Psalms 116:3

Psalms 116:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
• New International Version (NIV)The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.

Context of Psalms 116:3

1I love the Lord because he hears my voice, my pleas for mercy. 2I will call on him as long as I live because he turns his ear toward me. The ropes of death became tangled around me. The horrors of the grave took hold of me. I experienced pain and agony. 4But I kept calling on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, rescue me!” 5The Lord is merciful and righteous. Our God is compassionate.

Psalms 116:3 word by word

אֲפָפ֤וּנִי׀ חֶבְלֵי־מָ֗וֶת וּמְצָרֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל מְצָא֑וּנִי צָרָ֖ה וְיָג֣וֹן אֶמְצָֽא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The sorrowsחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
• of deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
• compassedאָפַף'âphaph · to surroundH661
• me, and the painsמֵצַרmêtsar · straitsH4712
• of hellשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585
• gat holdמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• troubleצָרָהtsârâh · distressH6869
• and sorrowיָגוֹןyâgôn · sorrowH3015

Cross-references for Psalms 116:3

• Psalms 18:4The ropes of death had become tangled around me. The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me.
• Psalms 88:6You have put me in the bottom of the pit—in deep, dark places.
• Jonah 2:2Jonah prayed: “I called to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me. From the depths of my ⌞watery⌟ grave I cried for help, and you heard my cry.
• Mark 14:33He took Peter, James, and John with him and began to feel distressed and anguished.
• Luke 22:44So he prayed very hard in anguish. His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
• Hebrews 5:7During his life on earth, Jesus prayed to God, who could save him from death. He prayed and pleaded with loud crying and tears, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.
• Psalms 32:3When I kept silent ⌞about my sins⌟, my bones began to weaken because of my groaning all day long.
• Psalms 38:6I am bent over and bowed down very low. All day I walk around in mourning.
• Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected by people. He was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. He was despised like one from whom people turn their faces, and we didn’t consider him to be worth anything.

Commentaries on Psalms 116:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The sorrows of death - מות חבלי chebley maveth, the cables or cords of death; alluding to their bonds and fetters during their captivity; or to the cords by which a criminal is bound who is about to be led out to execution; or to the bandages in which the dead were enveloped, when head, arms, body, and limbs were all laced down together. The pains of hell - שאול מצרי metsarey sheol the straitnesses of the grave. So little expectation was there of life…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The sorrows of death - What an expression! We know of no intenser sorrows pertaining to this world than those which we associate with the dying struggle - whether our views in regard to the reality of such sorrows be correct or not. We may be - we probably are - mistaken in regard to the intensity of suffering as ordinarily experienced in death; but still we dread those sorrows more than we do anything else, and all that we dread may be experienced then…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3It is not clear if the psalmist’s crisis was a literal near-death experience or if he was using the term figuratively.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. For similar figures for distress see Psa 18:4, 5. gat hold upon me--Another sense ("found") of the same word follows, as we speak of disease finding us, and of our finding or catching disease.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 116:3

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Hades
• Hell
• Testimony

In the dictionaries

• Hallel
• Haste
• Hear
• Hymn
• Net
• Psalms
• Temple, the Second
• Celebrate
• Hallelujah
• Pain

Commentaries on Psalms 116

• 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
• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings