Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:19 - 22:20

Here David continues to talk about his enemies. In some cases the pronoun They may need to be replaced by “My enemies” or “Those who oppose me.”

The word translated calamity is found frequently in Job and Proverbs and also in Deut 32.35, as well as in the parallel in Psa 18.18. It means “disaster” or, in a more abstract sense, “danger,” “peril” (Revised English Bible). In Deut 32.35 Good News Translation translates it “doom.” In the day of my calamity is generic, and some languages do not express the circumstances resulting from trouble in a nonspecific manner. Therefore it is sometimes necessary to say “when I was trapped” or “when they tied me up.” The words day of should not be understood as referring to a specific twenty-four-hour day. Rather the reference is to a period of time during which the writer is experiencing misfortune or danger.

The word translated stay is a noun meaning “support” (New American Bible) or “buttress” (Revised English Bible) and is used only here, in Psa 18.18, and in Isa 3.1. The noun comes from the verb “to lean on, to rely on” (see Isa 50.10). It may therefore perhaps be legitimate to translate the LORD was my stay as “I relied on the LORD,” although this changes the focus from Yahweh to David. A better rendering using a verbal expression is “The LORD took care of me” or “Yahweh was there to support me” (New Jerusalem Bible).

He brought me forth into a broad place: literally “He caused me to go forth into a roomy place” (the same noun occurs in Job 36.16 and Psa 31.8). This expression refers to rescuing someone from danger, which is thought of as a place in which the person is confined or hemmed in by trouble and distress (see the comments on “great distress” at 24.14). Some other renderings are “he sets me free, in a clear space” (Moffatt), “he brought me out to freedom” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “he took me to a safe place” (New Century Version).

Delivered means “saved.” It is not the same verb as translated in this way elsewhere in this chapter. But the meaning is not very different. This Hebrew verb basically means “to remove”; here it means “to remove from a situation of danger.”

Delighted in: see the comments on “I have no pleasure in you” (15.26) and “favors” (20.11), which reflect the same Hebrew verb. Some other ways of translating the meaning are “he was pleased with me” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “he loves me” (New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible). In some languages it will be important to put this verb in a present tense or habitual verb form rather than in a past tense, which may make it appear that the LORD’s delight had ended by the time these words were written.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:21 - 22:22

In verses 21-25 the writer declares his complete innocence, the integrity and uprightness of his character and conduct. It is to be noticed that in verses 21-25 and 36-43 Good News Translation uses the present tense of the verbs to indicate habitual, or continuous, action, while Revised Standard Version has the past tense, indicating specific, isolated events. Most translations in English are like Revised Standard Version, but there is no certain way to determine which is correct. Good News Translation (also New Jerusalem Bible) is preferred, but the translator should feel free to follow Revised Standard Version.

Verse 21 has the metaphor in the second line (cleanness of my hands) in parallel with righteousness. This is a means of stepping up the vividness of the parallelism. This heightening is thought by some to be diminished in Good News Translation, which has “because I am innocent.”

For the verb rewarded see the comments on “recompense” in 19.36, where the same Hebrew verb occurs. This verb means generally “to do something that affects someone else,” and the context indicates whether the act is viewed favorably or unfavorably. In Psa 13.6 the verb is rendered by Revised Standard Version “dealt bountifully” (Good News Translation “been good”). Here it has the same general meaning of “do good to” or “be good to.” The LORD rewarded me may be rendered idiomatically in some languages; for example, “The LORD looks at me for good” or “The LORD puts good on my head.”

For righteousness see the comments on 8.15, where this term is rendered “equity,” as well as comments on 19.28, which speaks of “right.” Here the word describes David as a person who is careful always to act and speak in agreement with the Law of Moses, the Torah. A “righteous” person, in this context, is above everything else one who obeys God in all things, as verse 22 makes abundantly clear. According to my righteousness may be rendered, for example, “because I do all that God requires,” “because I obey God completely,” or idiomatically “because I follow carefully on God’s road.”

Cleanness of my hands: clean hands are a sign of innocence (see Psa 24.4; 26.6), as Good News Translation explicitly states. Some other models for translating this expression are “my conduct was spotless” (Revised English Bible) and “I have not done evil” (New Century Version).

The verb translated recompensed is “to turn” in the causative form, “he causes to turn,” meaning to compensate or to pay back (here in a good sense).

The ways of the LORD: the ways in which Yahweh wants his people to walk, their behavior, conduct as required by the Law. So Good News Translation “the law of the LORD”; Bible en français courant “the precepts of the Lord.”

