2 Samuel 22:5 (DRB)

Passage

For the pangs of death have surrounded me: the floods of Belial have made me afraid.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 22:3 God is my strong one, in him will I trust: my shield, and the horn of my salvation: he lifteth me up, and is my refuge: my saviour, thou wilt deliver me from iniquity.

2 Samuel 22:4 I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised: and I shall be saved from my enemies.

2 Samuel 22:5 For the pangs of death have surrounded me: the floods of Belial have made me afraid.

2 Samuel 22:6 The cords of hell compassed me: the snares of death prevented me.

2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I will call upon the Lord, and I will cry to my God: and he will hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry shall come to his ears.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "I will call on the Lord who..." into verse 6's "The cords of hell compassed me the...", so "pangs" and "death" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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