valley of the shadow of death

Cultural  

1. An expression from the Twenty-third Psalm (“The Lord is my shepherd”).

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Figuratively, the “valley of the shadow of death” stands for the perils of life, from which God protects believers.

Example Sentences

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil,” he said at his church’s Wednesday evening service last week.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 9, 2023

“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left.”

From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2022

"There is a hope greater than our biggest challenges. Because of God's grace, He walks us through the valley of the shadow of death."

From Fox News • Mar. 27, 2022

You don’t need to know the melancholy of Larry’s late-onset muscular dystrophy, recorded in other portrait photographs here, to read this as a walk through a valley of the shadow of death.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2019

Because for my father, that was the day he began his wanderings in the valley of the shadow of death.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool