OET interlinear PSA 116:3

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

אֲפָפ֤וּ⁠נִי ׀ חֶבְלֵי־מָ֗וֶת וּ⁠מְצָרֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל מְצָא֑וּ⁠נִי

they,encompassed_me ropes_of death and,the_distresses_of (Some words not found in UHB: they,encompassed_me ropes_of death and,the_distresses_of shəʼōl they,found_me trouble and,sorrow found )

These two phrases The cords of death surrounded me and the constrictions of Sheol found me mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and you may want to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation. If it is helpful, you could connect the phrases in a way that shows that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: [The cords of death surrounded me, indeed, the constrictions of Sheol found me]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אֲפָפ֤וּ⁠נִי ׀ חֶבְלֵי־מָ֗וֶת

they,encompassed_me ropes_of death

Here the psalmist is picturing death as if it were cords that could wrap around and bind someone. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [It seemed that I would die soon]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וּ⁠מְצָרֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל מְצָא֑וּ⁠נִי

and,the_distresses_of (Some words not found in UHB: they,encompassed_me ropes_of death and,the_distresses_of shəʼōl they,found_me trouble and,sorrow found )

Here David is speaking of the constrictions of Sheol as if they were ropes or chains that could physically grip and restrain him. He means that he felt as though he was very close to dying. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [and I felt as though I were dying]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

צָרָ֖ה וְ⁠יָג֣וֹן אֶמְצָֽא

trouble and,sorrow found

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of anguish and sorrow, you could express the same ideas in other ways. Alternate translation: [I was anguished and sorrowful]