Famine and War

21 There was a famine in David’s time. It went on year after year after year—three years. David went to God seeking the reason.

God said, “This is because there is blood on Saul and his house, from the time he massacred the Gibeonites.”

So the king called the Gibeonites together for consultation. (The Gibeonites were not part of Israel; they were what was left of the Amorites, and protected by a treaty with Israel. But Saul, a fanatic for the honor of Israel and Judah, tried to kill them off.)

David addressed the Gibeonites: “What can I do for you? How can I compensate you so that you will bless God’s legacy of land and people?”

The Gibeonites replied, “We don’t want any money from Saul and his family. And it’s not up to us to put anyone in Israel to death.”

But David persisted: “What are you saying I should do for you?”

5-6 Then they told the king, “The man who tried to get rid of us, who schemed to wipe us off the map of Israel—well, let seven of his sons be handed over to us to be executed—hanged before God at Gibeah of Saul, the holy mountain.”

And David agreed, “I’ll hand them over to you.”

7-9 The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the promise David and Jonathan had spoken before God. But the king selected Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, plus the five sons that Saul’s daughter Merab had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He turned them over to the Gibeonites who hanged them on the mountain before God—all seven died together. Harvest was just getting underway, the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were executed.

10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took rough burlap and spread it out for herself on a rock from the beginning of the harvest until the heavy rains started. She kept the birds away from the bodies by day and the wild animals by night.

11-14 David was told what she had done, this Rizpah daughter of Aiah and concubine of Saul. He then went and got the remains of Saul and Jonathan his son from the leaders at Jabesh Gilead (who had rescued them from the town square at Beth Shan where the Philistines had hung them after striking them down at Gilboa). He gathered up their remains and brought them together with the dead bodies of the seven who had just been hanged. The bodies were taken back to the land of Benjamin and given a decent burial in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father.

They did everything the king ordered to be done. That cleared things up: from then on God responded to Israel’s prayers for the land.

15-17 War broke out again between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went down to fight. David became exhausted. Ishbi-Benob, a warrior descended from Rapha, with a spear weighing nearly eight pounds and outfitted in brand-new armor, announced that he’d kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to the rescue, struck the Philistine, and killed him.

Then David’s men swore to him, “No more fighting on the front lines for you! Don’t snuff out the lamp of Israel!”

18 Later there was another skirmish with the Philistines at Gob. That time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, another of the warriors descended from Rapha.

19 At yet another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaar, the weaver of Bethlehem, killed Goliath the Gittite whose spear was as big as a flagpole.

20-21 Still another fight broke out in Gath. There was a giant there with six fingers on his hands and six toes on his feet—twenty-four fingers and toes! He was another of those descended from Rapha. He insulted Israel, and Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s brother, killed him.

22 These four were descended from Rapha in Gath. And they all were killed by David and his soldiers.

22 David prayed to God the words of this song after God saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.

2-3 God is bedrock under my feet,
    the castle in which I live,
    my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
    where I run for dear life,
    hiding behind the boulders,
    safe in the granite hideout;
My mountaintop refuge,
    he saves me from ruthless men.

I sing to God the Praise-Lofty,
    and find myself safe and saved.

5-6 The waves of death crashed over me,
    devil waters rushed over me.
Hell’s ropes cinched me tight;
    death traps barred every exit.

A hostile world! I called to God,
    to my God I cried out.
From his palace he heard me call;
    my cry brought me right into his presence—
    a private audience!

8-16 Earth wobbled and lurched;
    the very heavens shook like leaves,
Quaked like aspen leaves
    because of his rage.
His nostrils flared, billowing smoke;
    his mouth spit fire.
Tongues of fire darted in and out;
    he lowered the sky.
He stepped down;
    under his feet an abyss opened up.
He rode a winged creature,
    swift on wind-wings.
He wrapped himself
    in a trenchcoat of black rain-cloud darkness.
But his cloud-brightness burst through,
    a grand comet of fireworks.
Then God thundered out of heaven;
    the High God gave a great shout.
God shot his arrows—pandemonium!
    He hurled his lightnings—a rout!
The secret sources of ocean were exposed,
    the hidden depths of earth lay uncovered
The moment God roared in protest,
    let loose his hurricane anger.

