Mazmur 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 

Mazmur 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)

Mazmur 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 

Mazmur 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)

[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”).