Psalms 18:5 (LSB)

Passage

The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

Nearby Context

Psalms 18:3 I call upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

Psalms 18:4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of vileness terrified me.

Psalms 18:5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called upon Yahweh, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cords", "sheol", "surrounded", "snares", "death", and "confronted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cords" and "sheol", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "The cords of death encompassed me And..." into verse 6's "In my distress I called upon Yahweh...", so "cords" and "sheol" 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 "cords" and "sheol" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.