Psalms 116:3

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֲפָפ֤וּנִי ׀ חֶבְלֵי־מָ֗וֶת וּמְצָרֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל מְצָא֑וּנִי צָרָ֖ה וְיָג֣וֹן אֶמְצָֽא׃

Transliteration

ʾăpāpûnî ḥevlê-māvet and meṣārê šeʾôl meṣāʾûnî ṣārâ and yāgôn ʾemṣāʾ

Grammar Details

*ʾăpāpûnî*: verb, qal perfect, 3rd person plural with 1st person singular suffix - they encompassed me
*ḥevlê*: noun, masculine plural construct - cords/bands of
*māvet*: noun, masculine singular - death
*û-meṣārê*: conjunction + noun, masculine plural construct - and distresses/straits of
*šeʾôl*: noun, proper noun - Sheol/grave/underworld
*meṣāʾûnî*: verb, qal perfect, 3rd person plural with 1st person singular suffix - they found me
*ṣārâ*: noun, feminine singular - distress/trouble
*ve-yāgôn*: conjunction + noun, masculine singular - and sorrow
*ʾemṣāʾ*: verb, qal imperfect, 1st person singular - I found/I will find

Word Meanings

*ʾăpāpûnî*: they encompassed me/they surrounded me/they entangled me
*ḥevlê*: cords/bands/pains/pangs
*meṣārê*: distresses/straits/constraints
*šeʾôl*: Sheol/grave/underworld/realm of the dead
*ʾemṣāʾ*: I found/I encountered/I experienced

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ps 38:6 : 6 I am pained and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
Ps 88:6-7 : 6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the deeps. 7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, And thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. {H5542}
Isa 53:3-4 : 3 He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Jonah 2:2-3 : 2 And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, [And] thou heardest my voice. 3 For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me; All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.
Mark 14:33-36 : 33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled. 34 And he saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death: abide ye here, and watch. 35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from him. 36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Luke 22:44 : 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.
Heb 5:7 : 7 Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up {G5037} prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear,
Ps 18:4-6 : 4 The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 5 The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me. 6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry before him came into his ears.
Ps 32:3-4 : 3 When I kept silence, my bones wasted away Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: My moisture was changed [as] with the drought of summer. {H5542}

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Ps 18:4-5
2 verses
92%
4The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.
2 Sam 22:5-6
2 verses
91%
5For the waves of death compassed me; The floods of ungodliness made me afraid:
6The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.
Ps 116:4
83%
4Then called I upon the name of Jehovah: O Jehovah, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
Ps 55:4-5
2 verses
81%
4My heart is sore pained within me: And the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
5Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, And horror hath overwhelmed me.
Ps 88:3
80%
3For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draweth nigh unto Sheol.
Ps 9:13
78%
13Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; Behold my affliction [which I suffer] of them that hate me, Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death;
Jonah 2:5-6
2 verses
78%
5The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; The deep was round about me; The weeds were wrapped about my head.
6I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; The earth with its bars [closed] upon me for ever: Yet hast thou brought up my life from the pit, O Jehovah my God.
Lam 1:20
77%
20Behold, O Jehovah; for I am in distress; my heart is troubled; My heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.
Job 30:16
77%
16And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
Ps 143:3-4
2 verses
76%
3For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; He hath smitten my life down to the ground: He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.
4Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is desolate.
Ps 118:18
76%
18Jehovah hath chastened me sore; But he hath not given me over unto death.
Ps 116:2
76%
2Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, Therefore will I call [upon him] as long as I live.
Ps 120:1
76%
1A Song of Ascents. In my distress I cried unto Jehovah, And he answered me.
Jonah 2:2-3
2 verses
76%
2And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, [And] thou heardest my voice.
3For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me; All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.
Ps 31:9-10
2 verses
75%
9Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress: Mine eye wasteth away with grief, [yea], my soul and my body.
10For my life is spent with sorrow, And my years with sighing: My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, And my bones are wasted away.
Ps 77:2
75%
2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: My hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not; My soul refused to be comforted.
Ps 30:3
75%
3O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Ps 130:1
75%
1A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah.
Lam 3:6-7
2 verses
75%
6He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.
7He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy.
Lam 3:55
74%
55I called upon thy name, O Jehovah, out of the lowest dungeon.
Ps 88:15-16
2 verses
74%
15I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
16Thy fierce wrath is gone over me; Thy terrors have cut me off.
Ps 6:3
74%
3My soul also is sore troubled: And thou, O Jehovah, how long?
Ps 86:13
74%
13For great is thy lovingkindness toward me; And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.
Ps 31:7
74%
7I will be glad and rejoice in thy lovingkindness; For thou hast seen my affliction: Thou hast known my soul in adversities;
Ps 40:12
74%
12For innumerable evils have compassed me about; Mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; And my heart hath failed me.
Ps 25:16-17
2 verses
74%
16Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; For I am desolate and afflicted.
17The troubles of my heart are enlarged: Oh bring thou me out of my distresses.
Ps 55:16
74%
16As for me, I will call upon God; And Jehovah will save me.
Ps 69:1-2
2 verses
74%
1For the Chief Musician; set to Shoshannim, [A Psalm] of David. Save me, O God; For the waters are come in unto my soul.
2I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
Ps 38:17
74%
17For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.
Ps 142:3
74%
3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walk Have they hidden a snare for me.
Job 7:15
74%
15So that my soul chooseth strangling, And death rather than [these] my bones.
Ps 38:6
73%
6I am pained and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
Ps 88:6
73%
6Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the deeps.
Ps 116:8
73%
8For thou hast delivered my soul from death, Mine eyes from tears, [And] my feet from falling.
Job 3:25
73%
25For the thing which I fear cometh upon me, And that which I am afraid of cometh unto me.
Ps 73:21
73%
21For my soul was grieved, And I was pricked in my heart:
Ps 118:5
73%
5Out of my distress I called upon Jehovah: Jehovah answered me [and set me] in a large place.
Isa 38:10
73%
10I said, In the noontide of my days I shall go into the gates of Sheol: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
Lam 1:14
73%
14The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand; They are knit together, they are come up upon my neck; He hath made my strength to fail: The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand.