2 Samuel 22:40 (DBY)

Passage

And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.

Nearby Context

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

2 Samuel 22:39 And I have consumed them and have crushed them, and they rose not again; Yea, they fell under my feet.

2 Samuel 22:40 And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.

2 Samuel 22:41 And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed.

2 Samuel 22:42 They looked, and there was none to save Unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "girdedst", "strength", "battle", "didst", "subdue", and "under". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "girdedst", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 39's "And I have consumed them and have..." into verse 41's "And mine enemies didst thou make to...", so "thou" and "girdedst" 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 "girdedst" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.