Psalms 116 · Verse 3

Psalms 116:3

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
Psalms 116:3, King James Version

Psalms 116:3 in other translations

BSBThe ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
WEBThe cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow.
ASVThe cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
YLTCompassed me have cords of death, And straits of Sheol have found me, Distress and sorrow I find.
DARBYThe bands of death encompassed me, and the anguish of Sheol took hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow:
BBEThe nets of death were round me, and the pains of the underworld had me in their grip; I was full of trouble and sorrow.
WebsterThe sorrows of death encompassed me, and the pains of hell came upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

What does Psalms 116:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 116:3-4
3-4. For similar figures for distress see Psa 18:4, 5. gat hold upon me--Another sense ("found") of the same word follows, as we speak of disease finding us, and of our finding or catching disease.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 The sorrows of death - חבלי מות chebley maveth, the cables or cords of death; alluding to their bonds and fetters during their captivity; or to the cords by which a criminal is bound who is about to be led out to execution; or to the bandages in which the dead were enveloped, when head, arms, body, and limbs were all laced down together. The pains of hell - מצרי שאול metsarey sheol the straitnesses of the grave. So little expectation was there of life, that he speaks as if he were condemned, executed, and closed up in the tomb. Or, he may refer here to the small niches in cemeteries, where the coffins of the dead were placed. Because this Psalm has been used in the thanksgiving of women after safe delivery, it has been supposed that the pain suffered in the act of parturition was equal for the time to the torments of the damned. But this supposition is shockingly absurd; the utmost power of human nature could not, for a moment, endure the wrath of God, the deathless worm, and the unquenchable fire. The body must die, be decomposed, and be built up on indestructible principles, before this punishment can be borne.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 116:1-9

We have many reasons for loving the Lord, but are most affected by his loving-kindness when relieved out of deep distress. When a poor sinner is awakened to a sense of his state, and fears that he must soon sink under the just wrath of God, then he finds trouble and sorrow. But let all such call upon the Lord to deliver their souls, and they will find him gracious and true to his promise. Neither ignorance nor guilt…

Read the full comment on Psalms 116:1-9 →

Psalms 116:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֲפָפ֤וּנִי\׀'a.fa.Fu.nithey surrounded meH661
חֶבְלֵי\־chev.lei-[the] cords ofH2256
מָ֗וֶתMa.vetdeathH4194
וּמְצָרֵ֣יu.me.tza.Reiand [the] distresses ofH4712
שְׁא֣וֹלshe.'olSheolH7585
מְצָא֑וּנִיme.tza.'U.nithey found meH4672
צָרָ֖הtza.RahtroubleH6869
וְיָג֣וֹןve.ya.Gonand sorrowH3015
אֶמְצָֽא\׃'em.Tza'I foundH4672

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 116:3

  • Psalms 18:4-6

    The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

  • Psalms 38:6

    I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

  • Psalms 32:3-4

    When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

  • Psalms 88:6-7

    Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.

  • Luke 22:44

    And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

  • Hebrews 5:7

    Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

  • Jonah 2:2-3

    And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

  • Mark 14:33-36

    And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

  • Isaiah 53:3-4

    He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
sorrows.
18:4-6; 88:6,7; Jon 2:2,3; Mr 14:33-36; Lu 22:44; Heb 5:7
gat hold upon me. Heb. found me. I found.
32:3,4; 38:6; Isa 53:3,4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 116:2

    Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

  • Psalms 116:3

    The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

  • Psalms 116:4

    Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

Read all of Psalms 116

Psalms 116:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Rodeáronme los dolores de la muerte, me encontraron las angustias del sepulcro: angustia y dolor había yo hallado.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Les cordeaux de la mort m’avaient environné, et les détresses du shéol m’avaient atteint; j’avais trouvé la détresse et le chagrin;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Es umfingen mich die Bande des Todes, und die Bedrängnisse des Scheols erreichten mich; ich fand Drangsal und Kummer.