They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into the middle of it themselves.
Parallel Translations
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They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into the middle of it themselves.
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They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
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(57-7) They have prepared a net for my steps, my soul is bowed down; they have digged a pit before me, they are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. Selah
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Psalms 57:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 145:14 Yahweh upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.
- Psalms 7:15-16 He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made. The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.
- Proverbs 28:10 Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he will fall into his own trap; but the blameless will inherit good.
- Micah 7:2 The godly man has perished out of the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net.
- Psalms 35:7-8 For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul. Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.
- Psalms 140:5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me.
- Psalms 9:15-16 The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken. Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands.
- Psalms 142:3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me.
- Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- 1 Samuel 23:22-26 Please go make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I have been told that he is very cunning. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you. It shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” They arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert. Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told, he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David hurried to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them.
- Psalms 42:6 My God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar.
- Psalms 143:4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate.
- Matthew 26:37-38 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For very fear seeing the great dangers on all…
For very fear seeing the great dangers on all sides.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 57:6 They have prepared a net for my…
Psa 57:6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen [themselves]. Selah.
Ver. 6. They have prepared a net for my steps] So that I can hardly keep foot out of snare. I dare not lift up one foot till I find sure footing for the other; and that is hard to do. See Saul’s charge to the Ziphites, 1Sa 23:22.
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My soul is bowed down] I am glad to shrink in myself (as fearful people use to do), that I may shun those gins and snares that they have set to maim and mischief me.
They have digged a pit, &c.] They have forced me into this subterranean cave; and, behold, Saul himself is cast into mine hands, in this mine hiding hole.
Oι αυτω κακα τευχει ανηρ, αλλω κακα τευχων.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Is bowed down; or, was bowed down: I was…
Is bowed down; or, was bowed down: I was even ready to fall and perish. Or, mine heart was oppressed, and almost overwhelmed.
Before me, Heb. before my face; not in my sight, for that would have been in vain, Pro 1:17; but in my way, where they thought I would go. They are fallen themselves: this was fulfilled in Saul, who by pursuing fell into his hands, 1Sa 24:4.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain They have prepared a net for my steps,.... They…
They have prepared a net for my steps,.... They laid snares for him, as the fowler does for the bird, in order to take him. It denotes the insidious ways used by Saul and his men to get David into their hands; so the Pharisees consulted together how they might entangle Christ in his talk, Mat 22:15;
my soul is bowed down; dejected by reason of his numerous enemies, and the crafty methods they took to ensnare and ruin him; so the soul of Christ was bowed down with the sins of his people, and with a sense of divine wrath because of them; and so their souls are often bowed down; or they are dejected in their spirits, on account of sin, Satan's temptations, various afflictions, and divine desertions. The Targum renders it,
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"he bowed down my soul;''
that is, the enemy; Saul in particular. The Septuagint, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, "they bowed down my soul"; the same that prepared a net for his steps; everyone of his enemies; they all were the cause of the dejection of his soul: the Syriac version leaves out the clause;
they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves; contriving and seeking to find out the places where David's haunt was, Saul got into the very cave where he and his men were; and had his skirt cut off, when his life might as easily have been taken away, Sa1 23:22. See Psa 7:15.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa 3:2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. They have prepared a net for my…
Verse 6. They have prepared a net for my steps] A gin or springe, such as huntsmen put in the places which they know the prey they seek frequents: such, also, as they place in passages in hedges, c., through which the game creeps.
