Psalm 18:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

NIV: The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.

NASB: The ropes of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

CSB: The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

NLT: The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path.

KJV: The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

NKJV: The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

At times, when Saul was pursuing David in the wilderness (1 Samuel 23:15), David felt doomed. Here, he echoes the same imagery used in the prior verse (Psalm 18:4). The feeling of being trapped, tied up, or entangled in ropes parallels David's sense of being helplessly caught by his enemies. The term Sheol is derived from an ancient term for "hollowness," but it came to mean "the underworld or the grave, the realm of all the dead." David was so hemmed in by Saul's men that he felt the grave was reaching out for him.

Years later, the prophet Jonah would report a similar feeling of entrapment and terror. He cried out to the Lord from the belly of a great fish and said, "I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice" (Jonah 2:2).

For a Christian death poses no ultimate threat. By His death and resurrection Jesus removed the sting of death. When born-again Christians die, they simply pass from life on earth with all its troubles and trials to heaven with all its joys and blessings. The apostle Paul regarded death not as loss, but as gain (Philippians 1:21).

Psalm 18:1–19 expresses David's love for the Lord and his praise to God for delivering him from his enemies. This is very similar—perhaps an updated version—of David's song of praise recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 22. Psalms 3—5 recall David's prayer for deliverance from his foes and his trust in the Lord to deliver him from them. Psalms 48:1; 96:4; 145:3; and 150 also express praise to the Lord. An account of David's deliverance from his enemies is found in 2 Samuel 19—21. Other passages of Scripture that reveal God's deliverance of His people include Exodus 14; Joshua 10; Judges 7; 2 Kings 19:20–37; and Revelation 19:11–21.

In 2 Samuel chapter 22, David expresses praise for all the times in his life where God gave him victory. That prayer or song is copied almost identically here. Psalm 18, itself, might have been adapted for use in public worship. David remembers dire situations where God rescued him. He dramatically recounts how God provided rescue and power. David also credits God with rewarding his obedience by making him a powerful and successful military leader. For these reasons, David commits himself to the praise and worship of the Lord.

This psalm is David's prayer to the Lord in which David praises the Lord for making him victorious over his enemies. Second Samuel 5, 8, and 10 are companion chapters, and 2 Samuel 22 provides another version of this psalm. Second Samuel 22:1 tells us David composed Psalm 18 on the day the Lord delivered him from his enemies and Saul. Second Samuel 19 reports David's victorious return to Jerusalem after David vanquished his enemies.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.