Psalms 116:3
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
Original Language Analysis
מָ֗וֶת
of death
H4194
מָ֗וֶת
of death
Strong's:
H4194
Word #:
3 of 9
death (natural or violent); concretely, the dead, their place or state (hades); figuratively, pestilence, ruin
וּמְצָרֵ֣י
me and the pains
H4712
וּמְצָרֵ֣י
me and the pains
Strong's:
H4712
Word #:
4 of 9
something tight, i.e., (figuratively) trouble
שְׁא֣וֹל
of hell
H7585
שְׁא֣וֹל
of hell
Strong's:
H7585
Word #:
5 of 9
hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates
Historical Context
The language of death's cords and Sheol's pains appears throughout biblical lament (2 Samuel 22:5-6, Psalm 18:4-5). Ancient Israel understood death not merely as biological cessation but as hostile power opposed to life-giving God. Sheol represented separation from God's active presence and blessing. Old Testament saints possessed limited revelation about afterlife; their hope was primarily for long earthly life and descendants. The New Testament reveals that Christ descended into death's realm, broke its power, and holds the keys of death and Sheol/Hades (Revelation 1:18).
Questions for Reflection
- How does identifying your struggles as 'cords of death' and 'pains of hell' put them in proper theological perspective?
- In what ways has Christ's victory over death and hell transformed how believers face mortal threats and ultimate death?
- What is the relationship between honestly naming distress ('I found trouble and sorrow') and maintaining faith in God's deliverance?
Analysis & Commentary
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. This verse describes the crisis that prompted the psalmist's cry. The sorrows of death (chebley-mavet, חֶבְלֵי־מָוֶת) literally means 'cords of death'—the ropes that bind and drag toward death. The imagery is of being trapped, captured, pulled inexorably toward destruction.
The pains of hell (metzarei sheol, וּמְצָרֵי שְׁאוֹל) uses Sheol (שְׁאוֹל), the Hebrew term for the realm of the dead. Metzarei means straits, distresses, anguish. The psalmist felt Sheol's grip—death's power closing in. Whether literal mortal illness or metaphorical description of extreme peril, the language is desperate.
I found trouble and sorrow (tzarah veyagon emtza, צָרָה וְיָגוֹן אֶמְצָא). The verb matza (מָצָא, to find) suggests these weren't sought but encountered—trouble found him. This is the human condition after the Fall: death's shadow, sorrow's intrusion, trouble's unwelcome arrival. Only divine intervention breaks death's cords and hell's grip.