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 and my prayer for mercy. 2Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. 4Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save me!” 5How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!

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 entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me.
• Psalms 88:6You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths.
• Jonah 2:2He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!
• Mark 14:33He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed.
• Luke 22:44He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
• Hebrews 5:7While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.
• Psalms 32:3When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.
• Psalms 38:6I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.
• Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

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