2 Samuel · 51 verses
2 Samuel 22
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
David’s deliverer comes down through a violently splendid weather system: smoke from His nostrils, fire from His mouth, and a cherub beneath Him as He flies.
A storm with wingsvv. 1–20
David sings to the LORD after being delivered from his enemies and from Saul. The rescue arrives with rather more theatre than a quiet extraction: the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, smoke rises, fire blazes, and the LORD parts the heavens to descend on dark clouds. He then mounts a cherub, scatters David’s foes, reaches into the deep waters, and draws him out into the open.
The bronze bowvv. 21–37
David now gives the reason for his deliverance: he has kept the ways of the LORD, observed His ordinances, and stayed clear of iniquity. The LORD is lamp, shield, fortress, and maker of clear paths; David’s feet become deer’s feet, and his hands are trained for battle. The song pauses, magnificently, to report that his arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Enemies, nations, and an unanswered appealvv. 38–51
David pursues, crushes, and tramples his enemies until they cannot rise. When they look for rescue, even their appeal to the LORD receives no answer—the song is not shy about the asymmetry. David is then lifted above his foes, made head of nations, and ends by praising the LORD among those nations, with the promise reaching David and his descendants forever.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
2 Sam 22:1And David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 Sam 22:2He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
2 Sam 22:3My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.
2 Sam 22:4I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
2 Sam 22:5For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
2 Sam 22:6The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
2 Sam 22:7In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried out to my God. And from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears.
2 Sam 22:8Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
2 Sam 22:9Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
2 Sam 22:10He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.
2 Sam 22:11He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
2 Sam 22:12He made darkness a canopy around Him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.
2 Sam 22:13From the brightness of His presence coals of fire blazed forth.
2 Sam 22:14The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
2 Sam 22:15He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
2 Sam 22:16The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
2 Sam 22:17He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
2 Sam 22:18He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.
2 Sam 22:19They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.
2 Sam 22:20He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
2 Sam 22:21The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
2 Sam 22:22For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.
2 Sam 22:23For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.
2 Sam 22:24And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
2 Sam 22:25So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.
2 Sam 22:26To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
2 Sam 22:27to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
2 Sam 22:28You save an afflicted people, but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
2 Sam 22:29For You, O LORD, are my lamp; the LORD lights up my darkness.
2 Sam 22:30For in You I can charge an army; with my God I can scale a wall.
2 Sam 22:31As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
2 Sam 22:32For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
2 Sam 22:33God is my strong fortress, and He makes my way clear.
2 Sam 22:34He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
2 Sam 22:35He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
2 Sam 22:36You have given me Your shield of salvation, and Your gentleness exalts me.
2 Sam 22:37You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
2 Sam 22:38I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
2 Sam 22:39I devoured and crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.
2 Sam 22:40You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
2 Sam 22:41You have made my enemies retreat before me; I destroyed those who hated me.
2 Sam 22:42They looked, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.
2 Sam 22:43I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.
2 Sam 22:44You have delivered me from the strife of my people; You have preserved me as the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.
2 Sam 22:45Foreigners cower before me; when they hear me, they obey me.
2 Sam 22:46Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.
2 Sam 22:47The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted—
2 Sam 22:48the God who avenges me and brings down nations beneath me,
2 Sam 22:49who frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
2 Sam 22:50Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.
2 Sam 22:51Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 545 passages were voted onto 51 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 31Deuteronomy 32:4He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- 31Proverbs 30:5Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
- 3Psalms 9:9The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
- 29Psalms 27:1Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
- 33Ephesians 6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- 17Isaiah 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
- 2Psalms 18:2–50The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- 17Psalms 144:7Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
- 29John 8:12Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- 3Isaiah 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- 29Revelation 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- 31Psalms 18:30As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- 33Isaiah 41:10Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- 33Psalms 28:7–8The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.
- 3Proverbs 18:10The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- 7Psalms 18:6In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
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