“The Lord is my high ridge, 8 my stronghold, 9 my deliverer.
22:14 The Lord thundered 10 from the sky;
the sovereign One 11 shouted loudly. 12
22:19 They confronted 13 me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me. 14
22:21 The Lord repaid 15 me for my godly deeds; 16
he rewarded 17 my blameless behavior. 18
22:22 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; 19
I have not rebelled against my God. 20
22:25 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; 21
he took notice of my blameless behavior. 22
22:32 Indeed, 23 who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector 24 besides our God? 25
23:2 The Lord’s spirit spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
1 tc 4QSama and the LXX lack the word “God,” probably due to harmonization with the more common biblical phrase “the
2 tn Traditionally, “the
3 tn The translation assumes that the disjunctive clause is circumstantial-causal, giving the reason for David’s success.
4 tn Heb “and David was dancing with all his strength before the
5 tc Heb “all the house of Israel.” A few medieval Hebrew
6 tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet).
7 tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”
8 tn Traditionally “is my rock”; CEV “mighty rock”; TEV “is my protector.” This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.
9 tn Traditionally “my fortress”; TEV “my strong fortress”; NCV “my protection.”
sn My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.
10 tn The shortened theme vowel indicates that the prefixed verbal form is a preterite.
11 tn Heb “the Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.
12 tn Heb “offered his voice.” In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the preterite form in the preceding line. The text of Ps 18:13 adds at this point, “hail and coals of fire.” These words are probably accidentally added from v. 12b; they do not appear in 2 Sam 22:14.
sn Thunder is a common motif in Old Testament theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 179-83.
13 tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 6. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect. Cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT “attacked.”
14 tn Heb “became my support.”
15 tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
16 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-25 make clear, David refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. He explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.
17 tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 25) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.
18 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” Hands suggest activity and behavior.
19 tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the
20 tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical, the idea being, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”
21 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” See v. 21.
22 tn Heb “according to my purity before his eyes.”
23 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
24 tn Heb “rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor of protection.
25 tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “No one.” In this way the psalmist indicates that the