Psalms 106:36

106:36 They worshiped ¹  their idols,

which became a snare to them. ² 

Psalms 18:5

18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, ³ 

the snares of death trapped me. ⁴ 

Psalms 69:22

69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!

May it be a snare for that group of friends! ⁵ 

Psalms 141:9

141:9 Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,

and the traps the evildoers have set. ⁶ 

Psalms 64:5

64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. ⁷ 

They plan how to hide ⁸  snares,

and boast, ⁹  “Who will see them?” ¹⁰ 

Psalms 140:5

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ¹¹  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

[106:36]  ¹ tn Or “served.”

[106:36]  ² sn Became a snare. See Exod 23:33; Judg 2:3.

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[18:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “confronted me.”

[69:22]  ⁵ tc Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the MT is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (ulÿshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. NIV).

[141:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the traps of the doers of evil.”

[64:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”

[64:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they report about hiding.”

[64:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they say.”

[64:5]  ¹² tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).

[140:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).