Psalms 124:7

124:7 We escaped with our lives, ¹  like a bird from a hunter’s snare.

The snare broke, and we escaped.

Psalms 69:22

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

May it be a snare for that group of friends! ² 

Psalms 91:3

91:3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter ³ 

and from the destructive plague.

Psalms 119:110

119:110 The wicked lay a trap for me,

but I do not wander from your precepts.

Psalms 141:9

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

and the traps the evildoers have set. ⁴ 

Psalms 11:6

11:6 May the Lord rain down ⁵  burning coals ⁶  and brimstone ⁷  on the wicked!

A whirlwind is what they deserve! ⁸ 

Psalms 140:5

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ⁹  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

Psalms 142:3

142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, ¹⁰ 

you watch my footsteps. ¹¹ 

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

[124:7]  ¹ tn Heb “our life escaped.”

[69:22]  ² 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).

[91:3]  ³ tn The word refers specifically to a fowler (or hunter of birds).

[141:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the traps of the doers of evil.”

[11:6]  ⁵ tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the Lord rain down”), not indicative (“The Lord rains down”; see also Job 20:23). The psalmist appeals to God to destroy the wicked, rather than simply stating his confidence that God will do so. In this way the psalmist seeks to activate divine judgment by appealing to God’s just character. For an example of the power of such a curse, see Judg 9:7-57.

[11:6]  ⁶ tc The MT reads “traps, fire, and brimstone,” but the image of God raining traps, or snares, down from the sky is bizarre and does not fit the fire and storm imagery of this verse. The noun פַּחִים (pakhim, “traps, snares”) should be emended to פַּחֲמֵי (pakhamey, “coals of [fire]”). The rare noun פֶּחָם (pekham, “coal”) occurs in Prov 26:21 and Isa 44:12; 54:16.

[11:6]  ⁷ sn The image of God “raining down” brimstone on the objects of his judgment also appears in Gen 19:24 and Ezek 38:22.

[11:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “[may] a wind of rage [be] the portion of their cup.” The precise meaning of the rare noun זִלְעָפוֹת (zil’afot) is uncertain. It may mean “raging heat” (BDB 273 s.v. זַלְעָפָה) or simply “rage” (HALOT 272 s.v. זַלְעָפָה). If one understands the former sense, then one might translate “hot wind” (cf. NEB, NRSV). The present translation assumes the latter nuance, “a wind of rage” (the genitive is attributive) referring to a “whirlwind” symbolic of destructive judgment. In this mixed metaphor, judgment is also compared to an allotted portion of a beverage poured into one’s drinking cup (see Hab 2:15-16).

[140:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

[142:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[142:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “you know my path.”