Read
Psalm 18:4
The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
3I call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies.
4The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death came on me.
6In my distress I called on the LORD, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears.
Notice
Cords and floods picture danger that traps and overwhelms, and the plain admission of fear leaves no room to mistake the speaker for someone untouched by terror.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
Which image, cords that trap or floods that overwhelm, comes closer to a fear you could name today?
Write on thisWhat do you notice about the same speaker naming God as refuge and admitting fear?
Write on thisConnect
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
Psalm 116:3The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow.Both use the exact sentence “The cords of death surrounded me,” describing death as something that binds and encloses.
Psalm 93:3The floods have lifted up, LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves.Floods dominate both passages: Psalm 18 names their terror, while Psalm 93 describes their raised voice and waves before the LORD.
Isaiah 17:12Ah, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations that rush like the rushing of mighty waters!Rushing water pictures threatening forces in both texts, with Isaiah naming peoples and nations and Psalm 18 naming ungodliness.
Revelation 12:15The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream.Both portray destructive force through water: frightening floods in the psalm and a river meant to sweep the woman away in Revelation.
2 Corinthians 1:9Yes, 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 speakers describe death as close at hand; Corinthians also states that such danger taught dependence on God who raises the dead.
Matthew 27:24–25So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, …The connection is limited to danger amid human turmoil: death surrounds the speaker, while Pilate faces a growing disturbance over a righteous person’s blood.
Mark 14:33–34He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be greatly troubled and distressed.Fear in the psalm and distress in Mark both receive direct acknowledgment, without any attempt to soften their weight.
Psalm 46:3though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah.Both use turbulent waters to portray danger, with surrounding floods in Psalm 18 and swelling waters that make mountains tremble in Psalm 46.
Psalm 124:4then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul.Both describe danger through overwhelming water, moving from floods that cause fear to a stream that would engulf the speakers.
Matthew 27:39–44Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their headsThe shared thread is broad: Psalm 18 names frightening ungodliness, while Matthew shows hostility in the words and gestures of passersby.
Matthew 26:47While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of …Both portray threatening human evil, through floods of ungodliness in the psalm and an armed multitude arriving with Judas in Matthew.
Isaiah 53:3–4He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t …Both describe suffering; Psalm 18 speaks of fear before death, while Isaiah describes a man despised and rejected.
Where this verse fits
Anxiety or panic. fear for the future. death and what comes after.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
You do not have to leave fear out of prayer. The speaker who names God as his refuge also admits terror, and the surrounding verses tell of God hearing his cry.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 18:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 18 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
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).