Psalm 18:4–11

4 The cords of death entangled me;

the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains shook;

they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;

consuming fire came from his mouth,

burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;

dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;

he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—

the dark rain clouds of the sky.

4 The sorrows of death compassed me,

And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about:

The snares of death prevented me.

6 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.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations also of the hills moved

And were shaken, because he was wroth.

8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,

And fire out of his mouth devoured:

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down:

And darkness was under his feet.

10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly:

Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his secret place;

His pavilion round about him

Were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

4 The ropes of death entangled me;

floods of destruction swept over me.

5 The grave wrapped its ropes around me;

death laid a trap in my path.

6 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;

yes, I prayed to my God for help.

He heard me from his sanctuary;

my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth quaked and trembled.

The foundations of the mountains shook;

they quaked because of his anger.

8 Smoke poured from his nostrils;

fierce flames leaped from his mouth.

Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

9 He opened the heavens and came down;

dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.

10 Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew,

soaring on the wings of the wind.

11 He shrouded himself in darkness,

veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.

4 The pangs of death surrounded me,

And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried out to my God;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,

Because He was angry.

8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,

And devouring fire from His mouth;

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With darkness under His feet.

10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;

He flew upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His secret place;

His canopy around Him was dark waters

And thick clouds of the skies.

4 The ropes of death came around me;

the deadly rivers overwhelmed me.

5 The ropes of death wrapped around me.

The traps of death were before me.

6 In my trouble I called to the Lord.

I cried out to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my call for help reached his ears.

7 The earth trembled and shook.

The foundations of the mountains began to shake.

They trembled because the Lord was angry.

8 Smoke came out of his nose,

and burning fire came out of his mouth.

Burning coals went before him.

9 He tore open the sky and came down

with dark clouds under his feet.

10 He rode a creature with wings and flew.

He raced on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his shelter around him,

surrounded by fog and clouds.

4 The cords of death compassed me,

And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

5 The cords of Sheol were round about me;

The snares of death came upon me.

6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah,

And cried unto my God:

He heard my voice out of his temple,

And my cry before him came into his ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations also of the mountains quaked

And were shaken, because he was wroth.

8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,

And fire out of his mouth devoured:

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down;

And thick darkness was under his feet.

10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly;

Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

4 The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid. 5 The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me. 6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and I cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, into his ears. 7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook, because he was wroth. 8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals burned forth from it. 9 And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. 10 And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he flew fast upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his secret place, his tent round about him: darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

4 The ropes of death had become tangled around me. 

The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me. 

5 The ropes of the grave had surrounded me. 

The clutches of death had confronted me. 

6 I called on the Lord in my distress. 

I cried to my God for help. 

He heard my voice from his temple, 

and my cry for help reached his ears. 

7 Then the earth shook and quaked. 

Even the foundations of the mountains trembled. 

They shook violently because he was angry. 

8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, 

and a raging fire came out of his mouth. 

Glowing coals flared up from it. 

9 He spread apart the heavens 

and came down with a dark cloud under his feet. 

10 He rode on one of the angelsas he flew, 

and he soared on the wings of the wind. 

11 He made the darkness his hiding place, 

the dark rain clouds his covering. 

4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me;

the torrents of destruction terrified me.

5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6 I called to the Lord in my distress,

and I cried to my God for help.

From His temple He heard my voice,

and my cry to Him reached His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked;

the foundations of the mountains trembled;

they shook because He burned with anger.

8 Smoke rose from His nostrils,

and consuming fire came from His mouth;

coals were set ablaze by it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down,

a dark cloud beneath His feet.

10 He rode on a cherub and flew,

soaring on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His hiding place,

dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.

4 The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of perdition assailed me;

5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and reeled because he was angry.

8 Smoke went up from his nostrils

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9 He bowed the heavens and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

10 He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering around him,

his canopy thick clouds dark with water.

4 The ropes of death encircled me,

and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.

5 The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my trouble I called on Yahweh,

and to my God I cried for help.

He heard my voice from his temple,

and my cry for help

came up before his presence into his ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains trembled,

and they staggered because he was angry.

8 Smoke went forth from his nose,

and fire from his mouth consumed.

Burning coals blazed from him.

9 So he bowed the heavens and came down

with a thick cloud under his feet.

10 And he mounted a cherub and flew,

and he swooped down on wings of wind.

11 He made darkness his hiding place;

all about him his covering

was a darkness of waters, thick clouds.

4 The ropes of death were almost wrapped around me.

A destroying flood swept over me.

5 The ropes of the grave were tight around me.

Death set its trap in front of me.

6 When I was in trouble, I called out to the Lord.

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice.

My cry for help reached his ears.

7 The earth trembled and shook.

The base of the mountains rocked back and forth.

It trembled because the Lord was angry.

8 Smoke came out of his nose.

Flames of fire came out of his mouth.

Burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He opened the heavens and came down.

Dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He got on the cherubim and flew.

The wings of the wind lifted him up.

11 He covered himself with darkness.

The dark rain clouds of the sky were like a tent around him.

4 The cords of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;

And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.