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The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
Psalms 18:4 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
  • BSB The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
  • NKJV The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
  • NASB ¶The ropes of death encompassed me, And the torrents of destruction terrified me.
  • NLT The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me.

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.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • Ps 116:3The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow.
  • Mark 14:33–34He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be greatly troubled and distressed.
  • Matt 27:24–25So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it.”
  • 2 Cor 1:9Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,
  • Isa 53:3–4He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
  • Ps 22:12–13Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
  • Jonah 2:2–7He said, “I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.
  • Ps 124:4then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul;
  • Matt 26:47While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
  • 2 Sam 22:5–6For the waves of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
  • Ps 22:16For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet.
  • Matt 27:39–44Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads,
  • Matt 26:38–39Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”
  • Acts 21:30All the city was moved, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Immediately the doors were shut.
  • Isa 13:8They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at another. Their faces will be faces of flame.
  • Matt 26:55In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and you didn’t arrest me.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 18:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 18:4 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.