They have digged a pit] Another method of catching game and wild beasts. They dig a pit, cover it over with weak sticks and turf. The beasts, not suspecting danger where none appears, in attempting to walk over it, fall through, and are taken. Saul digged a pit, laid snares for the life of David and fell into one of them himself, particularly at the cave of En-gedi; for he entered into the very pit or cave where David and his men were hidden, and his life lay at the generosity of the very man whose life he was seeking! The rabbins tell a curious and instructive tale concerning this: "God sent a spider to weave her web at the mouth of the cave in which David and his men lay hid. When Saul saw the spider's web over the cave's mouth, he very naturally conjectured that it could neither be the haunt of men nor wild beasts; and therefore went in with confidence to repose." The spider here, a vile and contemptible animal, became the instrument in the hand of God of saving David's life and of confounding Saul in his policy and malice. This may be a fable; but it shows by what apparently insignificant means God, the universal ruler, can accomplish the greatest and most beneficent ends. Saul continued to dig pits to entrap David; and at last fell a prey to his own obstinacy. We have a proverb to the same effect: Harm watch, harm catch. The Greeks have one also: Ἡ τε κακη βουλη τῳ βουλευσαντι κακιστη, "An evil advice often becomes most ruinous to the adviser." The Romans have one to the same effect: -
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Neque enim lex justior ulla est
Quam necis artificem arte perire sua.
"There is no law more just than that which condemns a man to suffer death by the instrument which he has invented to take away the life of others."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 57:6. They have prepared a net for my…
Psa 57:6. They have prepared a net for my steps — In which to take me, that I might not again escape out of their hands. My soul is bowed down — Hebrew, כפŠ נפשׁי, he hath bowed down my soul; referring to Saul at the head of his troops, pursuing David to his ruin. They have digged a pit before me — Hebrew, before my face: not in my sight, for that would have been in vain, Pro 1:17, but in my way, where they thought I would go; into the midst whereof they are fallen — This was fulfilled in Saul, who, by pursuing David, fell into his hands, 1Sa 24:3.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain They have prepared a net for my steps -…
They have prepared a net for my steps - A net for my goings; or, into which I may fall. See the notes at Psa 9:15.
My soul is bowed down - The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and Luther render this in the plural, and in the active form: “They have bowed down my soul;” that is, they have caused my soul to be bowed down. The Hebrew may be correctly rendered, “he pressed down my soul,” - referring to his enemies, and speaking of them in the singular number.
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They have digged a pit before me ... - See Psa 7:15-16, notes; Psa 9:15, note; Job 5:13, note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Compare Psa 7:15; Psa 9:15-16).
(Compare Psa 7:15; Psa 9:15-16).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. They have prepared a net—He returns to the…
6. They have prepared a net—He returns to the artful designs of his enemies, which he illustrates by an eastern method of catching wild animals by snares and pitfalls. See Isa_24:17-18.
Into the midst whereof they are fallen—By faith David sees the retributive justice of God meeting out to them the evil they had plotted against himself. Saul had fallen into David’s hands, not David into Saul’s. Comp. 1Sa_24:2; 1Sa_24:8. The selah, or pause, which to the reader is a call to meditation on the import of what is said, and is nearly equal to the amen, closes this first division of the psalm, which otherwise might be ended with the refrain of Psa_57:5
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. The transposition of Psa_57:5-6, proposed by Cheyne and…
6. The transposition of Psa_57:5-6, proposed by Cheyne and others, simply ruins the sense, Psa_57:6 is the fitting sequel of Psa_57:5. Just as in Psa_56:5 ff, he returns after the refrain to contemplate his present situation. But now Faith sees the prayer of Psa_57:5 answered, and with the manifestation of God’s supreme authority all opposition is subdued, nay, his foes’ own schemes prove their ruin.
my soul is bowed down] Perhaps we should read with the LXX, they have bowed down my soul; i.e. (the perf. as in Psa_56:1) they have made sure of capturing me. But it is tempting to go further and read (with Ewald), their soul is bowed down, thereby securing a double parallelism in the verse. Lines 1 and 3 then describe their plots: lines 2 and 4 describe how they are caught in their own trap. The metaphors are taken from the nets and pitfalls used by hunters. Cp. Psa_7:15; Psa_9:15 f.; Psa_35:7; Eze_19:4; Ecc_10:8.
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into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves] Better, they are fallen into the midst of It.
