you—when it comes to the analysis and interpretation, these alternate readings have very little substantive impact. In fact, this is generally the case for the Scriptures. Whereas the studies that we do, which are often word-by-word which include references to other ancient translations, do not have serious doctrinal differences which turn on this or that disputed passage. That is, I don’t read the passage one way; a Catholic has another translation which changes the meaning; and a Jehovah’s Witness has another reading which is read in a third way.

This psalm is clearly stated as being written by David. Although some authors discuss this in detail, I see little reason to do so.

Summing up, this psalm speaks of God’s guidance, protection and deliverance of David in the face of his enemies. David gives thanks for being related to such a God.

Also, unlike the previous two chapters, there are many memorable verses which come from 2Samuel 22. There were very few graphics available for the previous two chapters. There was an absolute plethora of graphics for this chapter of the Word of God. Verses 2–3 have easily 10 or more graphics for those two verses alone.

Other outlines and organizations of this chapter can be found at the end of this study.

Peter Pett: The whole point of the Psalm in context is in order to bring out that everything which was good that has happened to David he owes to YHWH, and that he is where he now is because of YHWH's constantly revealed power, and because of His constant watch over him.

You may have had some slight frustration concerning previous chapters and an odd word here or there which was difficult to understand or the reading was questionable; and you had hoped it might be solved by the Dead Sea Scrolls, but most of the time, it was not. In this chapter, beginning with v. 30, there are several verses which are readable in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but, as you will find out, these ancient manuscripts rarely sort out a particular reading as well as you might like. So that this does not make you more frustrated, in most cases, the difference in the translation does not have a great deal of affect on the overall interpretation.

Unlike the previous couple chapters, 2Sam. 22 does tend to be a favorite of Christians. There are many quotable quotes from this chapter; but also, David states unequivocally that God trains his hands for war. There are a lot of believers who have trouble with that statement, primarily because they are disoriented to the plan of God and their place in it.

As a personal note: I do the translation and the basic exegesis of each chapter first followed by an examination of what other commentators have written. Sometimes these are helpful and sometimes they are not. However, in the case of 2Sam. 22, most commentators filed their remarks with Psalm 18 rather than with this chapter. For that reason, there will be fewer references to Barnes, Clarke and others. About the only commentator who dealt with this chapter and had many important observations to make was Peter Pett, who is one of the better commentators around.

Many psalms have a key which unlocks them. Often, that key is in the way that they are organized, so that once you understand the organization, you are able to say, “Oh, this is what the psalm is all about.” Although there is certainly an organization to 2Sam. 22, I am not sure that I have seen anyone every put it all together before. But, there still is a key. When we get to v. 8, we will discuss the key to this psalm.

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Prose setup

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          And David spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so speaks David to Y^ehowah words of the song the this in a day has delivered Y^ehowah him from a hand of his enemies and from a hand of Saul.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul;...

Septuagint (Greek)                And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, in the day in which the Lord rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.

Significant differences:           None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           David's thanksgiving psalm

David spoke the words of this song to the Lord after the Lord delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from Saul. This poem also occurs in Psalm 18 with some variations.

Contemporary English V.       David sang a song to the LORD after the LORD had rescued him from his enemies, especially Saul. These are the words to David's song:... This would be vv. 1–2.

Easy English                          David praises the *Lord

The *Lord had saved David from Saul and all his other enemies. So David sang this song to the *Lord.

Easy-to-Read Version            David sang this song at the time the Lord saved him from Saul and all his other enemies. Chapter 22 This song is also found in Ps. 18.

The Message                         David prayed to GOD the words of this song after GOD saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.

New Berkeley Version           David spoke the words of this song to the Lord at the time when the Lord delivered him out of the power of all his enemies, including the power of Saul. This song therefore goes with ch. 7; see v. 1, written shortly after Nathan’s Messianic promise to David; compare v. 51 with 2Sam. 7:16. The king subsequently made slight changes in it, so it would be better adapted to public use and included it as Psalm 18 of the Psalms.

New Century Version             David sang this song to the Lord when the Lord saved him from Saul and all his other enemies.

New Life Bible                        David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord saved him from all who hated him, and from Saul.

New Living Translation           David's Song of Praise

David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

The Voice                               David composed the following song of praise to the Eternal because He delivered him from all of his enemies and especially from Saul.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Well, after the Lord had rescued David from the hands of Saul and all his enemies, he sang this song to Jehovah: ...

