Esther 7:10

7:10 So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king’s rage then abated.

Psalms 7:13-16

7:13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; ¹ 

he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows. ² 

7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans,

and gives birth to harmful lies – ³ 

7:15 he digs a pit ⁴ 

and then falls into the hole he has made. ⁵ 

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ⁶ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ⁷ 

Psalms 9:15

9:15 The nations fell ⁸  into the pit they had made;

their feet were caught in the net they had hidden. ⁹ 

Psalms 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ¹⁰  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ¹¹ 

Psalms 37:32

37:32 Evil men set an ambush for the godly

and try to kill them. ¹² 

Proverbs 1:18

1:18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood, ¹³ 

they ambush their own lives! ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 4:16

4:16 For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; ¹⁵ 

they are robbed of sleep ¹⁶  until they make someone stumble. ¹⁷ 

Romans 3:15

3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,

[7:13]  ¹ tn Heb “and for him he prepares the weapons of death.”

[7:13]  ² tn Heb “his arrows into flaming [things] he makes.”

[7:14]  ³ tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”

[7:15]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

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

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “sank down.”

[9:15]  ⁹ sn The hostility of the nations against God’s people is their downfall, for it prompts God to intervene and destroy them. See also Ps 7:15-16.

[37:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[37:32]  ¹² tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.

[1:18]  ¹³ sn They think that they are going to shed innocent blood, but in their blindness they do not realize that it is their own blood they shed. Their greed will lead to their destruction. This is an example of ironic poetic justice. They do not intend to destroy themselves; but this is what they accomplish.

[1:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “their own souls.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a metonymy (= soul) of association (= life). The noun נֶפֶשׁ often refers to physical “life” (Exod 21:23; Num 17:3; Judg 5:18; Prov 12:10; BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).

[4:16]  ¹⁵ sn The verb is רָעַע (ra’a’), which means “to do evil; to harm.” The verse is using the figure of hyperbole to stress the preoccupation of some people with causing trouble. R. L. Alden says, “How sick to find peace only at the price of another man’s misfortune” (Proverbs, 47).

[4:16]  ¹⁶ sn Heb “their sleep is robbed/seized”; these expressions are metonymical for their restlessness in plotting evil.

[4:16]  ¹⁷ sn The Hiphil imperfect (Kethib) means “cause to stumble.” This idiom (from hypocatastasis) means “bring injury/ruin to someone” (BDB 505-6 s.v. כָּשַׁל Hiph.1).