Psalms 18:4

Psalms 18:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
• New International Version (NIV)The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me;
• New King James Version (NKJV)The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

Context of Psalms 18:4

2Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. 3I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 5The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me. 6In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry before him came into his ears.

Psalms 18:4 word by word

אֲפָפ֥וּנִי חֶבְלֵי־מָ֑וֶת וְֽנַחֲלֵ֖י בְלִיַּ֣עַל יְבַֽעֲתֽוּנִי׃Read the interlinear

Cross-references for Psalms 18:4

• Psalms 116:3The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
• 2 Samuel 22:5For the waves of death compassed me; The floods of ungodliness made me afraid:
• Isaiah 13:8and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame.
• Isaiah 53:3He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.
• Matthew 26:38Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: abide ye here, and watch with me.
• Mark 14:33And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled.
• 2 Corinthians 1:9yea, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead:
• Psalms 22:12Many bulls have compassed me; Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
• Jonah 2:2And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, And thou heardest my voice.
• Matthew 26:47And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
• Matthew 27:24So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it.
• Acts 21:30And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut.

Commentaries on Psalms 18:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The sorrows of death compassed me - מות חבלי chebley maveth, the cables or cords of death. He was almost taken in those nets or stratagems by which, if he had been entangled, he would have lost his life. The stratagems to which he refers were those that were intended for his destruction; hence called the cables or cords of death. The floods of ungodly men - Troops of wicked men were rushing upon him like an irresistible torrent; or like the waves of the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The sorrows of death compassed me - Surrounded me. That is, he was in imminent danger of death, or in the midst of such pangs and sorrows as are supposed commonly to attend on death. He refers probably to some period in his past life - perhaps in the persecutions of Saul - when he was so beset with troubles and difficulties that it seemed to him that he must die. The word rendered “sorrows” - חבל chebel - means, according to Gesenius, “a cord, a rope,”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-50This psalm describes a royal story of God rescuing his king. A similar version of this psalm appears in 2 Samuel 22:1–51. The psalm encourages those who hear the earlier prayers for help in Psalms 16 and 17. The psalmist describes the dramatic nature of God’s rescue in three different ways (Psalm 18:7–15, 16–19, 30–36). The psalm also offers hope that a future Son of David will completely defeat evil (Psalm 18:43–50; compare Psalm 2).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. sorrows--literally, "bands as of a net" (Psa 116:3). floods--denotes "multitude."Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 18:4

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

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Commentaries on Psalms 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• The Treasury of David
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings