Psalms 7:16

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ¹ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ² 

Psalms 9:15-16

9:15 The nations fell ³  into the pit they had made;

their feet were caught in the net they had hidden. ⁴ 

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ⁵  (Higgaion. ⁶  Selah)

Proverbs 5:22

5:22 The wicked ⁷  will be captured by his ⁸  own iniquities, ⁹ 

and he will be held ¹⁰  by the cords of his own sin. ¹¹ 

[7:16]  ¹ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ² tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[9:15]  ³ tn Heb “sank down.”

[9:15]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn This is probably a technical musical term.

[5:22]  ⁷ tn The suffix on the verb is the direct object suffix; “the wicked” is a second object by apposition: They capture him, the wicked. Since “the wicked” is not found in the LXX, it could be an old scribal error; or the Greek translator may have simply smoothed out the sentence. C. H. Toy suggests turning the sentence into a passive idea: “The wicked will be caught in his iniquities” (Proverbs [ICC], 117).

[5:22]  ⁸ tn The word is the subject of the clause, but the pronominal suffix has no clear referent. The suffix is proleptic, referring to the wicked.

[5:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “his own iniquities will capture the wicked.” The translation shifts the syntax for the sake of smoothness and readability.

[5:22]  ¹⁰ sn The lack of discipline and control in the area of sexual gratification is destructive. The one who plays with this kind of sin will become ensnared by it and led to ruin.

[5:22]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew is structured chiastically: “his own iniquities will capture the wicked, by the cords of his own sin will he be held.”