Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me.
- BSB Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has 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 21:6Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.
- Ps 119:120My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.
- Luke 22:44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
- Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.
- Ezek 7:18They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
- Ps 42:6O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
- Ps 61:2From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
- 2 Sam 15:14And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
- Ps 88:15–16I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
- Isa 21:4My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
- Job 23:15–16Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of 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.