2 Samuel 22:3

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 

2 Samuel 22:7

22:7 In my distress I called to the Lord;

I called to my God. ⁵ 

From his heavenly temple ⁶  he heard my voice;

he listened to my cry for help. ⁷ 

[22:3]  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.

[22:3]  ² tn Or “in whom.”

[22:3]  ³ tn Heb “the horn of my salvation,” or “my saving horn.”

[22:3]  ⁴ tn The parallel version of the song in Ps 18 does not include this last line.

[22:7]  ⁵ tn In this poetic narrative the two prefixed verbal forms in v. 7a are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects. Note the use of the vav consecutive with the prefixed verbal form that follows in v. 7b.

[22:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “from his temple.” Verse 10, which pictures God descending from the sky, indicates that the heavenly, not earthly, temple is in view.

[22:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “and my cry for help [entered] his ears.”