2 Samuel 22:5 (LSB)

Passage

For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of vileness terrorized me;

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 22:3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.

2 Samuel 22:4 I call upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

2 Samuel 22:5 For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of vileness terrorized me;

2 Samuel 22:6 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon Yahweh, And I called to my God; And out of His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "I call upon Yahweh who is worthy..." into verse 6's "The cords of Sheol surrounded me The...", so "waves" 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 "waves" and "death" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.