Bible Strands
Psalms 55:5
Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks from a moment of acute psychological distress that follows the terrors of death assailing him in the previous verse. He addresses no specific listener, focusing entirely on his internal state before voicing a desire for escape in the next line.
The words — The Hebrew יִרְאָ֣ה (yir'ah, fear) and וָרַעַד (va-ra'ad, trembling) function as parallel subjects that seize the speaker. The verb וַתְּכַסֵּנִי (va-tekhasseni, and it has covered me) carries the sense of overwhelming, while פַּלְּצוּת (palutz, shuddering) names the resulting physical reaction.
The thread — Terror gripping the body appears in Job 21:6 and Psalm 119:120, while the physical manifestation of severe anguish parallels the agony described in Luke 22:44.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge how intense dread physically paralyzes a person, presenting human vulnerability as the baseline condition before any appeal for refuge.
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
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
Cross-references
- Job 21:6 When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
- Psalms 119:120 My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
- Luke 22:44 And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
- 2 Samuel 15:14 And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.”
- Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Job 23:15 Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I fear Him.
- Psalms 42:6 O my God, my soul despairs within me. Therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—even from Mount Mizar.
- Psalms 61:2 From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
- Psalms 88:15 From my youth I was afflicted and near death. I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
- Isaiah 21:4 My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight I desired has turned to horror.