Chronological Plan

¹David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

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

³my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

⁴I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

⁵For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of perdition assailed me;

⁶the cords of Sheol entangled me, the snares of death confronted me.

⁷In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.

⁸Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.

⁹Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.

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

¹¹He rode on a cherub, and flew; he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

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

¹³Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.

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

¹⁵He sent out arrows, and scattered them — lightning, and routed them.

¹⁶Then the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷He reached from on high, he took me, he drew me out of mighty waters.

¹⁸He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁹They came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my stay.

²⁰He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

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

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

²³For all his ordinances were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

²⁴I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.

²⁵Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show yourself blameless;

²⁷with the pure you show yourself pure, and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.

²⁸You deliver a humble people, but your eyes are upon the haughty to bring them down.

²⁹Indeed, you are my lamp, O LORD, the LORD lightens my darkness.

³⁰By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹This God — his way is perfect; the promise of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

³²For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

³³The God who has girded me with strength has opened wide my path.

³⁴He made my feet like the feet of deer, and set me secure on the heights.

³⁵He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your help has made me great.

³⁷You have made me stride freely, and my feet do not slip;

³⁸I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁹I consumed them; I struck them down, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet.

⁴⁰For you girded me with strength for the battle; you made my assailants sink under me.

⁴¹You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them.

⁴²They looked, but there was no one to save them; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

⁴³I beat them fine like the dust of the earth, I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

⁴⁴You delivered me from strife with the peoples; you kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.

⁴⁵Foreigners came cringing to me; as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

⁴⁶Foreigners lost heart, and came trembling out of their strongholds.

⁴⁷The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

⁴⁸the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,

⁴⁹who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above my adversaries, you delivered me from the violent.

⁵⁰For this I will extol you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.

⁵¹He is a tower of salvation for his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

¹Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:

²The spirit of the LORD speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue.

³The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God,

⁴is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

⁵Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?

⁶But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand;

⁷to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.

⁸These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three; he wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

⁹Next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. The Israelites withdrew,

¹⁰but he stood his ground. He struck down the Philistines until his arm grew weary, though his hand clung to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. Then the people came back to him — but only to strip the dead.

¹¹Next to him was Shammah son of Agee, the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the army fled from the Philistines.

¹²But he took his stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory.

¹³Towards the beginning of harvest three of the thirty chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

¹⁴David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.

¹⁵David said longingly, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!”

¹⁶Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the LORD,

¹⁷for he said, “The LORD forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.

¹⁸Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. With his spear he fought against three hundred men and killed them, and won a name beside the Three.

¹⁹He was the most renowned of the Thirty, and became their commander; but he did not attain to the Three.

²⁰Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant warrior from Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.

²¹And he killed an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.

²²Such were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and won a name beside the three warriors.

²³He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁴Among the Thirty were Asahel brother of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem;

²⁵Shammah of Harod; Elika of Harod;

²⁶Helez the Paltite; Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa;

²⁷Abiezer of Anathoth; Mebunnai the Hushathite;

²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai of Netophah;

²⁹Heleb son of Baanah of Netophah; Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites;

³⁰Benaiah of Pirathon; Hiddai of the torrents of Gaash;

³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite; Azmaveth of Bahurim;

³²Eliahba of Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen: Jonathan

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

³⁴Eliphelet son of Ahasbai of Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite;

³⁵Hezro of Carmel; Paarai the Arbite;

³⁶Igal son of Nathan of Zobah; Bani the Gadite;

³⁷Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah;

³⁸Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite;

³⁹Uriah the Hittite — thirty-seven in all.