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 trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. 3I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid. 5The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me. 6In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and I cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, 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 bands of death encompassed me, and the anguish of Sheol took hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow:
• 2 Samuel 22:5For the waves of death encompassed me, Torrents of Belial made me afraid.
• Isaiah 13:8and they shall be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall writhe as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.
• Isaiah 53:3He is despised and left alone of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom [men] hide their faces; — despised, and we esteemed him not.
• Matthew 26:38Then he says to them, My soul is very sorrowful even unto death; remain here and watch with me.
• Mark 14:33And he takes with him Peter and James and John, and he began to be amazed and oppressed in spirit.
• 2 Corinthians 1:9But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not have our trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
• Psalms 22:12Many bulls have encompassed me; Bashan's strong ones have beset me round.
• Jonah 2:2and he said: I cried by reason of my distress unto Jehovah, and he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I: thou heardest my voice.
• Matthew 26:47And while he was yet speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great crowd with swords and sticks from the chief priests and elders of the people.
• Matthew 27:24And Pilate, seeing that it availed nothing, but that rather a tumult was arising, having taken water, washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am guiltless of the blood of this righteous one: see ye [to it].
• Acts 21:30And the whole city was moved, and there was a concourse of the people; and having laid hold on Paul they drew him out of the temple, and immediately 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

• Cherub
• Eyesight
• Fortress
• Hell
• Mine
• Move
• Psalms
• Ride
• Stay
• Wing

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