“He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many 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;
- BSB He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
- NKJV “Hesent from above, 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 through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
- Ps 144:7Stretch out your hand from above, rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hands of foreigners;
- Ps 18:16He sent from on high. He took me. He drew me out of many waters.
- Ps 130:1A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to you, Yahweh.
- Ps 32:6For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.
- Rev 17:15He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
- Ps 59:1–2For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, my God. Set me on high from those who rise up against me.
- Ps 93:3–4The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves.
- Ps 124:4–5then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul;
- Exod 2:10The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
- Lam 3:54Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.
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.