2 Samuel 22:44

⁴² They looked, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴³ I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.

You 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.

⁴⁵ Foreigners cower before me; when they hear me, they obey me.

⁴⁶ Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You 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.
KJV: Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.
WEB: You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people. You have kept me to be the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known will serve me.
ASV: Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people; Thou hast kept me to be the head of the nations: A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
DARBY: And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me:
BLB: And You have rescued me from the strife of my people, You have kept me as the head of the nations; a people I have not known shall serve me.

ÅB: Og du redder meg fra mitt folks kamper, du bevarer meg til å være hode for hedninger; folkeferd som jeg ikke kjenner, tjener meg.
OTB: Du har reddet meg fra mitt folks stridigheter;
Du har holdt meg som leder over nasjonene;
Et folk jeg ikke kjente tjener meg.
B1930: Og du redder mig fra mitt folks kamper, du bevarer mig til å være hode for hedninger; folkeferd som jeg ikke kjenner, tjener mig.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Samuel 8:1–14
Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
Read in context
Isaiah 55:5
Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory on you.”
Read in context
2 Samuel 3:1
Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 28:13
The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today.
Read in context
2 Samuel 19:14
So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants.”
Read in context
2 Samuel 19:9
And all the people throughout the tribes of Israel were arguing, “The king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled the land because of Absalom.
Read in context
2 Samuel 5:1
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
Read in context
Acts 5:30–31
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.
Read in context