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. 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 He sent 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 reached down from on high and drew David out of deep waters. It matters because God personally rescues his people from overwhelming danger.
Overview
After the cosmic theophany, the focus narrows to the rescue itself: God reaches down, takes hold of David, and draws him out of many waters. The deep waters picture overwhelming trouble and threat. This personal deliverance pictures the salvation God works for all who are sinking, ultimately accomplished in Christ who lifts his people from the depths.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Sam 22:17He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
- Ps 144:7Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
- Jonah 2:5–6The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head.
- Ps 57:3He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.
- Ps 18:43You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.
- 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.”
- 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.
- Ps 40:1–3For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 18:16 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.