18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, 1
the snares of death trapped me. 2
18:18 They confronted 3 me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me. 4
1 tn Heb “surrounded me.”
2 tn Heb “confronted me.”
3 tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 5. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
4 tn Heb “became my support.”