2 Samuel 22:4

22:4 I called ¹  to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, ² 

and I was delivered from my enemies.

2 Samuel 14:25

14:25 Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom. ³  From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance. ⁴ 

¹ 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).

² 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.”

³ tn Heb “Like Absalom there was not a handsome man in all Israel to boast exceedingly.”

⁴ tn Heb “there was not in him a blemish.”