Beck’s American Translation A Royal Thanksgiving Psalm

David sang this song to the LORD when the LORD had rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

Christian Community Bible     David’s song of praise

David sang this song to Yahweh on the day Yahweh delivered him from his enemies and from Saul.

New Advent (Knox)Bible        And this was David's song of thanksgiving when he found that the Lord had rescued him from the power of Saul, and from his other enemies:...

New American Bible (2002)   David sang the words of this song to the LORD when the LORD had rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

New American Bible (2011)              Song of Thanksgiving.*

David proclaimed the words of this song to the LORD when the LORD had rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul [Ps 18:1]. This psalm of thanksgiving also appears in the Psalter, with a few small variants, as Ps 18. In both places it is attributed to David. Two main sections can be distinguished. In the first part, after an introductory stanza of praise to God (vv. 2-4), the writer describes the peril he was in (vv. 5-7), and then poetically depicts, under the form of a theophany, God's intervention in his behalf (vv. 8-20), concluding with an acknowledgment of God's justice (vv. 21-31). In the second part, God is praised for having prepared the psalmist for war (vv. 32-35), given him victory over his enemies (vv. 36-39), whom he put to flight (vv. 40-43), and bestowed on him dominion over many peoples (vv. 44-46). The entire song ends with an expression of grateful praise (vv. 47-51).

NIRV                                      David Sings Praises to the Lord

David sang the words of this song to the Lord. He sang them when the Lord saved him from the powerful hand of all of his enemies and of Saul.

New Jerusalem Bible             David addressed the words of this song to Yahweh, when Yahweh had delivered him from the clutches of all his enemies and from the clutches of Saul.

Revised English Bible            These are the words of the song David sang to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Saul.

Today’s NIV                          David's Song of Praise

22:1-51pp -- Ps 18:1-50

David sang 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.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day Yahweh delivered him from the palm of all his enemies, and from the palm of Saul:...

Bible in Basic English             And David made a song to the Lord in these words, on the day when the Lord made him free from the hands of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul:...

The Expanded Bible              David's Song of Praise 22:1-51; Ps. 18:1-50

David sang [^Lthe words of] this song [^Csee the close parallel to the following song in Psalm 18] to the Lord when the Lord ·saved [rescued; ^Tdelivered] him from Saul and all his other enemies.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 (b.c. 1018) David’s Song of Thanks

David recited the words of this song to the Ever-living, when the Ever-living had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

NET Bible®                             David Sings to the Lord

David sang [Heb "spoke."] to the Lord the words of this song when [Heb "in the day," or "at the time."] the Lord rescued him from the power [Heb "hand."] of all his enemies, including Saul [Heb "and from the hand of Saul."]. In this long song of thanks, David affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. His experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the song appears in Ps 18. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

NIV, ©2011                             David's Song of Praise(A)

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.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           David said the words of this song to ADONAI on the day ADONAI delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Sha'ul.

exeGeses companion Bible   THE SONG OF HALAL OF DAVID

And David words the words of this song

to Yah Veh

the day Yah Veh rescues him

from the palm of all his enemies

and from the palm of Shaul:...

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               David addressed the words of this song to the Lord, after the Lord had saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hands of Saul. This poem occurs again as Psalm 18, with a number of variations, some of which are cited in the following notes.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Dovid spoke unto Hashem the devarim of this shirah (song) in the day that Hashem had delivered him out of the palm of all his oyevim (enemies) and out of the palm of Sha'ul:...

The Scriptures 1998              Then Dawi spoke to יהוה the words of this song, on the day when יהוה had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Shaʼul.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

English Standard Version      And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

The Geneva Bible                  And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song [In token of the wonderful benefits that he received from God.] in the day [that] the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:...

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Gratitude for Deliverance in the Past

And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song, which is simply another version of Psalms 18, from which it is distinguished only by slight deviations, in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul.

NASB                                     David's Psalm of Deliverance

And David spoke the words [Ex 15:1; Deut 31:30] of this song to the Lord in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand [Lit palm] of all his enemies and from the hand [Lit palm] of Saul. Ps 18:2-50

New King James Version       Praise for God's Deliverance

Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

World English Bible                David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: ...

Young’s Updated LT             And David speaks to Jehovah the words of this song in the day Jehovah has delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul,...

