The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
Parallel Translations
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The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
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The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
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(9-16) The nations are sunk down in the pit that they made; in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Psalms 9:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 57:6 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.
- 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.
- Psalms 35:8 Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.
- Proverbs 5:22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
- Proverbs 22:8 He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- Psalms 94:23 He has brought on them their own iniquity, and will cut them off in their own wickedness. Yahweh, our God, will cut them off.
- Psalms 37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 15. The heathen are sunk. David being now raised…
15. The heathen are sunk. David being now raised up to holy confidence, triumphs over his enemies. In the first place, he says metaphorically, that they were taken in their own craftiness and snares. He next expresses the same thing without figure, that they were snared in their own wickedness. And he affirms that this happened not by chance, but was the work of God, and a striking proof of his judgment. When he compares his enemies to hunters or fowlers, it is not without having just ground for doing so. The wicked, it is true, often commit violence and outrage, yet in deceits and cunning artifices they always imitate their father Satan, who is the father of lies, and, therefore, whatever ingenuity they have, they employ it in practising wickedness and in devising mischief. As often, therefore, as wicked men cunningly plot our destruction, let us remember that it is no new thing for them to lay nets and snares for the children of God. At the same time, let us comfort ourselves from the reflection, that whatever they may attempt against us, the issue is not in their power, and that God will be against them, not only to frustrate their designs, but also to surprise them in the wicked devices which they frame, and to make all their resources of mischief to fall upon their own heads.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For God overthroweth the wicked in their enterprises.
For God overthroweth the wicked in their enterprises.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 9:15 The heathen are sunk down in the…
Psa 9:15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit [that] they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
Ver. 15. The heathen are sunk down, &c.] Hoc est initium cantici Sanctorum, Thi is the beginning of the sacred songs, saith AbenEzra. This is the beginning of the saints’ song, knit to the former verse thus: saying, The heathen, &c.
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In the net which they hid, &c.] To hunters they are compared for cruelty, and to fowlers for craft. But see their success: they are sunk down in their own pit, caught in their own net. Thus it befell Pharaoh, Exo 15:9-10, Jabin and Sisera, Jdg 4:15; Jdg 4:22-23, Sennacherib, 2Ch 32:21, Antiochus Epiphanes, Maxentius the tyrant, who fell into the river Tiber, from his own false bridge laid for Constantine (Euseb. lib. 9, rap. 9), the Spanish Armada, our gunpowder Papists, &c. {See Trapp on "Psa 7:15"}
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 Fallen into that destruction which they designed to bring…
Fallen into that destruction which they designed to bring upon us.
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 The Lord is known by the judgment which he…
The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth,.... The judgment which God will execute upon antichrist, and the antichristian powers, will be a means of making known his name, his glory, his perfections, in all the earth; as his wisdom, power, justice, and goodness; see Exo 9:16. The destruction of antichrist will be the Lord's doing, and it will be a righteous one; it will be a just retaliation; as he has killed with the sword, multitudes of his followers shall be killed with the sword; as he has led captive, he shall be taken captive at the battle of Armageddon; as he has burnt, many of the martyrs of Jesus, he shall be cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Some read these words as two sentences, "The Lord is known; he hath executed judgment" (n): the latter of these refers not to the ministration of justice in the providential government of the world, or at the last day in the general judgment; but to the judgment of the great whore, or antichrist, at which time the Lord will be known in his Gospel in all the world; the earth will be tilled with the knowledge of him, and he, and he alone, will be exalted; his name will be great and glorious throughout the earth; all shall know him, from the least to the greatest; and their knowledge of him will be very clear and comprehensive;
the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands; not Goliath, as Kimchi thinks, who was slain by David with his own sword, though this was true of him in the letter and type; but the wicked one, the man of sin and son of perdition, antichrist, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all craftiness and wily stratagems, called the depths of Satan, Rev 2:24; but his own sins shall take him, and he shall be holden with the cords of his iniquities, and be rewarded double for all his sins; what is before figuratively expressed is here literally declared; or, "he hath snared the wicked in or by the work of his hands" (o), that is, God.
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Higgaion. Selah; of the latter of these words; see Gill on Psa 3:2; the former signifies "meditation"; Jarchi paraphrases it "let us meditate on this, selah"; Aben Ezra interprets it, "I will show forth this in truth"; the Chaldee paraphrase is, "the righteous shall rejoice for ever"; the note of Kimchi and Ben Melech is, "this salvation is to us meditation and praise"; upon the whole the sense seems to be this, that God's judgments upon antichrist, and the antichristian states, and the deliverance of his people from their yoke and tyranny, are things worthy of the meditation of the saints, and afford just matter of joy, praise, and thanksgiving.
