The pronouns shift back to the second person singular at this point. See the general comment at the beginning of this chapter.
The shield of thy salvation is a figure of protection and safety in battle. The phrase thy salvation refers to God’s saving David, not to God’s being saved. In languages where the shield is unknown or only partially known through a loan word, it will often be best to transfer to a nonfigurative expression as in Good News Translation. Even if shield is maintained, it will often be misleading to express salvation as a noun, as in Revised Standard Version. A verb phrase may be better; for example, “You give me your shield, which saves me” or, more fully, “You give me your shield, which saves my life.”
The parallel in Psa 18.35 includes the words “thy right hand supported me,” which are not found in this verse. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente includes these words (“with your arm you have sustained me”), apparently assuming that they were original also here in 2 Samuel, but the textual evidence does not support such a translation.
The Revised Standard Version rendering thy help (New Revised Standard Version “your help”) is based on the reading of a Hebrew manuscript from Qumran. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, recommends that the Masoretic Text be followed, “your response [or, subjugation] has made me great.” In other words, the Masoretic Text has a different word in place of help. That word may be understood to mean “response,” which would refer to God’s favorable answer to David’s prayers; thus Bible en français courant “you answer my calls and you make me strong.” New Jerusalem Bible seems to follow this reading, with “you never cease to listen to me.” The other meaning, “subjugation,” may refer to the subjugation of David’s enemies (“your conquest made me great”) or to God’s own self-abasement (“you stoop down to make me great” [Revised English Bible]). Translators are advised to follow the model of Bible en français courant and translate something like “you answered my prayers and made me strong” or “you made me strong by answering when I prayed.” Compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, “Your answer to my prayer makes me strong.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .