Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me.
- KJV Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
- NKJV Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me.
- NASB Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me.
- NLT Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.
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
Fear, trembling, and horror overwhelm David. It portrays the crushing weight of dread he feels.
Overview
David piles up words for terror to convey how completely fear has seized him. He does not pretend to a composure he lacks but confesses his being overwhelmed. Scripture's honesty here assures the troubled that God welcomes those at the end of their strength.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 21:6When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
- Ps 119:120My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
- Luke 22:44And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
- Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Ezek 7:18They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.
- Ps 42:6O my God, my soul despairs within me. Therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—even from Mount Mizar.
- Ps 61:2From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
- 2 Sam 15:14And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.”
- Ps 88:15–16From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
- Isa 21:4My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight of my desire has turned to horror.
- Job 23:15–16Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I fear Him.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 55:5 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.