The verb phrase [I] have not wickedly departed from translates “I have not been wrong from,” meaning to do wrong by turning away from God. So the translation can be “I have not committed the sin of turning away from God.” The rendering of New International Version, “I have not done evil by turning from my God,” can be understood to mean that in turning away from God David had not done evil. Departed from my God is sometimes rendered “I have not left God’s road” or “I have not turned my back to God.” My God may have to be recast as “the God whom I worship” or “the God whom I obey.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:23 - 22:25

In verse 23 ordinances and statutes are both synonyms of “the ways of the LORD” in verse 22; and the verbs in verse 23 were before me and not turn aside are also nearly synonymous with “kept” and “not wickedly departed from” in verse 22. In some languages translators may be forced to use similar or even identical vocabulary to translate some of these terms.

The word translated ordinances is the plural of the word translated “justice” in 8.15 and “judgment” in 15.2, 6 (see the comments). Statutes stands for a word that means “a legal prescription, regulation, decree.” It does not occur elsewhere in the books of Samuel but occurs quite frequently in other books, including Gen 26.5, along with other law synonyms. If translators follow Good News Translation‘s “observed all his laws,” they must avoid communicating the idea of merely looking at the laws without actually obeying them. In languages where it is not possible to render the synonyms ordinances and statutes as nouns, it is often possible to do so by verbs; for example, “I have obeyed everything he showed me to do” or “I have not refused anything he taught me to do.”

In verse 24 blameless translates the word meaning “perfect,” or “without spot or defect.” It involves having “integrity,” and this, in fact, is how it is translated in Psa 7.8. It may often be rendered by a verb phrase like “no one can accuse me of doing wrong,” “I have obeyed you completely,” or “I have done no evil things.”

The phrase before him may mean either in his presence or in his sight (that is, from his point of view); “in his sight” seems more probable. Good News Translation represents this meaning by “He knows that….”

Guilt is generally understood to refer to a person’s awareness of having done wrong and feeling bad about it. The Hebrew word is better represented by “evil” (New Jerusalem Bible), “sinning” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “sin” (New International Version), or “doing wrong” (Good News Translation), since it refers more to the perverse deed and the consequences of the evil deed than to the sense of guilt.

Verse 25 is practically a repetition of verse 21; recompensed translates the verb, which appears also in verse 21b. As in verse 21, Good News Translation translates the verb as a continuous present (“rewards me”), while Revised Standard Version takes the verb to refer to past action (has recompensed me). Either is possible, but it seems advisable to follow Good News Translation here. My cleanness may sometimes be rendered idiomatically; for example, “because my heart is white” or “because my stomach is hollow.” Most manuscript evidence here favors this shorter expression rather than the similar one in verse 21 (“the cleanness of my hands”). Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel and a few other translations follow the ancient versions that harmonize this verse with the parallels in verse 21 and Psa 18, but most follow the Masoretic Text, which receives a {B} rating from Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. But as in verse 21, the translator should see if the intensification of line b is accomplished by placing the figure of cleanness in the second line. Even if this is the case, it may still be necessary to employ a different figure.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:26 - 22:27

As already noted there is a shift in pronominal use starting with verse 26. Until this point all references to God have been in the third person (with the exception of verse 3d). From this point until verse 30, the second person is used except in the second lines of verses 29-30. Furthermore there is at the same time a clear shift in the type of parallelism starting with verse 26. The two lines of verses 26-27 say very much the same thing, without adding significant information in the second line. That is, the two lines of verses 26-27 say very much the same thing, with no “going beyond” in the second line. This change constitutes a shift in the discourse. The poet will again revert to straight third-person reference to God in another five verses (31-35).

In verses 26-28 the writer no longer speaks in personal terms, as in verses 21-25, but speaks in more general terms of the LORD’s attitude toward the good and the wicked.

In verses 26-27 the writer attributes the same qualities to God as are found in people. The thought is that God matches the good qualities (verses 26a, b, 27a) and the bad quality (verse 27b) he finds in people.

The first quality (verse 26a) is loyalty, faithfulness (see the comments on “faithful ones” in 1 Sam 2.9 and on the noun “loyalty” in 2 Sam 2.5). On the part of God it means that he keeps his promises, while on the part of human beings, it means they faithfully obey God. Loyal and “faithful” are terms that contain a reciprocal relationship, and so they must often be recast to make explicit the relationship involved. For example, “With people who trust in you, you are a one-heart LORD,” “With people who follow you, you are a LORD of one way,” “You can be counted on to help those who always obey you,” or “You sustain people who rest on you.” In many languages the same word cannot naturally be used both of God and of human beings, so the translation must carefully distinguish between God’s “faithfulness,” that is, his constant love, and a person’s “faithfulness,” that is, the person’s obedience to God.