(n) "notus est Dominus; judicium fecit", Pagninus, Montanus, Gussetius; so Vatablus, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis, and Ainsworth. (o) "illaqueavit iniquum per opus (vel in opere) manunm ipsius", Gussetius.
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 15. The heathen are sunk down to the…
Verse 15. The heathen are sunk down to the pit] See on Ps 7:15.
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 9:15-16. The heathen are sunk in the pit…
Psa 9:15-16. The heathen are sunk in the pit they made — Fallen into that destruction which they designed to bring upon others. “Faith beholds, as already executed, that righteous judgment whereby wicked men will fall into the perdition which they had prepared for others, either openly by persecution, or more covertly by temptation: see Psa 7:15-16.” — Horne. The Lord is known — Or hath made himself known, or famous, even among his enemies; by the judgment which he executeth — Upon the wicked. By this it is known, there is a God who judgeth in the earth: that he is a righteous God, and one that hates and will punish sin; by this the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. And therefore the psalmist adds here a note extraordinary, Higgaion, calling for special regard, as to a matter of the deepest importance, and which deserved and required deep and frequent consideration: for so the word signifies.
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 The heathen - Hebrew, “The nations;” that is, the…
The heathen - Hebrew, “The nations;” that is, the idolatrous people that were arrayed against him. See the notes at Psa 9:5.
Are sunk down - That is, referring to those who had been overcome, as mentioned in Psa 9:5; or to those who still encompassed him, in respect to whom he was so certain that they would be overcome that he could speak of it as a thing already accomplished. According to the former view, it would be an encouragement derived from the past; according to the latter, it would indicate unwavering confidence in God, and the certain assurance of ultimate victory. It is not easy to determine which is the true interpretation. The Hebrew is, “Sunk are the nations in the pit which they have made;” that is, he sees them sinking down to destruction.
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In the pit that they made - In which they designed that others should fall. See the notes at Psa 7:15.
In the net which they hid - Which they laid for others. The allusion here is to a spring-net made to capture birds or wild beasts.
Is their own foot taken - The net here referred to seems to have been particularly a net to take wild beasts by securing one of their feet, like a modern trap. The idea is, that they had been brought into the destruction which they had designed for others. See the notes at Psa 7:15-16.
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 The undesigned results of the devices of the wicked…
The undesigned results of the devices of the wicked prove them to be of God's overruling or ordering, especially when those results are destructive to the wicked themselves.
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 15, 16. The natural anxiety for the final result…
15, 16. The natural anxiety for the final result is but momentary. The psalmist returns to the consciousness of victory and restful confidence in the divine judgments.
Sunk down—That is, plunged.
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Pit—See on Psa_7:15.
Net—Another figure setting forth the same fact. The same repeated, Psa_9:16.
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands—This is God’s method of justice with men. See note on Psa_7:15.
Higgaion. Selah—A musical designation. “Higgaion” means a murmur, or muffled sound, and “selah” denotes pause. Gesenius explains it: “Let the instruments strike up a symphony, and the singers pause.” “Higgaion” is translated “meditation” Psa_19:14, and “solemn sound” Psa_92:3. As a musical sign, it would denote that the sentiment of the piece called for solemn thought, while the interlude proceeded in muffled tone.
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 15. The heathen] The nations, as in Psa_9:5. The…
15. The heathen] The nations, as in Psa_9:5. The figures are taken from the pitfalls and nets used in hunting. Cp. Psa_7:15, Psa_35:7-8, Psa_57:6.
15, 16. Stanza of Teth, resuming the description of the judgment. Wickedness has been made to minister to its own discomfiture. Cp. Psa_7:15 f.
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 (15) Comp. Psa_7:16.
(15) Comp. Psa_7:16.
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 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that…
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made. It is uncertain whether the writer here reverts to the judgment already executed (vers. 3-6), or with the eye of faith sees as past the judgment which he confidently anticipates (vers. 19, 20). Whichever he intends, there can be no doubt that he means it to be understood that the stratagems of the enemy brought about (or would bring about) their downfall. In the net which they hid is their own foot taken. A second metaphor, expressing the same idea as the preceding. (comp. Psa_7:15, 16 10:2 35:8 141:10)
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. 15. In considering this terrible picture of the…
Ver. 15. In considering this terrible picture of the Lord's overwhelming judgments of his enemies, we are called upon to ponder and meditate upon it with deep seriousness by the two untranslated words, Higgaion, Selah. Meditate, pause. Consider, and tune your instrument. Bethink yourselves and solemnly adjust your hearts to the solemnity which is so well becoming the subject. Let us in a humble spirit approach these verses, and notice, first, that the character of God requires the punishment of sin.
