Psalms 9:15

9:15 The nations fell ¹  into the pit they had made;

their feet were caught in the net they had hidden. ² 

Psalms 119:85

119:85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me, ³ 

which violates your law. ⁴ 

Proverbs 28:10

28:10 The one who leads the upright astray in an evil way

will himself fall into his own pit, ⁵ 

but the blameless will inherit what is good. ⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 10:8

Wisdom is Needed to Avert Dangers in Everyday Life

10:8 One who digs a pit may ⁷  fall into it,

and one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 18:20

18:20 Should good be paid back with evil?

Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. ⁹ 

Just remember how I stood before you

pleading on their behalf ¹⁰ 

to keep you from venting your anger on them. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 18:22

18:22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses

when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. ¹² 

For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me

and have hidden traps for me to step into.

[9:15]  ¹ tn Heb “sank down.”

[9:15]  ² 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.

[119:85]  ³ tn Heb “for me.”

[119:85]  ⁴ tn Heb “which [is] not according to your law.”

[28:10]  ⁵ sn The image of falling into a pit (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis, involving implied comparison) is meant to say that the evil to which he guides people will ultimately destroy him.

[28:10]  ⁶ sn This proverb is teaching that those who corrupt others will be destroyed, usually by their own devices, but those who manage to avoid being corrupted will be rewarded. According to this proverb the righteous can be led astray (e.g., 26:27).

[10:8]  ⁷ tn The four imperfect verbs in vv. 8-9 may be nuanced as indicatives (“will…”) or in a modal sense denoting possibility (“may…”). The LXX rendered them with indicatives, as do many English translations (KJV, RSV, NRSV, ASV, MLB, YLT, NJPS). However, it is better to take them in a modal sense (NEB, NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT). One who digs a pit does not necessarily fall into it, but he may under the right conditions.

[10:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “a serpent will bite him.” The clause “he who breaks through a wall” (וּפֹרֵץ גָּדֵר, uforets gader) is a nominative absolute – the casus pendens is picked up by the resumptive pronoun in the following clause “a serpent will bite him” (יִשְּׁכֶנּוּ נָחָשׁ, yishÿkhennu nakhash). This construction is used for rhetorical emphasis (see IBHS 76-77 §4.7c).

[18:20]  ⁹ tn Or “They are plotting to kill me”; Heb “They have dug a pit for my soul.” This is a common metaphor for plotting against someone. See BDB 500 s.v. כָּרָה Qal and for an example see Pss 7:16 (7:15 HT) in its context.

[18:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to speak good concerning them” going back to the concept of “good” being paid back with evil.

[18:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to turn back your anger from them.”

[18:22]  ¹² tn Heb “when you bring marauders in against them.” For the use of the noun translated here “bands of raiders to plunder them” see 1 Sam 30:3, 15, 23 and BDB 151 s.v. גְּדוּד 1.