The gist of this verse:          This chapter of 2samuel is a song composed by David to Y^ehowah, praising Him for delivering David out of the hand of all his enemies.

Translation: David spoke to Y^ehowah the words of this song... We are still in the addendum to David’s life, and, at some point, he penned this psalm (song). This is equivalent to Psalm 18 (there are some minor differences).

Translation: ...in the day that Y^ehowah had delivered him from the hand of his enemies... It has that David did this in the day that Jehovah had delivered him from the hand of his enemies; but that occurred on many days. This simply means that, at some point, David fully recognized God’s hand in his life, and the many times that God had delivered him; and he wrote this song to commemorate that.

Translation: ...and from the hand of Saul. The fact that we are speaking about Saul suggests that David wrote this psalm as far back in the time of 1Samuel. There are some verses which suggest that David is king, which would place him in the early part of 2Samuel. Obviously, this is not a great revelation, that David wrote this psalm sometime after he was persecuted by Saul and sometime while he was king of Israel. The fact that Saul is named suggests that David still thought about this; therefore, I would place this before his first meeting with Mephibosheth and possibly before his dedication to Saul and Jonathan (in 2Sam. 1). However, throughout David’s career, he was always facing great military and national powers, which he, through God, defeated.

There is even the possibility that David began writing this psalm during the time of 1Samuel, but did not complete it until years later. Few men have had as many enemies in this life as David had. Vv. 44–46 read: You also delivered me from the strivings of my people. You kept me as the head of the nations; a people I have not known serve me. Sons of foreigners cower before me; when they hear with the ear, they obey me. Sons of foreigners fade away, and are afraid in their holes. Barnes mentions the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Ammonites, and Edomites. So the end date here is difficult to set. It probably occurred before David’s men suggested that he retire from warfare (2Sam. 21:17) and before he hooked up with Bathsheba (2Sam. 11). After that, he had a great many other things on his mind, which he also wrote psalms about (e.g., Psalm 51).

Because of the extensive references to gentiles near the end of this psalm and because David appears to reference the Davidic Covenant at the end, this psalm was probably completed after 2Sam. 7 (where God gives David the Davidic Covenant); and after some of the chapters where David defeats gentile enemies.

This psalm also makes a good summary of my life psalm as well. I don’t find anything within the psalm to clearly limit the time period during which it was written. Therefore, I think that the reference to Saul and the references to him being surefooted in the mountains, indicates that David began this psalm early on, when he was running from Saul, often taking refuge in the hill country of Judah. However, the references to absolute victories over gentile nations and the possible mention of the Davidic Covenant takes us perhaps halfway through the book of 2Samuel. So, this is probably a psalm that David worked on for a long time—over a period of 2 decades or more.

So far, this psalm reads: David spoke the words of this song to Jehovah when Jehovah had delivered him out from the hand of his enemies and out from the hand of Saul. This pulls together 1Samuel and 2Samuel, which are two books in the English, but one book in the Hebrew. Although the division between the two halves of these books is reasonable, they still form one literary unit.

Although David’s love of God and of Bible doctrine is clear throughout the book of Samuel, that his deliverances from Saul and other enemies as being the result of God’s hand is not quite as clearly stated. Therefore, for the record, David clearly acknowledges that it was God Who delivered him.

——————————

God is David's Strength and Salvation

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          And he said: The Lord is my rock, and my strength, and my saviour. God is my strong one, in him will I trust: my shield, and the horn of my salvation: he lifts me up, and is my refuge: my saviour, you will deliver me from iniquity.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so he says, “Y^ehowah [is] my rock and my fortress and my deliverer to me;

Elohim of my rock, I take refuge in Him.

My shield and a horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;

my Savior—from violence you save me.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    ...And he said: I will love thee, O LORD my strength and my trust; the LORD is my strength and my fortress and my deliverer, The mighty God in whom I trust; he is my succor and the horn of my salvation, my refuge who delivered me from the wicked men, my glorious Saviour.

Septuagint (Greek)                And the song was thus: O Lord, my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God; He shall be to me my guard, I will trust in Him: He is my protector, and the horn of my salvation, my helper, and my sure refuge; You shall save me from the unjust man.

Significant differences:           The Greek appears to begin with something other than and so he said. The Syriac has an additional first line in this psalm. The Latin and Syriac appear to be missing that God is associated with rock in the 2^nd line of the psalm. It is not clear that we have David taking refuge in God in any of the languages other than Hebrew.

