Bible Strands
Psalms 18:5
The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks to the LORD, recounting his deliverance after a crisis of imminent death.
The words — The Hebrew חֶבְלֵי שְׁאֹל (chevlei sheol) literally means "cords of Sheol," while מוֹקְשֵׁי מָוֶת (mokshei mavet) translates to "snares of death."
The thread — This imagery of death’s entanglement appears in Psalms 86:13 and 88:3, where the psalmist describes being delivered from or drawn near to Sheol.
Why it lands — The text presents distress as a physical trap that requires direct invocation of God for rescue, asking the reader to acknowledge human vulnerability and the necessity of crying out to God in crisis.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Cross-references
- Psalms 86:13 For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
- Psalms 88:3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
- Psalms 88:15 From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
- Acts 2:24 But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep Him in its grip.
- Psalms 116:3 The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
- Ecclesiastes 9:12 For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.