22:1 1 David sang 2 to the Lord the words of this song when 3 the Lord rescued him from the power 4 of all his enemies, including Saul. 5 22:2 He said:
“The Lord is my high ridge, 6 my stronghold, 7 my deliverer.
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 Lord, who is worthy of praise, 13
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 Lord;
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 Lord thundered 38 from the sky;
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 Lord’s battle cry, 46
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 Lord helped me. 52
22:20 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me. 53
22:21 The Lord repaid 54 me for my godly deeds; 55
he rewarded 56 my blameless behavior. 57
22:22 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; 58
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 Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; 63
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 Lord.
The Lord illumines 76 the darkness around me. 77
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 Lord’s promise is reliable; 85
he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
22:32 Indeed, 86 who is God besides the Lord?
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 Lord, 108 but he does not answer them.
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 Lord is alive! 118
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 Lord, before the nations! 128
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!”