There are 4 things which God is in the 3^rd line; and one or more of those things is different in the Syriac, Greek and Latin.

In the final line, David is saved from men of violence in the Hebrew, but something else again in the other ancient versions.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           He said:

The Lord is my solid rock, my fortress, my rescuer.

My God is my rock-I take refuge in him!-

he's my shield and my salvation's strength,

my place of safety and my shelter.

My savior! Save me from violence!

Contemporary English V.       Our LORD and our God, you are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector. You are the rock where I am safe. You are my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter. You rescue me and keep me from being hurt.

Easy English                          David said,

`The *Lord gives me security.

So, he is like my rock and my strong place.

He saves me.

My God is like a rock to me.

I can run to him and be safe.

He is like my *shield. He keeps me safe and he makes me strong.

He is like my *stronghold and my place of safety.

The *Lord saves me from cruel men.

Easy-to-Read Version            The Lord is my Rock [A name for God. It shows he is like a fortress or a strong place of safety.],

my Fortress [A building or city with tall, strong walls for protection.],

my Place of Safety.

He is my God,

the Rock I run to for protection.

God is my shield.

His power saves me [Literally, "He is the horn of my salvation."].

The Lord is my hiding place,

my place of safety,

high in the hills.

He saves me from the cruel enemy.

The Message                         GOD is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God--the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout; My mountaintop refuge, he saves me from ruthless men.

New Berkeley Version           He said:

The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress,

insuring deliverance for me,

the God of my rock, whom I trust,

my Shield, saving Horn [The source of strength and defense, as in horned animals, compare 1Sam. 2:1.], and my Fort;

my Refuge, and Savior from harm.

New Life Bible                        He said, "The Lord is my rock, my strong place, and the One Who sets me free. 3 He is my God, my rock, where I go to be safe. He is my covering and the horn that saves me, my strong place where I go to be safe. You save me from being hurt.

David: The Eternal is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;

He is my True God, my stronghold in whom I take refuge,

My strong shield, my horn that calls forth rescue,

my tall-walled tower and strong refuge,

My savior from violence.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ...he sang this song to Jehovah:

'Jehovah's my rock and my fortress;

He's the One who comes to my rescue.

My God is a guard that's before me,

So, upon Him, I will lean. A portion of v. 1 was included.

Beck’s American Translation The LORD, my Rock and my Fortress, is the One who rescued me.

I found shelter in God who is my Rock, my Shield, the mighty One who saved me; my mountain Retreat, my Refuge, my Savior who delivered me from violence.

Christian Community Bible     He said,

The Lord is my rock, my rampart,

my deliverer and my God,

the rock in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield, my salvation,

my stronghold and my refuge,

my Savior; you save me from violence.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       The Lord is my rock-fastness, my bulwark, my rescuer. It is my God that brings me aid, and gives me confidence; he is my shield, my weapon of deliverance, my protector, my stronghold; he it is that preserves me and frees me from wrong.

New American Bible (2002)   This is what he sang: I "O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,

my God, my rock of refuge! My shield, the horn of my salvation [The horn of my salvation: my strong savior. The horn, the dreadful weapon of an enraged bull, was a symbol of strength; cf ⇒ Luke 1:69.], my stronghold, my refuge, my savior, from violence you keep me safe.

New American Bible (2011)   He said [2Sam. 22:2-51 = Ps 18:3-51.]:

O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,

my God, my rock of refuge!

My shield, my saving horn [My saving horn: my strong savior. The horn, such as that of an enraged bull, was a symbol of strength; cf. Lk 1:69.],

my stronghold, my refuge,

my savior, from violence you keep me safe. 1 Sm 2:1-2.

NIRV                                      He said,

"The Lord is my rock and my fort. He is the One who saves me.

My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.

He is like a shield to me. He's the power that saves me.

He's my place of safety. I go to him for help. He's my Savior.

He saves me from those who want to hurt me.

New Jerusalem Bible             He said: Yahweh is my rock and my fortress,

my deliverer is my God. I take refuge in him, my rock, my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold, my place of refuge. My Saviour, you have saved me from violence;...

Revised English Bible            The Lord is my lofty crag,

my fortress, my champion,

my God, my rock in whom I find shelter,

my shield and sure defender, my strong tower,

my refuge, my deliverer who saves me from violence.