Ver. 15. The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made, etc. Whilst they are digging pits for others, there is a pit digging and a grave making for themselves. They have a measure to make up, and a treasure to fill, which at length will be broken open, which, I think, should take off them which are set upon mischief from pleasing themselves in their plots. Alas! they are but plotting their own ruin, and building a Babel which will fall upon their own heads. If there were any commendation in plotting, then that great plotter of plotters, that great engineer, Satan, would go beyond us all, and take all the credit from us. But let us not envy Satan and his in their glory. They had need of something to comfort them. Let them please themselves with their trade. The day is coming wherein the daughter of Sion shall laugh them to scorn. There will be a time wherein it shall be said, "Arise, Sion, and thresh." Mic 4:13. And usually the delivery of God's children is joined with the destruction of his enemies; Saul's death, and David's deliverance; the Israelites' deliverance, and the Egyptians drowning. The church and her opposites are like the scales of a balance; when one goes up, the other goes down. Richard Sibbs.
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Ver. 15-17. It will much increase the torment of the damned, in that their torments will be as large and strong as their understandings and affections, which will cause those violent passions to be still working. Were their loss never so great, and their sense of it never so passionate, yet if they could but lose the use of their memory, those passions would die, and that loss being forgotten, would little trouble them. But as they cannot lay by their life and being, though then they would account annihilation a singular mercy, so neither can they lay aside any part of their being. Understanding, conscience, affections, memory, must all live to torment them, which should have helped to their happiness. And as by these they should have fed upon the love of God, and drawn forth perpetually the joys of his presence, so by these must they now feed upon the wrath of God, and draw forth continually the dolours of his absence. Therefore, never think, that when I say the hardness of their hearts, and their blindness, dulness, and forgetfulness shall be removed, that therefore they are more holy and happy than before: no, but morally more vile, and hereby far more miserable. Oh, how many times did God by his messengers here call upon them, "Sinners, consider whither you are going. Do but make a stand awhile, and think where your way will end, what is the offered glory that you so carelessly reject: will not this be bitterness in the end?" And yet, these men would never be brought to consider. But in the latter days, saith the Lord, they shall perfectly consider it, when they are ensnared in the work of their own hands, when God hath arrested them, and judgment is passed upon them, and vengeance is poured out upon them to the full, then they cannot choose but consider it, whether they will or no. Now they have no leisure to consider, nor any room in their memories for the things of another life. Ah! but then they shall have leisure enough, they shall be where they shall have nothing else to do but consider it: their memories shall have no other employment to hinder them; it shall even be engraven upon the tables of their hearts. God would have the doctrine of their eternal state to have been written on the posts of their doors, on their houses, on their hands, and on their hearts: he would have had them mind it and mention it, as they rise and lie down, and as they walk abroad, that so it might have gone well with them at their latter end. And seeing they rejected this counsel of the Lord, therefore shall it be written always before them in the place of their thraldom, that which way soever they look they may still behold it. Richard Baxter.
Ver. 15. Lex talionis. Memorable instances.
Ver. 15-17. See Psalms on "Ps 9:15 for further information.
Ver. 15-17. See Psalms on "Ps 9:15" for further information.
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 The nations have sunk down into the pit that…
The nations have sunk down into the pit that they made
People dig pits so they can catch animals that fall into them. Here digging a pit represents making plans to destroy people. AT: "The nations are like people who dig a pit for others and then fall into it" (See: Metaphor)
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their feet are caught in the net that they hid
People hide nets so they can catch animals that get caught in them. Here hiding a net represents making plans to destroy people. AT: "they are like people who hide a net and get trapped in it" (See: Metaphor)
the wicked is ensnared by his own actions
Here "wicked" is a nominal adjective that refers to any wicked person. A wicked person acting to harm other people is spoken of as if the wicked person had made a trap and then fallen into it and been unable to escape. This can be stated in active form. AT: "when a wicked person tries to harm other people, his actions will end up harming him"
is ensnared
"is trapped"
translationWords
pit
know
judge
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.