2 Samuel 22

‘Lord, You are my Rock,

my place of safety in the mountains.

You make me free.

₃God, my Rock, I feel safe with You.

You are like a shield to me.

You are strong and You save me.

You are a safe place for me.

I can flee to You, and You are my Saviour.

You save me from the people who attack me.

₄Lord, I want to praise You

because You have saved me from my enemies.

₅The waves of death wanted to hold me,

and water floods wanted to drown me.

₆Ropes of the grave tied me down,

and traps of death wanted to get me.

₇When I had trouble, I shouted to the Lord.

I called to my God, and He listened to me in his palace.

He listened when I called

and asked Him to help me.

₈The earth shook and trembled,

and the foundations of heaven trembled and shook,

because the Lord was angry.

₉Smoke came out of his nose,

fire was burning from his mouth,

and He made burning coals come out of Him.

₁₀He opened the heaven and He came down,

and dark clouds were under his feet.

₁₁He flew on a cherub-angel,

and He appeared on the wings of the wind.

₁₂It was dark around Him,

and dark waters and thick clouds covered Him.

₁₃It was very bright in front of Him

and coals burnt from Him like lightning.

₁₄The Lord made the noise of thunder in the sky,

and the Most High God talked loudly.

₁₅The lightning was his arrows,

and He made his enemies flee to all sides

when He chased them away.

₁₆When the Lord was angry with his enemies,

the breath from his nose was like a storm,

the sea became empty,

and the foundations of the earth lay open.

₁₇The Lord put out his hand from heaven,

and He grabbed me and lifted me out of the waters.

₁₈He saved me from my strong enemies,

from the people who hated me,

because they were too strong for me.

₁₉They attacked me when I suffered,

but the Lord kept me upright.

₂₀He brought me to a place where I was free.

He saved me because He loves me.

₂₁The Lord rewarded me because I was innocent,

and He blessed me because I had done nothing wrong.

₂₂Yes, I did what the Lord wanted.

When He judged me, I was not guilty.

₂₃I remembered what He said I must do,

and I did what He told me to do.

₂₄I did everything that He said,

and I continued to do right and did not sin.

₂₅The Lord has rewarded me because I was innocent,

and He saw that I did not do wrong.

₂₆Lord, You do what you have promised

to those who do what they have promised.

You are always good to good people.

₂₇To people who are pure,

You show that You are pure,

but You are too wise for false people.

₂₈You save people who are humble,

but You humiliate people

who think they are important.

₂₉Yes, Lord, You give light,

and You make it bright when it is dark around me.

₃₀When You are with me,

I can attack a lot of people.

When my God is with me,

I can jump over a high wall.

₃₁What God does is always right,

and what the Lord says is always true.

He is like a shield for all who flee to Him.

₃₂The Lord is the only God,

and only our God is a Rock.

₃₃He is the strong God.

I am safe with Him, because

He makes my way clean and safe.

₃₄He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

and He helps me stand safely in high places.

₃₅He teaches me to fight in war,

and He makes my arms strong

so that I can use a strong bronze bow.

₃₆The shield that You give me saves my life.

You help me, and You make me great.

₃₇You make me run fast, and my feet do not slip.

₃₈I follow_and_chase my enemies,

and I catch them. I do not turn back

before they are all dead.

₃₉I beat them, and I kill them,

so they don't stand up, but they lie at my feet.

₄₀You make me strong to go to war,

and You make my enemies bow down in front of me.

₄₁You make them flee away from me,

and I kill all the people who hate me.

₄₂They shout and ask someone to help

but no one comes to save them.

They call to the Lord, but He does not answer them.

₄₃I beat them, and they become like dust.

I walk on them like I walk on mud in the road,

and I stand on them.

₄₄You save me from my own people

who rebel_against me.

You make me leader of nations

and You protect me.

People I did not know do what I say.

₄₅People from other lands kneel before me.

When people tell them about me,

they listen immediately.

₄₆They all become afraid

and they come out of their cities

that have strong walls.

₄₇The Lord lives. I want to praise my Rock.

God my Rock is more important than everything.

₄₈He is the God who helps me punish people

when they have done something wrong to me,

and He makes me rule over other nations.

₄₉He saves me from my enemies,

and He makes me stand high above the people

who are against me.

He saves me from bad people who kill other people.

₅₀Lord, that is why I will praise You

so that people can listen to me

when I praise your name.

₅₁The Lord always helps his king

defeat his enemies.

He does what He has promised to his anointed one,

David, and his descendants, forever.’