2Sa 22 | ESV | STEP | 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 .

1 And David spoke ^ato 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. 2 ^bHe said,

^c“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 ^dmy ^{▼▼Septuagint (compare Psalm 18:2); Hebrew lacks my} God, my rock, ^fin whom I take refuge,
^gmy shield, and ^hthe horn of my salvation,
ⁱmy stronghold and ^jmy refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is ^kworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 ^l“For the waves of death encompassed me,
the torrents of destruction assailed me; ^{▼▼Or terrified me}
6 ⁿthe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 ^o“In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry ^pcame to his ears.
8 “Then ^qthe earth reeled and rocked;
^rthe foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, ^{▼▼Or in his wrath}
and devouring fire from his mouth;
^tglowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 ^uHe bowed the heavens and ^vcame down;
^wthick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he was seen on ^xthe wings of the wind.
12 He made ^ydarkness around him ^zhis canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
^aacoals of fire flamed forth.
14 ^abThe Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out ^acarrows and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the ^adblast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 ^ae“He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many 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 calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
20 ^afHe brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because ^aghe delighted in me.
21 “The Lord ^ahdealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the ^aicleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 ^ajFor I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 ^akFor all his rules were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was ^alblameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
25 ^amAnd the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 ^an“With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the ^aoblameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 ^apYou save a humble people,
^aqbut your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 ^arFor you are my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
30 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God— ^ashis way is perfect;
the ^atword of the Lord proves true;
he is ^aua shield for all those who take refuge in him.
32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
^avAnd who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my ^awstrong refuge
and has made my ^{▼▼Or his; also verse 34} way blameless. ^{▼▼Compare Psalm 18:32; Hebrew he has blamelessly set my way free, or he has made my way spring up blamelessly}
34 ^azHe made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure ^baon the heights.
35 ^bbHe 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 gentleness made me great.
37 ^bcYou gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet ^{▼▼Hebrew ankles} did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
they fell ^beunder my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made ^bfthose who rise against me sink under me.
41 You ^bgmade my enemies turn their backs to me, ^{▼▼Or You gave me my enemies’ necks}
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but ^bihe did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine ^bjas the dust of the earth;
I crushed them and stamped them down ^bklike the mire of the streets.
44 “You delivered me from strife with my people; ^{▼▼Septuagint with the peoples}
you kept me as the head of ^bmthe nations;
^bnpeople whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling ^{▼▼Compare Psalm 18:45; Hebrew equipped themselves} ^bpout of their fortresses.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be ^bqmy God, ^brthe rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and ^bsbrought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above ^btthose who rose against me;
you delivered me from ^bumen of violence.
50 ^bv“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
51 ^bwGreat salvation he brings ^{▼▼Or He is a tower of salvation} to his king,
and shows steadfast love to ^byhis anointed,
to David and his offspring ^bzforever.”