The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
Parallel translations
- WEB The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death came on me.
- KJV The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
- NKJV The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
- NASB The ropes of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
- NLT The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path.
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
The cords of the grave entangled David and the snares of death confronted him. It matters because it shows the seriousness of the threat God overcame.
Overview
David continues the imagery of being trapped by the bonds of Sheol and ensnared by death. He stands on the brink, unable to free himself. The God who rescued David from such snares is the same God who, in Christ, broke the power of death for all who believe.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 86:13For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
- Ps 88:3–8For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
- Acts 2:24But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.
- Ps 88:15–17From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
- Eccl 9:12For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
- Ps 116:3The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
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 18:5 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.