The second quality (verse 26b) is perfection, lack of fault, or a state of being blameless (see also verse 24). It is difficult to find one word that can be used in the same sense of God and of human beings. This explains why Good News Translation has “completely good … perfect.” The end of verse 26 in the Masoretic Text reads “and with the blameless valiant man you show yourself blameless.” Most interpreters think that the word “valiant” (or, warrior) is the result of a scribe’s copying error. The word for “young man” and “warrior” are nearly identical in spelling, with differences in vowels only.

The third quality (verse 27a) is moral purity, which is practically synonymous with blameless in the preceding line. The Hebrew words translated the pure and show thyself pure come from the same root as the word translated “cleanness” in verse 25. New English Bible, however, takes the Hebrew verb here to mean “be savage” and not “be pure.” But Revised English Bible reverts to a more traditional rendering of this part of the verse. Thou dost show thyself pure in reference to God and people is often difficult to express using the same term. In reference to people the focus is upon their blameless condition, but when speaking of God the meaning is more related to the goodness, that is, the kindness, of God. This may sometimes be rendered, for example, “you are good to those whose hearts are white” or “you are kind in regard to those who have shining hearts.” Contemporary English Version attempts to use the same verb in both cases with the idea “are sincere.”

The last quality (verse 27b) is expressed in two different words: for people it is the word crooked; for God it is a verb meaning “to be wise, astute, cunning” (see Job 5.13b “cunning men”). The basic meaning of the Hebrew verb is “to twist,” and for this reason some understand the sense to be strongly negative. Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version both say show [yourself to be] perverse. But more likely is the sense of being crafty or clever. This half-verse is translated in different ways: “you outwit the cheat”; New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, “with the perverse, you are wily”; New American Bible, “toward the crooked you are astute”; New Jerusalem Bible, “cunning to the crafty.” Perhaps the best way to represent the meaning is to say something like “you are cunning [or, shrewd] with those who are crooked.” Contemporary English Version has “but you treat the unfaithful as their deeds deserve.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:28

While the parallel in Psa 18 has the Hebrew transition word rendered “For” in Revised Standard Version at the beginning of this verse, this seems unnecessary here, since no cause and effect relation between verses 27 and 28 seems indicated.

Deliver translates the verb translated “save” in 3.18, “gave victory” in 8.6, 14, and “help” in 10.11, 19; 14.4. The same term is used in verses 3 and 4 of this chapter.

A humble people: the word translated humble is elsewhere “poor” (Exo 22.25), “the afflicted” (Psa 9.12), and “the meek” (Psa 10.17). The Hebrew word refers to people who have been humbled by difficult circumstances, who have been taken advantage of.

The parallel in Psa 18 here reads “haughty eyes thou dost bring down,” and this reading from Psa 18 has been assimilated into this verse in 2 Samuel in the Septuagint and the ancient Syriac. This is the basis for the New Jerusalem Bible translation, “You … humiliate those with haughty looks.” But according to the Masoretic Text, here in 2 Samuel the wording is different. In this case the “eyes” are those of Yahweh, and the haughty refers to proud people who are contrasted with humble people in the previous line. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text.

The verb bring … down translates the causative form of a verb meaning “to be low.” It means “to humiliate, shame, defeat” (in contrast with deliver in line a). The act of “bringing down” or “lowering” the haughty (or “high”) is a play on words involving the idea of downward movement. In some languages this same wordplay can be maintained. For example, “but you lower the heads of those who carry them high” or “but you bend people down who put their noses up.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:29

In this section (verses 29-35) David praises God for his goodness to him.

Yea represents a Hebrew particle that is sometimes rendered “Indeed” in more modern versions like New Revised Standard Version. It is apparently intended to focus attention on what follows. If the receptor language has a word that fulfills the same function, it may be used here. But in many languages it may be omitted altogether.

The statement thou art my lamp is a figure meaning that Yahweh is the source of life, vitality, prosperity, and health (in the parallel Psa 18.28 “thou dost light my lamp”). Lamp here is not a metaphor for wisdom or knowledge. The idea is not that God dispels the darkness of ignorance, but rather the darkness of sin, destruction, and death, and continuously gives David life and strength (as the next verse makes clear). For the same figure for the Law of Yahweh, see Psa 119.105a. The lamp in those days was a small clay bowl, filled with olive oil, with a wick floating in it, one end protruding through a spout on the side of the bowl.

Whereas Psa 18.28 refers indirectly to “the LORD” in the second half of the verse, here the divine name is used in direct address, O LORD. This is shifted forward in the Good News Translation rendering for the sake of naturalness.

My God: the same is found in New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, and Revised English Bible. But the traditional Hebrew text has “the LORD,” which is followed by a majority of versions, including New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Century Version, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. There seems to be no reason to change the traditional reading at this point. This textual problem is not even mentioned in Hebrew Old Testament Text Project and may in fact be irrelevant in many languages because of the pronoun shift. The Hebrew (see Revised Standard Version) addresses God in the second person in line a and refers to him in the third person in line b. As is often done, Good News Translation maintains the second person of address in both lines. This will probably be a good model for most other languages.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:30

On the particle translated by the word Yea, see the comments at the beginning of the previous verse.

