Psalm 18:4

The LORD Is My Rock · Psalm 18:1–50
Read Psalm 18

Translations

Modern
The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
Traditional
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
Literal
The cords of Death surrounded me, and the torrents of Belial terrified me.
Latin
Circumdederunt me dolores mortis, et torrentes iniquitatis conturbaverunt me.

Original

Hebrew
English
The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

Notes

This psalm describes a royal story of God rescuing his king. A similar version of this psalm appears in 2 Samuel 22:1–51. The psalm encourages those who hear the earlier prayers for help in Psalms 16 and 17.

The psalmist describes the dramatic nature of God’s rescue in three different ways (Psalm 18:7–15, 16–19, 30–36). The psalm also offers hope that a future Son of David will completely defeat evil (Psalm 18:43–50; compare Psalm 2).

The psalms in this section emphasize integrity and purity (Psalms 17:15; 18:20–26; 19:13–14). They describe people as living in God’s presence (Psalms 16:9–11; 17:15) and remaining steadfast (15:5; 16:8).

Parallels

2 Samuel 22:1–51

Glossary

Book of Jonah David Jude, Letter of Music Perdition Psalms, Book of Samuel, Books of First and Second

Topics

Afflictions and Adversities: Benefits of, Illustrated Afflictions and Adversities: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Select Readings: Mankind in Extremity