Psalms 18:5

18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, ¹ 

the snares of death trapped me. ² 

Psalms 18:18

18:18 They confronted ³  me in my day of calamity,

but the Lord helped me. ⁴ 

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “confronted me.”

[18:18]  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.

[18:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “became my support.”