He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
Parallel translations
- WEB He sent from on high and he took me. He drew me out of many waters.
- KJV He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
- NKJV “Hesent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.
- NASB “He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
- NLT “He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God reaches down from on high and draws David out of many waters. The Lord personally rescues him from drowning peril.
Overview
The image of being lifted from deep waters portrays salvation as God's gracious, hands-on deliverance. David contributes nothing but his cry; God does the saving. This pictures the gospel, in which God reaches down to draw us out of the waters of sin and death through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
- Ps 144:7Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
- Ps 18:16He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
- Ps 130:1A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!
- Ps 32:6Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.
- Rev 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
- Ps 59:1–2For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise against me.
- Ps 93:3–4The floodwaters have risen, O LORD; the rivers have raised their voice; the seas lift up their pounding waves.
- Ps 124:4–5then the floods would have engulfed us, then the torrent would have overwhelmed us,
- Exod 2:10When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
- Lam 3:54The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 22:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.