Psalms 18:5

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֲפָפ֥וּנִי חֶבְלֵי־מָ֑וֶת וְֽנַחֲלֵ֖י בְלִיַּ֣עַל יְבַֽעֲתֽוּנִי׃

Transliteration

afafuni chebley-mawet and nachaley beliya'al yeba'atuni.

Grammar Details

*afafuni*: qal perfect, 3rd person plural with 1st person singular suffix - they surrounded me
*chebley*: construct state, masculine plural - cords of/pangs of
*mawet*: masculine singular noun - death
*nachaley*: construct state, masculine plural - torrents of
*beliya'al*: proper noun/noun - worthlessness/destruction/wickedness
*yeba'atuni*: piel imperfect, 3rd person plural with 1st person singular suffix - they terrified me

Word Meanings

*afafuni*: they surrounded me/they encompassed me/they encircled me
*chebley*: cords of/pangs of/pains of
*nachaley*: torrents of/floods of/streams of
*beliya'al*: worthlessness/destruction/wickedness/ruin
*yeba'atuni*: they terrified me/they overwhelmed me/they frightened me

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

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ps 86:13 : 13 For great is thy lovingkindness toward me; And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.
Ps 88:3-8 : 3 For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draweth nigh unto Sheol. 4 I am reckoned with them that go down into the pit; I am as a man that hath no help, 5 Cast off among the dead, Like the slain that lie in the grave, Whom thou rememberest no more, And they are cut off from thy hand. 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} 8 Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me; Thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
Ps 88:15-17 : 15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. 16 Thy fierce wrath is gone over me; Thy terrors have cut me off. 17 They came round about me like water all the day long; They compassed me about together.
Ps 116:3 : 3 The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
Eccl 9:12 : 12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Acts 2:24 : 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

2 Sam 22:5-6
2 verses
97%
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 116:3-4
2 verses
92%
3The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4Then called I upon the name of Jehovah: O Jehovah, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
Ps 18:4
88%
4The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
Jonah 2:5-6
2 verses
81%
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.
Ps 55:4-5
2 verses
80%
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
77%
3For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draweth nigh unto Sheol.
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 9:13
75%
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;
Ps 118:18
75%
18Jehovah hath chastened me sore; But he hath not given me over unto death.
Ps 140:5
75%
5The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set gins for me. {H5542}
Ps 143:3
75%
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.
Ps 18:6
74%
6In 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 18:16-18
3 verses
74%
16He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from them that hated me; For they were too mighty for me.
18They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.
Lam 3:5-7
3 verses
74%
5He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
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 1:20
74%
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.
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 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.
Ps 88:6
74%
6Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the deeps.
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 30:3
74%
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 88:15-16
2 verses
73%
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.
Job 30:16
73%
16And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
Lam 3:54-55
2 verses
73%
54Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.
55I called upon thy name, O Jehovah, out of the lowest dungeon.
Job 22:10
73%
10Therefore snares are round about thee, And sudden fear troubleth thee,
Ps 57:6
73%
6They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down: They have digged a pit before me; They are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. {H5542}
Ps 130:1
73%
1A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah.
Lam 1:13-14
2 verses
73%
13From on high hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: He hath made me desolate and faint all the day.
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.
2 Sam 22:19
73%
19They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.
Ps 120:1
73%
1A Song of Ascents. In my distress I cried unto Jehovah, And he answered me.
Ps 69:15
73%
15Let not the waterflood overwhelm me, Neither let the deep shallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth upon me.
Ps 141:9
73%
9Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, And from the gins of the workers of iniquity.
Ps 17:9
72%
9From the wicked that oppress me, My deadly enemies, that compass me about.
Isa 38:10
72%
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.
Ps 22:16
72%
16For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
Ps 38:17
72%
17For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.
Job 3:25
72%
25For the thing which I fear cometh upon me, And that which I am afraid of cometh unto me.
Lam 3:9
72%
9He hath walled up my ways with hewn stone; he hath made my paths crooked.