The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me.
חֶבְלֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל סְבָב֑וּנִי קִ֝דְּמ֗וּנִי מ֣וֹקְשֵׁי מָֽוֶת׃
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Surrounding Me were those filled with the anguish of jealousy, seeking to bring about My demise, creating a path toward the abyss of sin. The binds of mortality restrained Me, attempting to impede My mission as they sought to inflict harm, which would ultimately return to them. Now they ensnare and ruin those whom they have deceitfully led astray through a façade of righteousness, claiming the title without embodying its essence, boasting against the nations.
The surging tides of wickedness represent thoughts devoid of law; when they persist within us for an extended period, they become akin to maladies, and if they lead to our demise through the sin that operates within us, they can also be likened to traps.
He referred to "mortal" traps as nets, for just as a net entraps the silent, so too does an ambush ensnare the aggressive; both serve as methods for causing harm in a concealed manner.
The torments of the abyss have seized me. This phrase conveys the same idea as the previous one, "the afflictions of darkness have overwhelmed me," as the terms "seized" and "overwhelmed" communicate a similar sentiment, just as hell and death do. Hell typically refers to a bleak and dismal realm beneath the earth, where the deceased reside. We have noted that the afflictions of death, as well as those of hell, signify the pains of childbirth. Thus, the prophet states, I am encircled by the afflictions that lead to death, that servant of the abyss. These afflictions isolate our souls from our bodies, which hell, having received them through death, contains within its confines.
However, the afflictions of hell can also represent our general sorrows, which can lead to the abyss for those who endure them, serving as instruments of hell. The snares of death have ensnared me. I was caught, he asserts, like prey in a trap that was laid out for my demise. Just as a net is crucial for a hunter, so too is the ambush set by the adversary essential in battle.
The ailments of hell plagued Christ when He descended into the abyss, causing the realm to lament and the demons to suffer from their unhealed afflictions. Humanity, burdened by original sin that takes root even at conception, faces condemnation and death. This very wound was borne for our transgressions; He endured torment for our iniquities, carrying the punishment of our world upon Himself (Is. 53:5).
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS