2 Samuel 22:6 (WEB)

Passage

The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death caught me.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 22:4 I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

2 Samuel 22:5 For the waves of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

2 Samuel 22:6 The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death caught me.

2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress, I called on Yahweh. Yes, I called to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry came into his ears.

2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cords", "sheol", "around", "snares", "death", and "caught". 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 5's "For the waves of death surrounded me..." into verse 7's "In my distress I called on Yahweh...", so "cords" and "sheol" 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 "cords" and "sheol" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.