Psa 116:3 | NETfull | STEP | The ropes of death tightened around me, the snares of Sheol confronted me. I was confronted with trouble and sorrow.

Psalms 116:3

3 The ropes of death tightened around me, ^{▼▼ Heb “surrounded me.”}
the snares ^{▼▼ 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 (m^etsadey, “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.} of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted ^{▼▼ The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.} with trouble and sorrow.