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Psalm 118:18
The LORD has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
16The right hand of the LORD is exalted! The right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
17I will not die, but live, and declare the LORD’s works.
18The LORD has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
19Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to the LORD.
20This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous will enter into it.
Notice
The turn at “but” leaves room for both the weight of God's punishment and relief that he has spared the speaker's life.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What difference does the word “but” make to your reading of the speaker's punishment?
Write on thisWhat would you need to know before describing a hardship as God's punishment?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Hebrews 12:11All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained …Both acknowledge the pain of chastening; Hebrews describes its fruit in righteousness, while the psalm speaks of life preserved.
John 5:14Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”Both passages speak of life preserved or restored alongside a warning or experience of punishment; Jesus also names sin.
1 Corinthians 11:32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.Both distinguish the Lord's discipline from a further outcome: death in the psalm and condemnation with the world in Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 6:9as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold—we live, as punished and not killed,Both describe punishment endured without being killed, making continued life central to the speaker's testimony.
Job 5:17–18“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.Eliphaz speaks of God's correction in Job, sharing the psalm's recognition of divine chastening while adding counsel against despising it.
Psalm 6:1For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, upon the eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm by David. LORD, don’t rebuke me in your anger, neither discipline me in …Both address the LORD's discipline; Psalm 6 pleads against discipline in wrath, while Psalm 118 recounts punishment survived.
Hebrews 12:5You have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, “My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are …Both name chastening from the Lord; Hebrews counsels against fainting under it, while the psalm records survival.
Psalm 30:2LORD my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me.Both credit the LORD with preserving or restoring life, though Psalm 30 names healing and Psalm 118 names punishment.
Proverbs 3:11–12My son, don’t despise the LORD’s discipline, neither be weary of his correction;Both speak of the LORD's discipline; Proverbs counsels against despising correction, while the psalm recounts its severity.
Psalm 94:12–13Blessed is the man whom you discipline, LORD, and teach out of your law,Both name discipline from the LORD; Psalm 94 connects it with teaching, while Psalm 118 emphasizes being spared death.
2 Corinthians 1:9–11Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,Both describe death as a real threat and credit God with power over life.
Psalm 66:10–12For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined.Both describe suffering in relation to God; Psalm 118 names punishment, while Psalm 66 names testing and refinement.
Where this verse fits
Sermon or Bible study notes. gratitude. death and what comes after.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
You need not read every hardship as punishment. Here, the speaker names severe punishment and credits YHWH with preserving his life. The pain was real, and God spared him from death.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 118:18. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).