Chronological Plan

¹David spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul.

²He said: The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

³my God, my rock where I seek refuge. My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, you save me from violence.

⁴I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

⁵For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me.

⁶The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

⁷I called to the LORD in my distress; I called to my God. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry for help reached his ears.

⁸Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they shook because he burned with anger.

⁹Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; coals were set ablaze by it.

¹⁰He bent the heavens and came down, total darkness beneath his feet.

¹¹He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

¹²He made darkness a canopy around him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.

¹³From the radiance of his presence, blazing coals were ignited.

¹⁴The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High made his voice heard.

¹⁵He shot arrows and scattered them; he hurled lightning bolts and routed them.

¹⁶The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of deep water.

¹⁸He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.

²⁰He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

²¹The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²²For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not turned from my God to wickedness.

²³Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me and have not disregarded his statutes.

²⁴I was blameless before him and kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁵So the LORD repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless,

²⁷with the pure you prove yourself pure; but with the crooked you prove yourself shrewd.

²⁸You rescue an oppressed people, but your eyes are set against the proud — you humble them.

²⁹LORD, you are my lamp; the LORD illuminates my darkness.

³⁰With you I can attack a barricade, and with my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹God — his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.

³²For who is God besides the LORD? And who is a rock? Only our God.

³³God is my strong refuge; he makes my way perfect.

³⁴He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.

³⁵He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶You have given me the shield of your salvation; your help exalts me.

³⁷You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.

³⁸I pursue my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out.

³⁹I wipe them out and crush them, and they do not rise; they fall beneath my feet.

⁴⁰You have clothed me with strength for battle; you subdue my adversaries beneath me.

⁴¹You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me.

⁴²They look, but there is no one to save them — they look to the LORD, but he does not answer them.

⁴³I pulverize them like dust of the earth; I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴You have freed me from the feuds among my people; you have preserved me as head of nations; a people I had not known serve me.

⁴⁵Foreigners submit to me cringing; as soon as they hear, they obey me.

⁴⁶Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.

⁴⁷The LORD lives — blessed be my rock! God, the rock of my salvation, is exalted.

⁴⁸God — he grants me vengeance and casts down peoples under me.

⁴⁹He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; you rescue me from violent men.

⁵⁰Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, LORD; I will sing praises about your name.

⁵¹He is a tower of salvation for his king; he shows loyalty to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

¹These are the last words of David: The declaration of David son of Jesse, the declaration of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob. This is the most delightful of Israel’s songs.

²The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me, his word was on my tongue.

³The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, “The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,

⁴is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”

⁵Is it not true my house is with God? For he has established a permanent covenant with me, ordered and secured in every detail. Will he not bring about my whole salvation and my every desire?

⁶But all the wicked are like thorns raked aside; they can never be picked up by hand.

⁷The man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear. They will be completely burned up on the spot.

⁸These are the names of David’s warriors: Josheb-basshebeth the Tahchemonite was chief of the officers. He wielded his spear against eight hundred men that he killed at one time.

⁹After him, Eleazar son of Dodo son of an Ahohite was among the three warriors with David when they defied the Philistines. The men of Israel retreated in the place they had gathered for battle,

¹⁰but Eleazar stood his ground and attacked the Philistines until his hand was tired and stuck to his sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. Then the troops came back to him, but only to plunder the dead.

¹¹After him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had assembled in formation where there was a field full of lentils. The troops fled from the Philistines,

¹²but Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.

¹³Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁴At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.

¹⁵David was extremely thirsty and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!”

¹⁶So three of the warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.

¹⁷David said, “LORD, I would never do such a thing! Is this not the blood of men who risked their lives?” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

¹⁸Abishai, Joab’s brother and son of Zeruiah, was leader of the Three. He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three.

¹⁹Was he not more honored than the Three? He became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

²⁰Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the son of a brave man from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

²¹He also killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went down to him with a club, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear.

²²These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors.

²³He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁴Among the Thirty were Joab’s brother Asahel, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁵Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

²⁷Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

²⁹Heleb son of Baanah the Netophahite, Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjaminites,

³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash,

³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan son of

³³Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,

³⁴Eliphelet son of Ahasbai son of the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

³⁵Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

³⁶Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer for Joab son of Zeruiah,

³⁸Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

³⁹and Uriah the Hethite. There were thirty-seven in all.