Psalms 18:4

The sorrows of death Rather, as R.V., The cords of death. But the word has been wrongly introduced here from Psalms 18:5, and the true reading should be restored from 2 Sam.: the waves (lit. breakers) of death. This gives a proper parallelism to floodsin the next line. But the reading cordsmust be very ancient, for Psalms 116:3 appears to recognise it.

floods of ungodly men More graphically the original, torrents of destruction, or, ungodliness. Destruction threatened him like a torrent swollen by a sudden storm, and sweeping all before it (Judges 5:21). The Heb. word belial, lit. worthlessness, may mean destruction, physical mischief, as well as wickedness, moral mischief: and the context points rather to the former sense here. Death, Destruction, and Sheol, are indeed almost personified, as conspiring for his ruin.