2 Samuel 22:36 (DBY)

Passage

And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, And thy condescending gentleness hath made me great.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And setteth me upon my high places.

2 Samuel 22:35 He teacheth my hands to war, And mine arms bend a bow of brass.

2 Samuel 22:36 And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, And thy condescending gentleness hath made me great.

2 Samuel 22:37 Thou enlargedst my steps under me; And mine ankles did not slip.

2 Samuel 22:38 I pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them, And I turned not again till they were consumed.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "didst", "give", "shield", "salvation", "condescending", "gentleness", and "hath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "didst", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "He teacheth my hands to war And..." into verse 37's "Thou enlargedst my steps under me And...", so "thou" and "didst" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thou" and "didst" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.