18:37 I chase my enemies and catch 1 them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
18:38 I beat them 2 to death; 3
they fall at my feet. 4
18:39 You give me strength 5 for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me. 6
18:40 You make my enemies retreat; 7
I destroy those who hate me. 8
1 tn 2 Sam 22:38 reads “destroy.”
2 tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”
3 tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”
4 sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.
3 tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.
4 tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”
4 tn Heb “and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or “neck”].” The idiom “give [the] back” means “to cause [one] to turn the back and run away.” Cf. Exod 23:27.
5 sn Those who hate me. See v. 17, where it is the