Today’s NIV                          He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior-- from violent people you save me.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      He said, "Yahweh is my cliff, my stronghold, and my rescuer!

God, my rock! In him I take-refuge! My shield, and the horn of my salvation! My high-tower, my hideout, my savior! You saved me from violence.

Bible in Basic English             And he said, The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour, even mine; My God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my safe place; my saviour, who keeps me safe from the violent man.

nglish Jubilee 2000                And he said, The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. God is my Strong One; in him will I trust: he is my shield and the horn of my saving health; my defence and my refuge; my saviour, who shall save me from violence.

The Expanded Bible              He said:

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my ·Savior [rescuer; ^Tdeliverer].

My God is my rock.

·I can run to him for safety [^LIn whom I find protection/take refuge].

He is my shield and ·my saving strength [^Lthe horn of my salvation; ^Csymbolizes strength based on an animal lifting its head triumphantly],

my ·defender [stronghold] and my ·place of safety [refuge].

The Lord saves me from ·those who want to harm me [^Lviolence].

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 SONG OF THANKS

...and said; ‘The LORD was a Rock, and Fortress, and Refuge to me, GOD is my Fort,·--I will trust in Him l My shield and buckler, my tower and hold, My Saviour Who saved from oppression!

NET Bible®                             He said:

"The Lord is my high ridge [Traditionally "is my rock"; CEV "mighty rock"; TEV "is my protector." This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.], my stronghold [Traditionally "my fortress"; TEV "my strong fortress"; NCV "my protection."] [My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.], my deliverer.

My God [The translation (along with many English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) follows the Septuagint (LXX) in reading אֱלֹהִי ('elohi, "my God") rather than Masoretic Text (MT)'s אֱלֹהֵי ('elohe, "the God of"). See Psalm 18:2.] is my rocky summit where I take shelter [Or "in whom."],

my shield, the horn that saves me [Heb "the horn of my salvation," or "my saving horn."] [Though some see "horn" as referring to a horn–shaped peak of a hill, or to the "horns" of an altar where one could find refuge, it is more likely that the horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut. 33:17; 1Kings 22:11; Psalm 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom "exalt the horn" signifies military victory (see 1Sam. 2:10; Psalm 89:17; Psalm 89:24; Psalm 92:10; Lam. 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior–kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that uses its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, "El the Warrior," HTR 60 (1967): 422–25, and R. B. Chisholm, "An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22" (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135–36. 2Sam. 22:3 uses the metaphor of the horn in a slightly different manner. Here the Lord himself is compared to a horn. He is to the psalmist what the horn is to the ox, a source of defense and victory.], my stronghold,

my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence! The parallel version of the song in Ps 18 does not include this last line.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           He said: "ADONAI is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer, the God who is my Rock, in whom I find shelter, my shield, the power that saves me, my stronghold and my refuge. My savior, you have saved me from violence.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and he says,

Yah Veh is my rock

and my stronghold and my escape;

the Elohim of my rock

- in him I seek refuge:

my buckler and the horn of my salvation;

my secure loft and my retreat;

my saviour - you save me from violence.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               He said:

O Lord, my crag, my fastness, my deliverer!

O God, the rock [Lit., “the God of my rock”; Psalm 18:3 “My God, my rock.”] wherein I take shelter:

My shield, my mighty champion [Lit., “horn of rescue.”], my fortress and refuges!

My savior, You who rescue me from violence!

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And he said, Hashem is my rock, and my matzadah, and my deliverer;

The Elohei (G-d of) my Tzur; in Him will I trust; He is my mogen, and the keren of my Salvation, my stronghold, and my refuge, my Moshia; Thou savest me from chamas.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                He said: The Lord is my Rock [of escape from Saul] and my Fortress [in the wilderness] and my Deliverer [I Sam. 23:14, 25, 28.];

My God, my Rock, in Him will I take refuge; my Shield and the Horn of my salvation; my Stronghold and my Refuge, my Savior-You save me from violence. Gen. 15:1.

Concordant Literal Version    ...and he said:`Yahweh [is] my rock, And my bulwark, and a deliverer to me, My Elohim [is] my rock--I take refuge in Him; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge! My Saviour, from violence You save me!"

Context Group Version          ...and he said, YHWH is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine;

God, my rock, in him I will take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my rescue, my high tower, and my refuge; My rescuer, you rescue me from violence.

