2 Samuel 5:10

5:10 David’s power grew steadily, for the Lord God¹ who commands armies² was with him.³

2 Samuel 7:24

7:24 You made Israel your very own people for all time.⁴ You, O Lord, became their God.

2 Samuel 15:29

15:29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and remained there.

2 Samuel 22:22

22:22 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;⁵

I have not rebelled against my God.⁶

2 Samuel 22:33

22:33 The one true God⁷ is my mighty refuge;⁸

he removes⁹ the obstacles in my way.¹⁰

2 Samuel 22:48

22:48 The one true God completely vindicates me;¹¹

he makes nations submit to me.¹²

¹tc 4QSam^a and the LXX lack the word “God,” probably due to harmonization with the more common biblical phrase “the Lord of hosts.”

²tn Traditionally, “the Lord God of hosts” (KJV, NASB); NIV, NLT “the Lord God Almighty”; CEV “the Lord (+ God NCV) All-Powerful.”

³tn The translation assumes that the disjunctive clause is circumstantial-causal, giving the reason for David’s success.

⁴tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”

⁵tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the Lord.” The phrase “ways of the Lord” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord (see HALOT 232 s.v. דֶרֶךְ). In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

⁶tn 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.”

⁷tn Heb “the God.” See the note at v. 31.

⁸tc 4QSam^a has מְאַזְּרֵנִי (mÿ’azzÿreni, “the one girding me with strength”) rather than the MT מָעוּזִּי (ma’uzzi, “my refuge”). See as well Ps 18:32.

⁹tn The prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive here carries along the generalizing tone of the preceding line.

¹⁰tn Heb “and he sets free (from the verb נָתַר, natar) [the] blameless, his [Kethib; “my” (Qere)] way.” The translation follows Ps 18:32 in reading “he made my path smooth.” The term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).

¹¹tn Heb “The God is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun “vengeance” indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication. In the ancient Near East military victory was sometimes viewed as a sign that one’s God had judged in favor of the victor, avenging and/or vindicating him. See, for example, Judg 11:27, 32-33, 36.

¹²tn Heb “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”