My heart murmurs within me, and the terrors of death assail me.
Parallel translations
- WEB My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me.
- KJV My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
- NKJV My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
- NASB ¶My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
- NLT My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults 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.
Quick answer
David's heart is in severe pain as the terrors of death press upon him. It expresses the depth of his inner suffering.
Overview
The anguish moves from outward threat to inward torment, with death's dread falling on him. David's transparency shows that godly people can experience overwhelming fear. His words give voice to sufferers and point toward the One who would face death's terrors for us (Hebrews 5:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 116:3The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
- Mark 14:33–34He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be deeply troubled and distressed.
- 2 Cor 1:8–10We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
- Heb 5:7During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
- Ps 18:4–5The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
- Matt 26:37–38He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
- Isa 38:10–13I said, “In the prime of my life I must go through the gates of Sheol and be deprived of the remainder of my years.”
- Ps 6:3My soul is deeply distressed. How long, O LORD, how long?
- Ps 69:20Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.
- Ps 88:3For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
- Ps 102:3–5For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
- John 12:27Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
Resources, by level
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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 55:4 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.