Psalms 18:4 (DBY)

Passage

The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid.

Nearby Context

Psalms 18:2 Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

Psalms 18:3 I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Psalms 18:4 The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid.

Psalms 18:5 The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me.

Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and I cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, into his ears.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bands", "death", "encompassed", "torrents", "belial", and "afraid". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bands" and "death", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "I will call upon Jehovah who is..." into verse 5's "The bands of Sheol surrounded me the...", so "bands" and "death" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "bands" and "death" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.