2 Samuel 22:3-4

22:3 My God ¹  is my rocky summit where I take shelter, ² 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ³  my stronghold,

my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence! ⁴ 

22:4 I called ⁵  to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, ⁶ 

and I was delivered from my enemies.

2 Samuel 10:11

10:11 Joab ⁷  said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me, ⁸  you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, ⁹  I will come to your rescue.

2 Samuel 22:28

22:28 You deliver oppressed ¹⁰  people,

but you watch the proud and bring them down. ¹¹ 

2 Samuel 22:42

22:42 They cry out, ¹²  but there is no one to help them; ¹³ 

they cry out to the Lord, ¹⁴  but he does not answer them.

2 Samuel 8:6

8:6 David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected ¹⁵  David wherever he campaigned. ¹⁶ 

2 Samuel 14:4

14:4 So the Tekoan woman went ¹⁷  to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, “Please help me, ¹⁸  O king!”

2 Samuel 3:18

3:18 Act now! For the Lord has said to David, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save ¹⁹  my people Israel from ²⁰  the Philistines and from all their enemies.’”

2 Samuel 8:14

8:14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom, ²¹  and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.

2 Samuel 10:19

10:19 When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer ²²  saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subjects of Israel. ²³  The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

¹ tc The translation (along with many English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) follows the LXX in reading אֱלֹהִי (’elohi, “my God”) rather than MT’s אֱלֹהֵי (’elohe, “the God of”). See Ps 18:2.

² tn Or “in whom.”

³ tn Heb “the horn of my salvation,” or “my saving horn.”

⁴ tn The parallel version of the song in Ps 18 does not include this last line.

⁵ tn In this song of thanksgiving, where David recalls how the Lord delivered him, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense (cf. CEV “I prayed”), not an imperfect (as in many English versions).

⁶ tn Heb “worthy of praise, I cried out [to] the Lord.” Some take מְהֻלָּל (mÿhullal, “worthy of praise”) with what precedes and translate, “the praiseworthy one,” or “praiseworthy.” However, the various epithets in vv. 1-2 have the first person pronominal suffix, unlike מְהֻלָּל. If one follows the traditional verse division and takes מְהֻלָּל with what follows, it is best understood as substantival and as appositional to יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “Yahweh”), resulting in “[to the] praiseworthy one I cried out, [to the] Lord.”

⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”

¹¹ tn Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”

¹³ tn Or perhaps “humble” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT; note the contrast with those who are proud).

¹⁴ tc Heb “but your eyes are upon the proud, you bring low.” Ps 18:27 reads “but proud eyes you bring low.”

¹⁷ tc The translation follows one medieval Hebrew ms and the ancient versions in reading the Piel יְשַׁוְּעוּ (yÿshavvÿ’u, “they cry for help”) rather than the Qal of the MT יִשְׁעוּ (yish’u, “they look about for help”). See Ps 18:41 as well.

¹⁸ tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”

¹⁹ tn The words “they cry out” are not in the Hebrew text. This reference to the psalmists’ enemies crying out for help to the Lord suggests that the psalmist refers here to enemies within the covenant community, rather than foreigners. However, the militaristic context suggests foreign enemies are in view. Ancient Near Eastern literature indicates that defeated enemies would sometimes cry out for mercy to the god(s) of their conqueror. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 271.

²¹ tn Or “delivered.”

²² tn Or “wherever he went.”

²⁵ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַתַּבֹא (vattavo’, “and she went”) rather than the MT וַתֹּאמֶר (vatto’mer, “and she said”). The MT reading shows confusion with וַתֹּאמֶר later in the verse. The emendation suggested here is supported by the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, some mss of the Targum, and Vulgate.

²⁶ tn The word “me” is left to be inferred in the Hebrew text; it is present in the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate.

²⁹ tc The present translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading “I will save,” rather than the MT “he saved.” The context calls for the 1st person common singular imperfect of the verb rather than the 3rd person masculine singular perfect.

³⁰ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

³³ tc The MT is repetitious here: “He placed in Edom garrisons; in all Edom he placed garrisons.” The Vulgate lacks “in all Edom”; most of the Greek tradition (with the exception of the Lucianic recension and the recension of Origen) and the Syriac Peshitta lack “he placed garrisons.” The MT reading appears here to be the result of a conflation of variant readings.

³⁷ tn Heb “the servants of Hadadezer.”

³⁸ tn Heb “and they served them.”