2 Samuel 22-23; Psalm 57
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David Sings to the Lord
David sang 2 to the
“The
22:3 My God 8 is my rocky summit where I take shelter, 9
my shield, the horn that saves me, 10 my stronghold,
my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence! 11
22:4 I called 12 to the
and I was delivered from my enemies.
22:5 The waves of death engulfed me;
the currents 14 of chaos 15 overwhelmed me. 16
22:6 The ropes of Sheol 17 tightened around me; 18
the snares of death trapped me. 19
22:7 In my distress I called to the
I called to my God. 20
From his heavenly temple 21 he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help. 22
22:8 The earth heaved and shook; 23
the foundations of the sky 24 trembled. 25
They heaved because he was angry.
22:9 Smoke ascended from 26 his nose; 27
fire devoured as it came from his mouth; 28
he hurled down fiery coals. 29
22:10 He made the sky sink 30 as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
22:11 He mounted 31 a winged angel 32 and flew;
he glided 33 on the wings of the wind. 34
22:12 He shrouded himself in darkness, 35
in thick rain clouds. 36
22:13 From the brightness in front of him
came coals of fire. 37
22:14 The
the sovereign One 39 shouted loudly. 40
22:15 He shot 41 arrows and scattered them, 42
lightning and routed them. 43
22:16 The depths 44 of the sea were exposed;
the inner regions 45 of the world were uncovered
by the
by the powerful breath from his nose. 47
22:17 He reached down from above and grabbed me; 48
he pulled me from the surging water. 49
22:18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, 50
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
22:19 They confronted 51 me in my day of calamity,
but the
22:20 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me. 53
22:21 The
he rewarded 56 my blameless behavior. 57
22:22 For I have obeyed the
I have not rebelled against my God. 59
22:23 For I am aware of all his regulations, 60
and I do not reject his rules. 61
22:24 I was blameless before him;
I kept myself from sinning. 62
22:25 The
he took notice of my blameless behavior. 64
22:26 You prove to be loyal 65 to one who is faithful; 66
you prove to be trustworthy 67 to one who is innocent. 68
22:27 You prove to be reliable 69 to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive 70 to one who is perverse. 71
22:28 You deliver oppressed 72 people,
but you watch the proud and bring them down. 73
22:29 Indeed, 74 you are my lamp, 75
The
22:30 Indeed, 78 with your help 79 I can charge 80 against an army; 81
by my God’s power 82 I can jump over a wall. 83
22:31 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; 84
the
he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
22:32 Indeed, 86 who is God besides the
Who is a protector 87 besides our God? 88
22:33 The one true God 89 is my mighty refuge; 90
he removes 91 the obstacles in my way. 92
22:34 He gives me the agility of a deer; 93
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 94
22:35 He trains 95 my hands for battle; 96
my arms can bend even the strongest bow. 97
22:36 You give me 98 your protective shield; 99
your willingness to help enables me to prevail. 100
22:37 You widen my path; 101
my feet 102 do not slip.
22:38 I chase my enemies and destroy them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
22:39 I wipe them out and beat them to death;
they cannot get up;
they fall at my feet.
22:40 You give me strength for battle; 103
you make my foes kneel before me. 104
22:41 You make my enemies retreat; 105
I destroy those who hate me.
22:42 They cry out, 106 but there is no one to help them; 107
they cry out to the
22:43 I grind them as fine as the dust of the ground;
I crush them and stomp on them like clay 109 in the streets.
22:44 You rescue me from a hostile army; 110
you preserve me as a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. 111
22:45 Foreigners are powerless before me; 112
when they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. 113
22:46 Foreigners lose their courage; 114
they shake with fear 115 as they leave 116 their strongholds. 117
22:47 The
My protector 119 is praiseworthy! 120
The God who delivers me 121 is exalted as king! 122
22:48 The one true God completely vindicates me; 123
he makes nations submit to me. 124
22:49 He delivers me from my enemies; 125
you snatch me away 126 from those who attack me; 127
you rescue me from violent men.
