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2 SAMUEL 22

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
David's Psalm of Deliverance Praise for God's Deliverance A Hymn of Praise David's Song of Victory A Hymn of Victory
22:1-51
 (2-51)		 22:1-51
 (2-4)		 22:1-51
 (2-4)		 22:1-51
 (2-4)		 22:1-51
 (2-3a)
 (3b-4)
 (5-7)  (5-6)  (5-7)  (5-6)
 (7)  (7)
 (8-13)  (8-16)  (8-13)  (8-9)
 (10-13)
 (14-16)  (14-16)  (14-15)
 (16-18)
 (17-20)  (17-20)  (17-20)
 (19-20)
 (21-25)  (21-25)  (21-25)  (21-24)
 (25-26)
 (26-28)  (26-31)  (26-28)
 (27-28)
 (29-31)  (29-30)  (29-30)
 (31-35)  (31)
 (32-35)  (32-43)  (32-33)
 (34-35)
 (36-37)  (36-43)  (36-39)
 (38-39)
 (40-43)  (40-41)
 (42-43)
 (44-46)  (44-46)  (44-46)  (44)
 (45-46)
 (47-51)  (47-49)  (47-49a)  (47-48)
 (49)
 (49b-51)
 (50-51)  (50-51)

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. What a wonderful use of Hebrew parallelism.

    SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY

    SPECIAL TOPIC: WISDOM LITERATURE

  2. The terms and descriptions are the same as Psalm 18 (please see full notes online).

  3. Notice the descriptive titles for Israel's God.
    1. my rock, vv. 2,3,32,47
    2. my fortress, vv. 2,33
    3. my deliverer, vv. 2,51
    4. my shield, vv. 7,31,36
    5. the horn of my salvation, v. 3
    6. my stronghold, v. 3
    7. my refuge, v. 3
    8. my savior, v. 3
    9. my lamp, v. 29

  4. Notice the anthropomorphic phrases.
    1. His ears, v. 7
    2. His nostrils, vv. 9,16
    3. His mouth, v. 9
    4. His feet, v. 10
    5. His voice, v. 14
    6. His eyes, vv. 25,28

      SPECIAL TOPIC: ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE USED TO DESCRIBE DEITY

  5. Much of the imagery of this hymn/song is military deliverance and the establishment of reign.

  6. Notice the imagery of creation.
    1. God's voice, vv. 8,14
    2. God came down, v. 10
    3. the channels of the sea, v. 16
    4. the foundation of the world, v. 16

  7. Notice what YHWH did for David as the king of His covenant people.
    1. delivered him from his enemies, vv. 1,3
    2. delivered him from fear and death, vv. 5-16
    3. took him from many waters, v. 17
    4. supported him, v. 19
    5. brought him to a broad place, v. 20
    6. gave him knowledge and truth, v. 29
    7. gave him physical strength, v. 30
    8. made him walk securely (i.e., my feet like hind's feet), v. 34
    9. made him great, v. 26
    10. successful warrior, vv. 38-41,43
    11. made him as head of the nations, vv. 44-46, 50
    12. showed lovingkindness to Israel's king
    13. promised lovingkindness to David's descendants, v. 51 (cf. 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17)

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

See full exegetical notes for Psalm 18 at freebiblecommentary.org.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 22:1-51
 1And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2He said,
  "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
 3My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
  My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;
  My savior, You save me from violence.
 4"I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
  And I am saved from my enemies.
 5"For the waves of death encompassed me;
  The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;
 6The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
  The snares of death confronted me.
 7"In my distress I called upon the Lord,
  Yes, I cried to my God;
  And from His temple He heard my voice,
  And my cry for help came into His ears.
 8"Then the earth shook and quaked,
  The foundations of heaven were trembling
  And were shaken, because He was angry.
 9"Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
  Fire from His mouth devoured;
  Coals were kindled by it.
 10"He bowed the heavens also, and came down
  With thick darkness under His feet.
 11"And He rode on a cherub and flew;
  And He appeared on the wings of the wind.
 12"And He made darkness canopies around Him,
  A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
 13"From the brightness before Him
  Coals of fire were kindled.
 14"The Lord thundered from heaven,
  And the Most High uttered His voice.
 15"And He sent out arrows, and scattered them,
  Lightning, and routed them.
 16"Then the channels of the sea appeared,
  The foundations of the world were laid bare
  By the rebuke of the Lord,
  At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
 17"He sent from on high, He took me;
  He drew me out of many waters.
 18"He delivered me from my strong enemy,
  From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
 19"They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
  But the Lord was my support.
 20"He also brought me forth into a broad place;
  He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
 21"The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
  According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
 22"For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
  And have not acted wickedly against my God.
 23"For all His ordinances were before me,
  And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
 24"I was also blameless toward Him,
  And I kept myself from my iniquity.
 25"Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
  According to my cleanness before His eyes.
 26"With the kind You show Yourself kind,
  With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
 27With the pure You show Yourself pure,
  And with the perverted You show Yourself astute.
 28"And You save an afflicted people;
  But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.
 29"For You are my lamp, O Lord;
  And the Lord illumines my darkness.
 30"For by You I can run upon a troop;
  By my God I can leap over a wall.
 31"As for God, His way is blameless;
  The word of the Lord is tested;
  He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
 32"For who is God, besides the Lord?
  And who is a rock, besides our God?
 33"God is my strong fortress;
  And He sets the blameless in His way.
 34"He makes my feet like hinds' feet,
  And sets me on my high places.
 35"He trains my hands for battle,
  So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
 36"You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
  And Your help makes me great.
 37"You enlarge my steps under me,
  And my feet have not slipped.
 38"I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
  And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
 39"And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise;
  And they fell under my feet.
 40"For You have girded me with strength for battle;
  You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
 41"You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
  And I destroyed those who hated me.
 42"They looked, but there was none to save;
  Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
 43"Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;
  I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets.
 44"You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;
  You have kept me as head of the nations;
  A people whom I have not known serve me.
 45"Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
  As soon as they hear, they obey me.
 46"Foreigners lose heart,
  And come trembling out of their fortresses.
 47"The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;
  And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,
 48The God who executes vengeance for me,
  And brings down peoples under me,
 49Who also brings me out from my enemies;
  You even lift me above those who rise up against me;
  You rescue me from the violent man.
 50"Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations,
  And I will sing praises to Your name.
 51"He is a tower of deliverance to His king,
  And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
  To David and his descendants forever."

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. List the titles of Israel's God in Ps. 18:2.
  2. God is described as what in Ps. 18:7-15?
  3. How would you entitle Ps. 18:16-19?
  4. Does Ps. 18:20 teach a "works righteousness"?
  5. Where does the title of "rock" as used of God come from? (Ps. 18:2,31,46 and Deut. 32:4,31)
  6. What does Ps. 18:43-45 imply?

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