Emphasized Bible                  ...and he said,—Yahweh, was my mountain crag and my stronghold, and my deliverer—mine; My God, was my rock, I sought refuge in him,—My shield, and my horn of salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, My Saviour! from violence, thou didst save me.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    And he said, The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress, in whom he may confidently trust, and my Deliverer;

v. 3. the God of my rock, Deut. 32:4, with reference to His unchangeable faithfulness; in Him will I trust. He is my Shield, covering him against the attacks of his enemies, and: the Horn of my salvation, yielding help and strength in overcoming the enemies, my high Tower, the inaccessible and safe stronghold, and my Refuge, my Savior; Thou savest me from violence. This is said of God by way of a general introduction.

Modern KJV                           And he said, Jehovah is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer. The God who is my Rock, in Him will I trust. He is my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower, and my Refuge, my Savior. You save me from violence.

NASB                                     He said,

"The Lord is my rock [1Sam 23:25; 24:2; Ps 31:3; 71:3] [Lit crag] and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God [Deut 32:4, 37; 1 Sam 2:2], my rock [Lit God of my rock], in whom I take refuge,

My shield [Gen 15:1; Deut 33:29] and the horn [Luke 1:69] of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge [Ps 9:9];

My savior, You save me from violence.

New RSV                               He said:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold and my refuge,

my saviour; you save me from violence.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And he said, The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: [he is] my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my preserver; thou savest me from violence.

Young’s Updated LT             And he says: “Jehovah is my rock, And my bulwark, and a deliverer to me, My God is my rock—I take refuge in Him; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge! My Saviour, from violence You save me!

The gist of this verse:          David begins this psalm by praising God, as his Rock, his protection, his deliverer, his refuge, his shield, the horn of his salvation, he high tower and his refuge. David has clearly been protected from many acts of violence in his life.

Translation: He said, “Y^ehowah [is] my rock-cliff... Rocks denote stability and things which have been in the same place for a very long time. We are not thinking here of a rock that you can pick up and hurl; this is the much larger version. This is a rock cliff, where you might stand and observe your enemy.

Much of what we find in this psalm is related to war and God’s deliverance of David during war.

Translation: ...and my fortress;... God is also David’s fortress. More important and safer than castle Zion is the fact that God is David’s fortress.

In a way, this foreshadows what is to come. David, in God, is as if in a fortress, in complete safety. We, in the Church Age, are in Christ, as if in a fortress, and in complete safety.

L. M. Grant: Appropriately David begins his song with a number of the wonderful aspects of God's nature and character. Jehovah is his rock, the symbol of unchanging stability. 1 Corinthians 10:4 tells us "That Rock was Christ, for He is God over all, blessed forever." "My fortress" speaks of the place of impregnable defense. David, in his time of exile, learned how valuable a fortress was.

A minor note of punctuation: so far, we have: He said, “Y^ehowah [is] my rock-cliff... I know that it is right and proper to begin each paragraph with quotation marks, but I am not going to do that. I will begin and end this psalm with quotation marks only.

Translation: ...and [He is] my Deliverer. David has been in many a scrape; he has been in many fights; his life has been in danger multiple times. He knows that God has delivered him out of every problem. Remember that David is not a big guy; but he fully understands that God is his deliverer; God has caused David, on many occasions, to escape without injury the battle he finds himself in.

2Samuel 22:2 Graphic; from Tohh Bible Verses; accessed April 5, 2014.

V. 2 reads “Y^ehowah [is] my Rock-cliff and my fortress; and [He is] my Deliverer. The rock speaks of stability as well as a place to hide from one’s enemies. The fortress is the place where a king could go to be relative safe from the outside armies. Also, Y^ehowah is presented as David’s deliverer, which is mostly a temporal notion; but is taken in the New Testament to refer to eternal salvation.

This is common in the Old Testament, where the human author uses a word in one way; but the Divine Author uses the same word in a different way. David, the human author, understands the Piel participle of pâlaţ (פָּלַט) [pronounced paw-LAHT] to refer to a deliverer. David would be in a battle and God would deliver David—preserve and protect him. However, God the Holy Spirit takes this same word and looks forward to our eternal deliverance where God eternally preserves and protects us.

Translation: [He is] the Elohim of my Rock; I take refuge in Him. We have a different word for rock here.

God the Father is the God of David’s Rock, Who is God the Son. David takes refuge in the Revealed God, Who we know as Jesus Christ.