6–11. Convinced that God will manifest His authority, the Psalmist sees the machinations of his enemies turning to their own defeat, and utters resolutions of joyous thanksgiving.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) A net.—For this image, so common in Hebrew…
(6) A net.—For this image, so common in Hebrew hymns, see Psa_9:15, &c, and for that of the pit, Psa_7:15, &c
My soul is bowed down.—The verb so rendered is everywhere else transitive. So LXX. and Vulg. here, “And have pressed down my soul.” Despite the grammar, Ewald alters “my soul” into “their soul.” But no conjecture of the kind restores the parallelism, which is here hopelessly lost. We expect,
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They have prepared a net for my steps;
They are caught in it themselves.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 6-11. The strophe of "triumphant confidence" now begins,…
Vers. 6-11. The strophe of "triumphant confidence" now begins, but with an echo from the strophe of complaint. The enemy is still at work, still plotting against the psalmist, still seeking to do him a mischief; but the efforts made are in vain. They only bring the enemy himself into trouble (ver. 6), and cause the psalmist to pour forth a song of joy (vers. 7-11).
They have prepared a net for my steps. (comp. Psa_9:15 Psa_10:10 Psa_25:15 Psa_31:4 Psa_35:7) These metaphors from the chase are peculiarly appropriate at the time when Saul was "hunting David upon the mountains". (1Sa_26:20) My soul is bowed down; rather, they have bowed down my soul; literally, he has bowed down; but the alternate use of the singular and the plural, without any real change of subject, is very common. They have digged a pit before me. (comp. Psa_7:15 Psa_119:85) Into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Here is the first note of triumph a very familiar note, (Psa_7:15 Psa_9:15 Psa_39:8 Psa_141:10) but one always sounded with marked satisfaction.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 6. They have prepared a net for my…
Ver. 6. They have prepared a net for my steps. The enemies of the godly spare no pains, but go about their wicked work with the coolest deliberation. As for each sort of fish, or bird, or beast, a fitting net is needed, so do the ungodly suit their net to their victim's circumstances and character with a careful craftiness of malice. Whatever David might do, and whichever way he might turn, his enemies were ready to entrap him in some way or other.
My soul is bowed down. He was held down like a bird in a trap; his enemies took care to leave him no chance of comfort.
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They have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. He likens the design of his persecutors to pits, which were commonly dug by hunters to entrap their prey; these were made in the usual path of the victim, and in this case David says, before me, i.e., in my ordinary way. He rejoices because these devices had recoiled upon themselves. Saul hunted David, but David caught him more than once and might have slain him on the spot. Evil is a stream which one day flows back to its source.
Selah. We may sit down at the pit's mouth and view with wonder the just retaliations of providence.
Ver. 6. Net. Not having fire arms, the ancients were much more skilful than the moderns in the use of snares, nets, and pits for capturing wild animals. A large class of Biblical figures and allusions necessarily presuppose this state of things. W. M. Thomson.
Ver. 6. (first clause).
I. Who are they?
1. Those who lead us into sin.
2. Who argue from worldly philosophy.
3. Who proclaim priestly and sacramental superstition.
4. Who decoy us from the church of God.
5. Who teach Antinomian doctrine. II. How shall we escape them?
1. Keep out of their way.
2. Keep to God's way.
3. Trust daily in the Lord.
Ver. 6. My soul is bowed down.
I. The prostration.
1. Caused by enemies, weakness, fear, pain.
2. Deep, agonizing, self revealing.
3. Common to the Head and the members. II. The consolation.
1. Bowed down, but not condemned.
2. Hoping in the promise.
3. Trusting in God.
4. Expecting a blessing from the trial.
Psalms 57:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 They spread out a net for my feet
They spread out a net for my feet
His enemies' plans to capture him are spoken of as if they had spread out a net on the ground to trap him. AT: "It is as though my enemies have spread a net out to trap me" or "They planned to capture me like people who spread out a net to trap an animal" (See: Metaphor)
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They dug a pit in front of me
His enemies' plans to capture him are spoken of as if they had dug a pit for him to fall into. AT: "It is as though they dug a pit for me to fall into" or "They planned to capture me like people who dig a hole in the ground to trap an animal" (See: Metaphor)
They themselves have fallen into the middle of it
The harm that came to his enemies when they tried to capture him is spoken of as if they fell into the trap that they had made for him. AT: "They themselves fell into the pit they had dug for me" or "But they themselves were hurt by what they planned to do to me" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
pit
selah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.