The phrase by thee means “with your help” or, using a verbal expression, “you enable.” Good News Translation has therefore rendered these words “You give me strength.”

Although the verb in line a is translated crush by Revised Standard Version, it seems more likely that it means “run to,” that is, “attack” (Good News Translation, New Century Version, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). See New International Version “advance against”; Bible en français courant “launch an assault.” The difficulty here is knowing whether the verb comes from the root “to run” (r-w-ts) or from the root “to crush” (r-ts-ts).

A troop normally means a group of warriors or a raiding band (the same or a related Hebrew term occurs in 3.22; 4.2; 1 Sam 30.8, 15). However, the parallel in the next line (a wall) and one part of the Septuagint tradition of this verse lead some scholars to conjecture here in line a a word meaning a wall of stones or a “rampart” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant) instead of a troop. In Hebrew the words troop and “stone wall” are very similar in spelling. The corrected text is the basis for New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “rush a barrier” and Bible de Jérusalem “break through the ramparts.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and recommends a translation such as “I will run in a raid” or “I will crush a band of raiders.”

A troop or a “band of warriors” may be rendered as a “line of soldiers.” In some languages it will be necessary to make explicit, as does Good News Translation, how God enables the writer to perform these feats; for example, “when you make me strong,” or “because you are with me…,” or “because you help me….”

Leap over a wall in line b means to break through the wall around a city, which defends it against enemy attacks. Therefore many English translations have “scale a wall,” which means to climb over it. In translation it may be necessary to say, for example, “a wall around a city” or “a wall that protects a city,” in order not to give the idea of the wall of a house. Translators should, however, avoid a rendering that will make readers think of mere athletic ability. The real underlying meaning is perhaps best expressed by Contemporary English Version, “capture cities.”

Though a literal translation of New American Bible is not advised, that translation reflects the interpretation that is recommended here: “For with your aid I run against an armed band, and by the help of my God I leap over a wall.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 22:31 - 22:32

As noted in the introduction to this chapter, interpreters divide the sections differently. Revised Standard Version, for example, begins a new section with verse 32, while Good News Translation begins a new section with verse 31.

In some languages the expression This God will only serve to distinguish a near God from one that is further away. In order to avoid such ambiguity of reference, it will often be necessary to render This God as “The God whom I worship,” or shift to the possessive, “Our God.” Some translations (for example, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant, Revised English Bible) disregard the unusual Hebrew construction (literally “The God,” which is used only here, in verse 33, and in the parallel in Psa 18) and have simply “The way of God is perfect” or something like it. Others prefer to translate “As for God…” (New International Version and Goldman). If the entire psalm is translated in the second person singular, this will have to be rendered “As for you, O God….”

God’s way is either his own conduct or else the way he sets forth for his people. Here it seems to refer to God’s conduct.

Perfect: see the comments on “blameless” in verses 24 and 26, where the same Hebrew word is found. But note that the word is used here to qualify the noun way rather than a person. The idea of perfection is extremely difficult to express in certain languages. In some cases it can only be expressed in negative terms such as “having no fault” or “without defect.” The concept is also used in the New Testament (for example, Matt 5.48; Rom 12.2; Heb 5.9; 9.11). The whole phrase, his way is perfect, will in other cases require restructuring in the form “he does everything just right.”

Proves true translates the verb “to refine” or “test,” as it is translated in Judges 7.4. The idea here is that of being completely free of flaw or impurity, and therefore completely trustworthy and dependable. It is very similar in meaning to perfect. The promise of the LORD proves true must often be rendered “you can always depend on the LORD’s words” or “you can always believe what the LORD says.” Others may say “The LORD always accomplishes what he says he will do.”

For a discussion of shield see verse 3 above, as well as 1.21 and 1 Sam 17.7, 41. If the shield or equivalent protective device is unknown, it is often necessary to employ a descriptive phrase; for example, “he is like a covering that protects people,” or simply avoid the figure of speech and say “he is the place where people go to for protection” or “he is the one to whom people escape for safety.”

All those who take refuge in him: see the comments on verse 3 regarding the word refuge. This expression refers to all the people who look to the LORD for protection. The same verb appears in Ruth 2.12, where Ruth sought the protection of God.

The rhetorical question in verse 32 is a way of making a strong affirmation: “No one else but Yahweh is God; no one except our God is a rock.” For rock see the comment in verse 3 above. In many instances our God will have to be translated “the God we worship” or “God, whom we worship.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .