Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 105:18

"His feet they hurt with fetters: He was laid in [chains of] iron," — Psalms 105:18 (ASV)

He was laid in iron. —The Prayer Book Version, “the iron entered into his soul,” has established itself so firmly among expressive proverbial sayings, that the mind almost resents the Authorised Version. The grammar of the clause does not determine its meaning with certainty; for its syntax is rather in favour of the Prayer Book Version, though the feminine form of the verb is also in favour of the marginal rendering. Symmachus has, “his soul came into iron;” the Septuagint, “his soul passed through iron.” The Vulgate, however, has the other Version, “the iron passed through his soul”—first found in the Targum. The parallelism is in favour of the Authorised Version.