Psalms 7:15-16

7:15 he digs a pit ¹ 

and then falls into the hole he has made. ² 

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ³ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ⁴ 

Psalms 9:15-16

9:15 The nations fell ⁵  into the pit they had made;

their feet were caught in the net they had hidden. ⁶ 

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ⁷  (Higgaion. ⁸  Selah)

Psalms 35:7-8

35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me

and dug a pit to trap me. ⁹ 

35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! ¹⁰ 

Let the net they hid catch them!

Let them fall into destruction! ¹¹ 

Psalms 140:5

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ¹²  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

Psalms 140:1

Psalm 140 ¹³ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! ¹⁴ 

Protect me from violent men, ¹⁵ 

Psalms 23:1

Psalm 23 ¹⁶ 

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, ¹⁷ 

I lack nothing. ¹⁸ 

Proverbs 29:5

29:5 The one ¹⁹  who flatters ²⁰  his neighbor

spreads a net ²¹  for his steps. ²² 

Micah 7:2

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ²³  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ²⁴ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ²⁵ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ²⁶ 

[7:15]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[9:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “sank down.”

[9:15]  ⁶ 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.

[9:16]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn This is probably a technical musical term.

[35:7]  ⁹ tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).

[35:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.

[35:8]  ¹¹ tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.

[140:5]  ¹² tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

[140:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

[140:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[23:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 23. In vv. 1-4 the psalmist pictures the Lord as a shepherd who provides for his needs and protects him from danger. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then extends and develops that metaphor, speaking as if he were a sheep. In vv. 5-6 the metaphor changes as the psalmist depicts a great royal banquet hosted by the Lord. The psalmist is a guest of honor and recipient of divine favor, who enjoys unlimited access to the divine palace and the divine presence.

[23:1]  ¹⁷ sn The LORD is my shepherd. The opening metaphor suggests the psalmist is assuming the role of a sheep. In vv. 1b-4 the psalmist extends the metaphor and explains exactly how the LORD is like a shepherd to him. At the surface level the language can be understood in terms of a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep. The translation of vv. 1-4 reflects this level. But, of course, each statement also points to an underlying reality.

[23:1]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the LORD as his shepherd (habitual present use). The next verse explains more specifically what he means by this statement.

[29:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a man,” but the context here does not suggest that the proverb refers to males only.

[29:5]  ²⁰ tn The form is the Hiphil participle, literally “deals smoothly,” i.e., smoothing over things that should be brought to one’s attention.

[29:5]  ²¹ sn The image of “spreading a net” for someone’s steps is an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): As one would literally spread a net, this individual’s flattery will come back to destroy him. A net would be spread to catch the prey, and so the idea is one of being caught and destroyed.

[29:5]  ²² tn There is some ambiguity concerning the referent of “his steps.” The net could be spread for the one flattered (cf. NRSV, “a net for the neighbor’s feet”; NLT, “their feet,” referring to others), or for the flatterer himself (cf. TEV “you set a trap for yourself”). The latter idea would make the verse more powerful: In flattering someone the flatterer is getting himself into a trap (e.g., 2:16; 7:5; 26:28; 28:23).

[7:2]  ²³ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ²⁶ sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.