17-20 But me he caught—reached all the way
    from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
    the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
    but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
    I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!

21-25 God made my life complete
    when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I cleaned up my act,
    he gave me a fresh start.
Indeed, I’ve kept alert to God’s ways;
    I haven’t taken God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works,
    I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
    and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
    when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

26-28 You stick by people who stick with you,
    you’re straight with people who’re straight with you,
You’re good to good people,
    you shrewdly work around the bad ones.
You take the side of the down-and-out,
    but the stuck-up you take down a peg.

29-31 Suddenly, God, your light floods my path,
    God drives out the darkness.
I smash the bands of marauders,
    I vault the high fences.
What a God! His road
    stretches straight and smooth.
Every God-direction is road-tested.
    Everyone who runs toward him
Makes it.

32-46 Is there any god like God?
    Are we not at bedrock?
Is not this the God who armed me well,
    then aimed me in the right direction?
Now I run like a deer;
    I’m king of the mountain.
He shows me how to fight;
    I can bend a bronze bow!
You protect me with salvation-armor;
    you touch me and I feel ten feet tall.
You cleared the ground under me
    so my footing was firm.
When I chased my enemies I caught them;
    I didn’t let go till they were dead men.
I nailed them; they were down for good;
    then I walked all over them.
You armed me well for this fight;
    you smashed the upstarts.
You made my enemies turn tail,
    and I wiped out the haters.
They cried “uncle”
    but Uncle didn’t come;
They yelled for God
    and got no for an answer.
I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.
    I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
You rescued me from a squabbling people;
    you made me a leader of nations.
People I’d never heard of served me;
    the moment they got wind of me they submitted.
They gave up; they came trembling from their hideouts.

47-51 Live, God! Blessing to my Rock,
    my towering Salvation-God!
This God set things right for me
    and shut up the people who talked back.
He rescued me from enemy anger.
    You pulled me from the grip of upstarts,
You saved me from the bullies.
    That’s why I’m thanking you, God,
    all over the world.
That’s why I’m singing songs
    that rhyme your name.
God’s king takes the trophy;
    God’s chosen is beloved.
I mean David and all his children—
    always.

The Gibeonites Avenged

21 During the reign of David, there was a famine(A) for three successive years; so David sought(B) the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

The king summoned the Gibeonites(C) and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”(D)

The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”(E)

“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.

They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed(F) before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen(G) one.”

So the king said, “I will give them to you.”

The king spared Mephibosheth(H) son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath(I) before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul. But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah,(J) whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,[a] whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.(K) He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death(L) during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.(M)

10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night.(N) 11 When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12 he went and took the bones of Saul(O) and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead.(P) (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan,(Q) where the Philistines had hung(R) them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.)(S) 13 David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.

14 They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela(T) in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that,(U) God answered prayer(V) in behalf of the land.(W)

Wars Against the Philistines(X)

15 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines(Y) and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. 16 And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels[b] and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. 17 But Abishai(Z) son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp(AA) of Israel will not be extinguished.(AB)

18 In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbekai(AC) the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha.

19 In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair[c] the Bethlehemite killed the brother of[d] Goliath the Gittite,(AD) who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.(AE)

20 In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. 21 When he taunted(AF) Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah,(AG) David’s brother, killed him.

22 These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.

David’s Song of Praise(AH)

22 David sang(AI) to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

“The Lord is my rock,(AJ) my fortress(AK) and my deliverer;(AL)
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,(AM)
    my shield[e](AN) and the horn[f](AO) of my salvation.
He is my stronghold,(AP) my refuge and my savior—
    from violent people you save me.

“I called to the Lord, who is worthy(AQ) of praise,
    and have been saved from my enemies.
The waves(AR) of death swirled about me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave(AS) coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

“In my distress(AT) I called(AU) to the Lord;
    I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came to his ears.
The earth(AV) trembled and quaked,(AW)
    the foundations(AX) of the heavens[g] shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
    consuming fire(AY) came from his mouth,
    burning coals(AZ) blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
    dark clouds(BA) were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim(BB) and flew;
    he soared[h] on the wings of the wind.(BC)
12 He made darkness(BD) his canopy around him—
    the dark[i] rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
    bolts of lightning(BE) blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered(BF) from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows(BG) and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke(BH) of the Lord,
    at the blast(BI) of breath from his nostrils.

