2 Samuel 22

2 Samuel 22

Morgan - In these words we have revealed the principles of relationship between God and man. God is to man what man is to God.” ED COMMENT - Yes, that is true, but let's be honest, none of us could be kind/loyal/faithful unless the Spirit of the LORD carried out a miraculous supernatural work in our heart (the first time and then daily)! Vos points out, “God reciprocates in like fashion. But the haughty, or godless, of David’s enemies he would bring down in defeat. Presumably, the illusion to David’s righteousness in this passage refers primarily to his early life and wilderness wanderings. His later life with its sins of adultery and murder do not seem to be in view. Victories over foreign enemies and the context of which those sins occurred, figure in the following section.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary) CHS - The dealings of the Lord in his own case, cause the grateful singer to remember the usual rule of God's moral government; he is just in his dealings with the sons of men, and metes out to each man according to his measure. "With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright." Every man shall have his meat weighed in his own scales, his corn meted in his own bushel, and his land measured with his own rod. No rule can be more fair, to ungodly men more terrible, or to the generous man more honourable. How would men throw away their light weights, and break their short yards, if they could but believe that they themselves are sure to be in the end the losers by their knavish tricks! Note that even the merciful need mercy; no amount of generosity to the poor, or forgiveness to enemies, can set us beyond the need of mercy. Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner. Kind (godly) (02623) hasid from hasad = to be good, kind) is an adjective that means kind, benevolent, merciful. Hasid is in the same Hebrew word group as heced, which describes loyal lovingkindness. Thus the main idea of hasid is faithful kindness and piety that springs from mercy. Hasid is used to describe Jehovah as "kind (hasid) in all His deeds" (Ps 145:17 - Lxx = hósios = persons who live right before God, used of Jesus - Acts 2:27, 13:35) and as "gracious" (Jer 3:12 - Lxx = eleemon = actively compassionate leading to acts of mercy to relieve suffering or misery of the object of compassion). In Psalm 16:10 hasid is a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus ("Holy One"; Lxx = hósios). God will keep (preserve - same verb shamar in Ps 121:3, 5, 7, 8-note) "the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. " (1Sa 2:9) "With the kind (hasid; Lxx = hósios) Thou dost show Thyself kind, With the blameless Thou dost show Thyself blameless." (2Sa 22:26) Most of the OT uses of hasid are translated in the Lxx with hósios. The first use of hasid which was a reference to Levi - "And of Levi he said, “[Let] Thy Thummim and Thy Urim [belong] to Thy godly man, whom Thou didst prove at Massah, with whom Thou didst contend at the waters of Meribah." (Dt 33:8) TWOT has this note on hasid - Holy one, saint. Whether God’s people in the OT were called hasid because they were characterized by heced (as seems likely) or were so called because they were objects of God’s heced may not be certain. The word is used thirty-two times, twenty-five of them in the Psalms. It is used in sing.. and pl. Once, Ps 16:16, it refers to the Holy One to come. The word became used for the orthodox party in the days of the Maccabeans. Baker - Hasid carries the essential idea of the faithful kindness and piety that springs from mercy. It is used of the Lord twice: once to convey His holiness in the sense that His works are beyond reproach (Ps 145:17); and once to declare His tender mercy (Jer. 3:12). Hasid - 34x/33v - godly(2), godly man(3), godly ones(20), godly person(1), gracious(1), Holy One(1), kind(3), love(1), ungodly*(1). Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 2:9; 2 Sam. 22:26; 2 Chr. 6:41; Job 39:13; Ps. 4:3; Ps. 12:1; Ps. 16:10; Ps. 18:25; Ps. 30:4; Ps. 31:23; Ps. 32:6; Ps. 37:28; Ps. 43:1; Ps. 50:5; Ps. 52:9; Ps. 79:2; Ps. 85:8; Ps. 86:2; Ps. 89:19; Ps. 97:10; Ps. 116:15; Ps. 132:9; Ps. 132:16; Ps. 145:10; Ps. 145:17; Ps. 148:14; Ps. 149:1; Ps. 149:5; Ps. 149:9; Prov. 2:8; Jer. 3:12; Mic. 7:2 2 Samuel 22:27 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the perverted You show Yourself astute. BGT 2 Samuel 22:27 καὶ μετὰ ἐκλεκτοῦ ἐκλεκτὸς ἔσῃ καὶ μετὰ στρεβλοῦ στρεβλωθήσῃ LXE 2 Samuel 22:27 and with the excellent thou wilt be excellent, and with the froward thou will be froward. KJV 2 Samuel 22:27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward (habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition) thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury. NET 2 Samuel 22:27 You prove to be reliable to one who is blameless, but you prove to be deceptive to one who is perverse. CSB 2 Samuel 22:27 with the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd. ESV 2 Samuel 22:27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. NIV 2 Samuel 22:27 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. NLT 2 Samuel 22:27 To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked you show yourself hostile. NRS 2 Samuel 22:27 with the pure you show yourself pure, and with the crooked you show yourself perverse. NJB 2 Samuel 22:27 sincere to the sincere but cunning to the crafty, NAB 2 Samuel 22:27 Toward the sincere you are sincere; but toward the crooked you are astute. YLT 2 Samuel 22:27 With the pure Thou shewest Thyself pure, And with the perverse Thou shewest Thyself a wrestler. GWN 2 Samuel 22:27 with pure people you are pure. In dealing with devious people you are clever. BBE 2 Samuel 22:27 He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge. the pure: Mt 5:8 And with the perverted : Lev 26:23-28 De 28:58-61 Ps 125:5 You show Yourself astute, Ex 18:11 Ps 18:26 Isa 45:9 Related Passage: Leviticus 26:21-24+ ‘If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins. 22 ‘I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted. 23 ‘And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me, 24 then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins. BASIS FOR RECOMPENSE FOR GOOD & EVIL With the pure (barar) You show Yourself pure (barar), And with the perverted You show Yourself astute (pathal) - Those who insist on devious ways are given up to their perversity (cf. Ro 1:28). Astute is literally "twisted" which fits with perverted, so the idea would be that those who pervert (or twist) His word and ways, will themselves be twisted. The Septuagint translates pathal with the verb strebloo which literally means to twist or wrench limbs on an instrument for torturing people (instrument called a rack) and hence to torture or torment, which is exactly how the perverted will be recompensed (cf eternal punishment)! Here in 2Sa 22:27 perverted is translated in the Septuagint with the word streblos which means twisted or crooked and in context figuratively refers to their continually godless lifestyle. The KJV uses the archaic word froward which means habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition. In other words their lifestyle was continually godless. Their twisted behavior will be repaid with divine, just, righteous "twisting" (torture)!