Job 36:8

36:8 But if they are bound in chains, ¹ 

and held captive by the cords of affliction,

Psalms 18:5

18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, ² 

the snares of death trapped me. ³ 

Psalms 116:3

116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, ⁴ 

the snares ⁵  of Sheol confronted me.

I was confronted ⁶  with trouble and sorrow.

Psalms 140:5

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ⁷  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

Proverbs 5:22

5:22 The wicked ⁸  will be captured by his ⁹  own iniquities, ¹⁰ 

and he will be held ¹¹  by the cords of his own sin. ¹² 

Jonah 2:2

2:2 and said,

“I ¹³  called out to the Lord from my distress,

and he answered me; ¹⁴ 

from the belly of Sheol ¹⁵  I cried out for help,

and you heard my prayer. ¹⁶ 

Acts 2:24

2:24 But God raised him up, ¹⁷  having released ¹⁸  him from the pains ¹⁹  of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. ²⁰ 

[36:8]  ¹ tn Dhorme thinks that the verse is still talking about kings, who may be in captivity. But this diverts attention from Elihu’s emphasis on the righteous.

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “confronted me.”

[116:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[116:3]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.

[116:3]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.

[140:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

[5:22]  ⁸ tn The suffix on the verb is the direct object suffix; “the wicked” is a second object by apposition: They capture him, the wicked. Since “the wicked” is not found in the LXX, it could be an old scribal error; or the Greek translator may have simply smoothed out the sentence. C. H. Toy suggests turning the sentence into a passive idea: “The wicked will be caught in his iniquities” (Proverbs [ICC], 117).

[5:22]  ⁹ tn The word is the subject of the clause, but the pronominal suffix has no clear referent. The suffix is proleptic, referring to the wicked.

[5:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his own iniquities will capture the wicked.” The translation shifts the syntax for the sake of smoothness and readability.

[5:22]  ¹¹ sn The lack of discipline and control in the area of sexual gratification is destructive. The one who plays with this kind of sin will become ensnared by it and led to ruin.

[5:22]  ¹² tn The Hebrew is structured chiastically: “his own iniquities will capture the wicked, by the cords of his own sin will he be held.”

[2:2]  ¹³ sn The eight verses of Jonah’s prayer in Hebrew contain twenty-seven first-person pronominal references to himself. There are fifteen second- or third-person references to the Lord.

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Tg. Jonah 2:2 renders this interpretively: “and he heard my prayer.”

[2:2]  ¹⁵ sn Sheol was a name for the place of residence of the dead, the underworld (see Job 7:9-10; Isa 38:17-18). Jonah pictures himself in the belly of Sheol, its very center – in other words he is as good as dead.

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “voice” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “my cry.” The term קוֹל (qol, “voice”) functions as a metonymy for the content of what is uttered: cry for help in prayer.

[2:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”

[2:24]  ¹⁸ tn Or “having freed.”

[2:24]  ¹⁹ sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.

[2:24]  ²⁰ tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).