Psalms 18:5

Psalms 18:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
• New International Version (NIV)The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

Context of Psalms 18:5

3I praise the Lord because he deserves it! When I called to him for help, he saved me from my enemies. 4Death was near enough to catch me! Danger was like a river that poured over me. Death was tying me up with ropes, to pull me into the deep hole of the grave. 6In my trouble, I prayed to the Lord. I called to my God to help me. He heard my voice from his home in heaven. My prayer reached his ears. 7Then the earth moved and it shook. Even the strong mountains shook, because God was angry.

Psalms 18:5 word by word

חֶבְלֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל סְבָב֑וּנִי קִ֝דְּמ֗וּנִי מ֣וֹקְשֵׁי מָֽוֶת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The sorrowsחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · MahalabH2256
• of hellשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585
• compassed me aboutסָבַבsâbab · to turn: surroundH5437
• the snaresמוֹקֵשׁmôqêsh môqêsh · snareH4170
• of deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
• preventedקָדַםqâdam · to meetH6923

Cross-references for Psalms 18:5

• Psalms 86:13I know that you love me very much with your faithful love. You will continue to keep my life safe, so that I do not go down into the deep hole of death.
• Psalms 88:3There is a lot of trouble in my life. I feel that I am near to death.
• Acts 2:24But after his death, God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for death to keep hold of him.
• Ecclesiastes 9:12Nobody knows the time when trouble may come to them. A fish does not know when somebody will catch it in a net. A bird does not know when somebody will catch it in a trap. In the same way, terrible trouble suddenly happens to people when they do not expect it.

Commentaries on Psalms 18:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The sorrows of hell - שאול חבלי chebley sheol, the cables or cords of the grave. Is not this a reference to the cords or ropes with which they lowered the corpse into the grave? or the bandages by which the dead were swathed? He was as good as dead. The snares of death prevented me - I was just on the point of dropping into the pit which they had digged for me. In short, I was all but a dead man; and nothing less than the immediate interference of God…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5The sorrows of hell - Margin, “cords.” The word used here is the same which occurs in the previous verse, and which is there rendered “sorrows.” It is correctly translated here, as in that verse, “sorrows,” though the parallelism would seem to favor the interpretation in the margin - cords. If it means “sorrows,” the idea is, that such sufferings encompassed him, or seized upon him, as we associate in idea with the descent to the under-world, or the going…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. 55. death--and hell (compare Psa 16:10) are personified as man's great enemies (compare Re 20:13, 14). prevented--encountered me, crossed my path, and endangered my safety. He does not mean he was in their power.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 18:5

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Hell
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Cherub
• Eyesight
• Fortress
• Gin
• Hell
• Mine
• Move
• Net
• Psalms
• Ride

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