David’s song of praise
1 ① David sang this song to Yahweh on the day Yahweh delivered him from his enemies and from Saul. 2He said,
The Lord is my rock, my rampart,
my deliverer 3and 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.
4I call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise;
he saves me from my enemies.
5Waters of death carried me along,
torrents of destruction terrified me.
6Caught as by the cords of the grave,
I was utterly helpless before the snares of death.
7But I called upon the Lord in my distress,
to my God I cried for help;
and from his temple he heard my voice,
my cry of grief reached his ears.
8Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens shook;
they trembled in his fury.
9From his nostrils smoke rose,
from his mouth a devouring fire
throwing off live embers.
10He bent the heavens and came down
with dark clouds under his feet.
11He rode on a cherub and flew,
he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12He set darkness around him as his tent,
a heap of waters in the thick clouds.
13Then from the brightness of his presence
flared up fiery embers.
14From heaven the Lord thundered;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15Sending out a hail of arrows,
he scattered them;
flashing forth bolts of lightning,
he routed them.
16The beds of the seas lay uncovered
as the foundations of the world
were laid bare,
at your rebuke, O Yahweh,
at the blast from your nostril’s breath.
17Reaching down from above,
he drew me out of the deep water.
18Too strong for me were my enemies,
but he rescued me from my adversaries.
19They have launched their attack
in an opportune day
but the Lord has been my stay.
20In the open he has set me free.
How great indeed is his love for me!
21Yahweh rewarded me according to my justice,
and according to my righteousness.
22For I have been faithful to Yahweh’s way
and I did not sin far from him.
23With his ordinances all before me,
I have always followed his statutes.
24Before him I have done uprightly
and kept myself from iniquity.
25Therefore Yahweh has given me
recompense according to my righteousness.
26To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to the blameless you show yourself blameless;
27to the pure you show yourself pure;
but to the crooked you show yourself astute.
28For you raise up the humble
and humiliate the arrogant.
29Yahweh, you are my lamp.
O my God, you brighten up my darkness.
30Yes, with you I can crush an armed band,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31This God – his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is always fulfilled.
To those who seek refuge in him, he is a shield.
32There is no other God but Yahweh;
there is no other rock but our God.
33This God is my stronghold
and keeps my path unerring and safe.
34He has made my feet as swift as the hinds;
he has set me secure on the heights.
35He trains my hands for war
and my arms to bend a bow of brass.
36You have given me your shield for protection,
and your help has made me great.
37You have given wide room for my steps,
so that they have never faltered.
38I have pursued my enemies and wiped them out,
I did not turn back till I had destroyed them.
39Thrusting them through,
I did not give them time to rise
as they fell under my feet.
40You have given me strength for the battle;
you have subdued my adversaries beneath me;
41you have put my enemies to flight
and destroyed those who opposed me.
42They cried for help, but no one came.
They cried to the Lord;
he did not answer them.
43I pulverized them as dust of the earth;
like mud in the streets I trampled on them.
44You have delivered me from
the people’s assault
and have made me head over the nations.
They came to serve me –
people I had not known.
45Foreigners approached me,
cringing and fawning.
At the sound of my voice,
they rose to obey.
46Foreigners succumbed
or locked themselves in their fortresses.
47Yahweh lives! Praised be my rock!
Exalted be my savior God –
48the God who grants me vengeance
and subdues the peoples for me.
49He brings me out from my foes;
he exalts me above my adversaries;
he rescues me from men of violence.
50For this I will extol you, Yahweh,
among the nations;
I will sing praise to your name.
51You have given your king great victory;
you have shown your love forever
to your anointed, to David and to his descendants.
- 2 S 22,1 This canticle of David is reproduced almost identically in the Psalms: Ps 18.