22:50 So I will give you thanks, O
I will sing praises to you. 129
22:51 He gives his chosen king magnificent victories; 130
he is faithful to his chosen ruler, 131
to David and to his descendants forever!”
David’s Final Words
23:1 These are the final words of David:
“The oracle of David son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man raised up as
the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, 132
Israel’s beloved 133 singer of songs:
23:2 The
his word was on my tongue.
23:3 The God of Israel spoke,
the protector 134 of Israel spoke to me.
The one who rules fairly among men,
the one who rules in the fear of God,
23:4 is like the light of morning when the sun comes up,
a morning in which there are no clouds.
He is like the brightness after rain
that produces grass from the earth.
23:5 My dynasty is approved by God, 135
for he has made a perpetual covenant with me,
arranged in all its particulars and secured.
He always delivers me,
and brings all I desire to fruition. 136
23:6 But evil people are like thorns –
all of them are tossed away,
for they cannot be held in the hand.
23:7 The one who touches them
must use an iron instrument
or the wooden shaft of a spear.
They are completely burned up right where they lie!” 137
David’s Warriors
23:8 These are the names of David’s warriors:
Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers. 138 He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle. 139 23:9 Next in command 140 was Eleazar son of Dodo, 141 the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were assembled there for battle. When the men of Israel retreated, 142 23:10 he stood his ground 143 and fought the Philistines until his hand grew so tired that it 144 seemed stuck to his sword. The
23:11 Next in command 145 was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi, 146 where there happened to be an area of a field that was full of lentils, the army retreated before the Philistines. 23:12 But he made a stand in the middle of that area. He defended 147 it and defeated the Philistines; the
23:13 At the time of 148 the harvest three 149 of the thirty leaders went down to 150 David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was camped in the valley of Rephaim. 23:14 David was in the stronghold at the time, while a Philistine garrison was in Bethlehem. 151 23:15 David was thirsty and said, “How I wish someone would give me some water to drink from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate!” 23:16 So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the
23:18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. 155 He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. 156 23:19 From 157 the three he was given honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of the three.
23:20 Benaiah son of Jehoida was a brave warrior 158 from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. 159 He also went down and killed a lion in a cistern on a snowy day. 23:21 He also killed an impressive-looking Egyptian. 160 The Egyptian wielded a spear, while Benaiah attacked 161 him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 23:22 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoida, who gained fame among the three elite warriors. 23:23 He received honor from 162 the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
23:24 Included with the thirty were the following: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem, 163 23:25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa, 23:27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 23:29 Heled 164 son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin, 23:30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash, 23:31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan 23:33 son of 165 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite, 23:34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 23:35 Hezrai 166 the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 23:36 Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (the armor-bearer 167 of Joab son of Zeruiah), 23:38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite 23:39 and Uriah the Hittite. Altogether there were thirty-seven.
Psalms
Psalm 57 168
57:1 For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 169 a prayer 170 of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave. 171
Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!
For in you I have taken shelter. 172
In the shadow of your wings 173 I take shelter
until trouble passes.
57:2 I cry out for help to the sovereign God, 174
to the God who vindicates 175 me.
57:3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me 176
from my enemies who hurl insults! 177 (Selah)
May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!
57:4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down 178 among those who want to devour me; 179
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are a sharp sword. 180
57:5 Rise up 181 above the sky, O God!
May your splendor cover the whole earth! 182
57:6 They have prepared a net to trap me; 183
I am discouraged. 184
They have dug a pit for me. 185
They will fall 186 into it! (Selah)
57:7 I am determined, 187 O God! I am determined!
I will sing and praise you!
57:8 Awake, my soul! 188
Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!
I will wake up at dawn! 189
57:9 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Master!
I will sing praises to you before foreigners! 190
57:10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, 191
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
57:11 Rise up 192 above the sky, O God!
May your splendor cover the whole earth! 193