J. Vernon McGee: A rock is a place upon which to rest. Christ is the rock of our salvation - He is the foundation. We rest on Him.

The Pulpit Commentary: the allusions to "rock," "high tower," and "fortress" remind us of the time when David’s life was such that he climbed the craggy cliff or hid himself in the inaccessible clefts of the rocks. This was God acting as David’s fortress.

2Samuel 22:2–3a Graphic; from the Life and Breath and Everything Else blogspot. Accessed April 5, 2014.

We are to understand Jesus as the Rock in two ways: (1) He is our Savior, our foundation, the One on whom our salvation is based; and (2) He is our protector and our fortress in life. So, when Moses struck the rock the first time, that represented God’s judgment of our sins in Jesus Christ. However, when Moses was to speak to the Rock in the second instance (in Numbers), this is Jesus our fortress, our rock, our place of safety.

Translation: [He is] my shield and the horn [= strength, power] of my salvation;... The shield speaks of protection in battle. In the midst of battle, a shield is what wards off deadly blows from a sword and stops an arrow from finding its mark. David knows in all of his confrontations, God was there protecting him.

The horn indicates guidance as well as power. When we are saved, we do receive both guidance and power, but not in some mystical way. Our guidance is based upon the filling of the Holy Spirit and the full knowledge of Bible doctrine. Although we have a supernatural power by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit, this does not mean that we are Penn and Teller, and can make things appear, disappear, or move unseen from hither to yon. You may give the gospel to someone, and, you can tell, something clicked; you can tell that it reached them. That is the power of the Holy Spirit. Whenever you exercise your spiritual gift, that is the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit is true power, because this makes changes which last forever.

Application: Early on in my Christian life, I witnessed to someone—a clear delineation of the gospel—and I could tell that he understood. Since then, whatever Christian influence I have had on others has not been nearly as clear. I have to take it on faith, based upon my study of Scripture, and based upon my understanding of my spiritual gift, that what I am doing is God’s plan for my life. You, as a believer, have to know the Word of God; and then be able to apply Bible doctrine to your own life. You may not get feedback for what you do in this life or for what your spiritual gift is. For some people, your spiritual gift is prayer for others—and there may be absolutely no clear linkage between the prayers you offer to God and the answers God gives to your prayers. Or, to provide a wider application—you may not see the results of the function of your spiritual gift; you may not get feedback on the function of your spiritual gift. Therefore, you have to simply know and understand God’s Word; and then apply it while you are filled with the Holy Spirit. God will sort out all of the rest.

Let me see if I can provide you with a clear parallel. Abraham, for 25 years, was being given promises from God, but these promises were all based upon having a son—and he did not have a son for 25 years. Now, despite a few direct meetings with God, there is nothing to indicate that God did anything spectacular before Abraham. There are no signs or wonders that Abraham observed. He simply heard promises from God and he believed these promises, despite all of them being dependent upon him having a son which, for 25 years, he did not have. This is all described in Heb. 11:8–12 By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went. By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith, even Sarah herself received power to conceive, and she bore a child when she was past age, since she counted Him faithful who had promised. Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore, were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead. (WEB; capitalized)

Application: My point is, you may go for long periods of time in your life without feedback or clear confirmation that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. Don’t expect to be walking along some evening, and then, right above you, there is this great burst of light with a cloud making a thumb’s up sign.

Since you do not have this constant feedback in your life (like an evangelist or a pastor has), do you understand the point of testing a little better? When God tests us and we pass, this is a confirmation of our faith.

Translation: ...[He is] my stronghold and my refuge,... The stronghold is a secure place for David, a place where the outside world cannot touch him. The second word refers to the place to where he would flee when under attack. God is David’s stronghold and his refuge; because of his relationship to God, David was made safe in the most difficult situations.

Translation: ...[and He is] my Savior; You save me from violence. David recognizes God as his Savior; as the One who has many times in the past delivered him from violence and oppression.

We know of the word savior being used in two different, but related ways. David here speaks of savior as referring to being saved or delivered from this or that scrape. It is the person in desperate straights, but then he hears the bugle of the cavalry charge. It is the man at war, and he is in desperate straights, but his reenforcements arrive; his buddies.

This same word has an eternal and spiritual connotation, and this is perhaps how God the Holy Spirit uses this word here—this refers to our eternal Savior, Jesus Christ, Who will save us from the last judgment and deliver us away from our sin natures.