17 “He reached down from on high(BJ) and took hold of me;
    he drew(BK) me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued(BL) me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.(BM)
20 He brought me out into a spacious(BN) place;
    he rescued(BO) me because he delighted(BP) in me.(BQ)

21 “The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;(BR)
    according to the cleanness(BS) of my hands(BT) he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept(BU) the ways of the Lord;
    I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me;(BV)
    I have not turned(BW) away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless(BX) before him
    and have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,(BY)
    according to my cleanness[j] in his sight.

26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
    to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27 to the pure(BZ) you show yourself pure,
    but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.(CA)
28 You save the humble,(CB)
    but your eyes are on the haughty(CC) to bring them low.(CD)
29 You, Lord, are my lamp;(CE)
    the Lord turns my darkness into light.
30 With your help I can advance against a troop[k];
    with my God I can scale a wall.

31 “As for God, his way is perfect:(CF)
    The Lord’s word is flawless;(CG)
    he shields(CH) all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord?
    And who is the Rock(CI) except our God?(CJ)
33 It is God who arms me with strength[l]
    and keeps my way secure.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;(CK)
    he causes me to stand on the heights.(CL)
35 He trains my hands(CM) for battle;
    my arms can bend a bow(CN) of bronze.
36 You make your saving help my shield;(CO)
    your help has made[m] me great.
37 You provide a broad path(CP) for my feet,
    so that my ankles do not give way.

38 “I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39 I crushed(CQ) them completely, and they could not rise;
    they fell beneath my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle;
    you humbled my adversaries before me.(CR)
41 You made my enemies turn their backs(CS) in flight,
    and I destroyed my foes.
42 They cried for help,(CT) but there was no one to save them—(CU)
    to the Lord, but he did not answer.(CV)
43 I beat them as fine as the dust(CW) of the earth;
    I pounded and trampled(CX) them like mud(CY) in the streets.

44 “You have delivered(CZ) me from the attacks of the peoples;
    you have preserved(DA) me as the head of nations.
People(DB) I did not know now serve me,
45     foreigners cower(DC) before me;
    as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.(DD)
46 They all lose heart;
    they come trembling[n](DE) from their strongholds.

47 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
    Exalted(DF) be my God, the Rock, my Savior!(DG)
48 He is the God who avenges(DH) me,(DI)
    who puts the nations under me,
49     who sets me free from my enemies.(DJ)
You exalted me(DK) above my foes;
    from a violent man you rescued me.
50 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing the praises(DL) of your name.(DM)

51 “He gives his king great victories;(DN)
    he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,(DO)
    to David(DP) and his descendants forever.”(DQ)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 21:8 Two Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 1 Samuel 18:19); most Hebrew and Septuagint manuscripts Michal
  2. 2 Samuel 21:16 That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms
  3. 2 Samuel 21:19 See 1 Chron. 20:5; Hebrew Jaare-Oregim.
  4. 2 Samuel 21:19 See 1 Chron. 20:5; Hebrew does not have the brother of.
  5. 2 Samuel 22:3 Or sovereign
  6. 2 Samuel 22:3 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  7. 2 Samuel 22:8 Hebrew; Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:7) mountains
  8. 2 Samuel 22:11 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Psalm 18:10); most Hebrew manuscripts appeared
  9. 2 Samuel 22:12 Septuagint (see also Psalm 18:11); Hebrew massed
  10. 2 Samuel 22:25 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:24) to the cleanness of my hands
  11. 2 Samuel 22:30 Or can run through a barricade
  12. 2 Samuel 22:33 Dead Sea Scrolls, some Septuagint manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:32); Masoretic Text who is my strong refuge
  13. 2 Samuel 22:36 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text shield; / you stoop down to make
  14. 2 Samuel 22:46 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:45); Masoretic Text they arm themselves

21 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)

Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?

And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.

16 And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.

19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David slew him.

22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

22 And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;

The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.

There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.

16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.

20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

21 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.

25 Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.

26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.

28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.

31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

32 For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God?

33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.

38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.

39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.

40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.

41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.

42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.

43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.

44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.

45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.

46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.

47 The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me.

49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.

51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.