King James Version · The united kingdom
2 Samuel 22
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And spake unto the words of this song in the day that had him out of the hand of all his , and out of the hand of : And he said, is , and my , and my deliverer; The of ; in him will I : he is my shield, and of my , my high tower, and my refuge, my ; thou savest me from . I will call on , who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be from mine . When the waves of compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of prevented me; In my distress I called upon , and cried to my : and he did out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of moved and shook, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and out of his devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed also, and came down; and was . And he rode upon a , and did fly: and he was seen upon the of the wind. And he made pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. Through the brightness before him were coals of kindled. thundered from , and uttered his voice. And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them. And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of , at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters; He me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place: he me, because he delighted in me. rewarded me according to my : according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of , and have not wickedly departed from my . For all his judgments were before me: and as for his , I did not depart from them. I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine . Therefore hath recompensed me according to my ; according to my cleanness in his eye sight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury. And people thou wilt : but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down. For thou art my lamp, O : and will lighten my . For by thee I have run through a troop: by my have I leaped over a wall. As for , his way is perfect; the word of is tried: he is a buckler to all them that in him. For who is , ? and who is a , our ? is my strength and : and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet: and setteth me upon my . He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy : and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip. I have pursued mine , and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine , that I might destroy them that hate me. They looked, but there was none to ; even unto , but he answered them not. Then did I beat them as small as of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad. Thou also hast me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall me. Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me. Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places. liveth; and be ; and exalted be the of of my . It is that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, And that bringeth me forth from mine : thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast me from the man. Therefore I will unto thee, O , among the heathen, and I will sing unto thy name. He is the tower of for his king: and sheweth mercy to his , unto , and to for evermore.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.