2Samuel 22:2–3 Graphic from 4Catholic Educators; accessed April 5, 2014.

Vv. 2–3 read as follows:

“Jehovah is my Rock-cliff and my fortress; and He is my Deliverer.

He is the God of my Rock and I take refuge in Him.

He is both my shield and the horn of my salvation;

He is my stronghold and my refuge; furthermore, He is my Savior.

You save me from great violence. This will be summarized below:

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised: and I shall be saved from my enemies.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Being praised I call Y^ehowah and from my enemies I am saved.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    I will call upon the LORD, and I shall be saved from my enemies.

Septuagint (Greek)                I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I shall be saved from my enemies.

Significant differences:           The Syriac leaves out the word praised. The Greek and Latin appear to add a few words to indicate that praised is applied to God.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Because he is praiseworthy [Heb uncertain],

I cried out to the Lord,

and I was saved from my enemies.

Contemporary English V.       I praise you, our LORD! I prayed to you, and you rescued me from my enemies.

Easy English                          I must praise the *Lord.

I call to the *Lord and he saves me from my enemies.

Easy-to-Read Version            They made fun of me.

But I called to the Lord for help,

and I was saved from my enemies!

The Message                         I sing to GOD the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved.

New Berkeley Version           I call on my praiseworthy Lord,

and I shall be saved from my foes!

New Life Bible                        I call upon the Lord, Who should be praised. I am saved from those who hate me.

The Voice                               I call on the Eternal, who is worthy to be praised,

and I have been rescued from my enemies.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          'He is the One that defends me;

He's the trumpet of my salvation.

My shield and my refuge from the unrighteous.

Because You will save me, You deserve all the praise;

So, I'll call on the Lord and be saved.

Beck’s American Translation I cry to the LORD, who deserves to be praised, and I’m saved from my enemies.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Praised be the Lord! When I invoke him I am secure from my enemies.

New American Bible (2011)   Praised be the LORD, I exclaim!

I have been delivered from my enemies.

New Jerusalem Bible             I call to Yahweh, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my foes.

Revised English Bible            I shall call to the Lord to whom all praise is due,

then I shall be made safe from my enemies.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Praise! I call Yahweh to save me from my enemies!

Bible in Basic English             I will send up my cry to the Lord, who is to be praised; so will I be made safe from those who are against me.

The Expanded Bible              I ·will call to [call upon] the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I ·will be [or am] saved from my enemies.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 In despair I will cry to the LORD, And I shall be saved from my foemen.

NET Bible®                             I called [In this song of thanksgiving, where David recalls how the Lord delivered him, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense (cf. CEV "I prayed"), not an imperfect (as in many English versions).] to the Lord, who is worthy of praise [Heb “worthy of praise, I cried out [to] the Lord.” Some take מְהֻלָּל (mÿhullal, “worthy of praise”) with what precedes and translate, “the praiseworthy one,” or “praiseworthy.” However, the various epithets in vv. 1-2 have the first person pronominal suffix, unlike מְהֻלָּל. If one follows the traditional verse division and takes מְהֻלָּל with what follows, it is best understood as substantival and as appositional to יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “Yahweh”), resulting in “[to the] praiseworthy one I cried out, [to the] Lord.”],

and I was delivered from my enemies.

NIV – UK                                `I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and have been saved from my enemies.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           I call on ADONAI, who is worthy of praise; and I am saved from my enemies.

exeGeses companion Bible   I call on Yah Veh - the halaled:

and I am saved from my enemies.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               All praise! I called on the Lord, [Construction of (this) Hebrew (phrase) uncertain.]

And I was delivered from my enemies.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           I will call on Hashem, Who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my oyevim.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    The Praised One, I call Yahweh: And from mine enemies I am saved.

Context Group Version          I will call on YHWH, who is worthy to be praised: So I shall be rescued from my enemies.

Emphasized Bible                  As one worthy to be praised, called I on Yahweh,—And, from my foes, was I saved.

Green’s Literal Translation    I call on Jehovah, the One to be praised; and I shall be saved from my enemies.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, or, upon Him whom I praised, who is the Praised One, I will call; so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The application is now made to David's own case.

New King James Version       I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.

World English Bible                I will call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Young’s Updated LT             The Praised One, I call Jehovah: And from mine enemies I am saved.

The gist of this verse:          Y^ehowah is the One worthy of praise; Who saved David from his enemies.