The Meaning of Psalms 18:4 Explained

Psalms 18:4

KJV: The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

YLT: Compassed me have cords of death, And streams of the worthless make me afraid.

Darby: The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid.

ASV: The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The sorrows  of death  compassed  me, and the floods  of ungodly men  made me afraid. 

What does Psalms 18:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 18:1-26 - A Wonderful Deliverance
There is another edition of this psalm in 2 Samuel 22:1-51. Psalms 18:2 and Psalms 18:49 are applied in the New Testament to the Lord Jesus, Hebrews 2:13 and Romans 15:9. We begin with the psalmist's good resolve, Psalms 18:1-3. No single metaphor can comprehend the whole of God's helpfulness to men; but can we say, "I love thee"? See John 21:17. "Thou knowest!"
The story of the past, Psalms 18:4-19. We also have our Red Seas. In our distress let us also cry. The voice of the sufferer may be weak and solitary, but it reaches through the gates of pearl and moves creation! Luke 8:46.
The confident claim of the righteous, Psalms 18:20-26. We cannot boast a righteousness of our own, but we stand in Christ. We are full of impurity and evil, but we may claim at least integrity of motive. Compare Psalms 18:26 with Leviticus 26:21-24. The wind blows in one direction; you can walk against it or with it-take your choice. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 18

1  David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings

What do the individual words in Psalms 18:4 mean?

Surrounded me the pangs of death and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid
אֲפָפ֥וּנִי חֶבְלֵי־ מָ֑וֶת וְֽנַחֲלֵ֖י בְלִיַּ֣עַל יְבַֽעֲתֽוּנִי

אֲפָפ֥וּנִי  Surrounded  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural, first person common singular
Root: אָפַף  
Sense: to surround, encompass.
חֶבְלֵי־  the  pangs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חֶבֶל 
Sense: a cord, rope, territory, band, company.
מָ֑וֶת  of  death 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
וְֽנַחֲלֵ֖י  and  the  floods 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: נַחַל 
Sense: torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley.
בְלִיַּ֣עַל  of  ungodliness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בְּלִיַּעַל  
Sense: worthlessness.
יְבַֽעֲתֽוּנִי  made  me  afraid 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: בָּעַת  
Sense: to terrify, startle, fall upon, dismay, be overtaken by sudden terror.