Psalms 18:5

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

the snares of death trapped me. ² 

Psalms 139:8

139:8 If I were to ascend ³  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ⁴ 

Psalms 141:7

141:7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil, ⁵ 

so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “confronted me.”

[139:8]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).

[139:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “look, you.”

[141:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “like splitting and breaking open in the earth.” The meaning of the statement and the point of the comparison are not entirely clear. Perhaps the psalmist is suggesting that he and other godly individuals are as good as dead; their bones are scattered about like dirt that is dug up and tossed aside.