2 Samuel 12:28

12:28 So now assemble the rest of the army ¹  and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city and it will be named for me.”

Psalms 7:15-16

7:15 he digs a pit ² 

and then falls into the hole he has made. ³ 

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ⁴ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ⁵ 

Psalms 9:16

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ⁶  (Higgaion. ⁷  Selah)

[12:28]  ¹ tn Heb “people.” So also in vv. 29, 31.

[7:15]  ² tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.

[7:15]  ³ tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.

[7:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[9:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

[9:16]  ⁷ tn This is probably a technical musical term.