David says, “Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.
Parallel Translations
-
David says, “Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.
-
And David sayth: Let their table be made a snare to take them with all and an occasion to faule and a rewarde vnto them.
-
And Dauid sayth, Let their table be made a snare, and a net, and a stumbling blocke, euen for a recompence vnto them.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Romans 11:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 69:22-23 Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Let their backs be continually bent.
- Psalms 28:4 Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
- Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’
- 1 Samuel 25:36-38 Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. About ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.
- Job 20:20-23 “Because he knew no quietness within him, he will not save anything of that in which he delights. There was nothing left that he didn’t devour, therefore his prosperity will not endure. In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress will overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery will come on him. When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
- Proverbs 1:32 For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.
- Isaiah 8:13-14 Yahweh of Armies is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread. He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.
- Isaiah 59:18 According to their deeds, he will repay as appropriate, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; he will repay the islands their due.
- Luke 16:19-25 “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish.
- 1 Timothy 6:17-19 Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to share; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.
- Deuteronomy 32:13-15 He made him ride on the high places of the earth. He ate the increase of the field. He caused him to suck honey out of the rock, oil out of the flinty rock; butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the finest of the wheat. From the blood of the grape, you drank wine. But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he abandoned God who made him, and rejected the Rock of his salvation.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, at the time when their foot slides; for the day of their calamity is at hand. Their doom rushes at them.”
- Isaiah 66:9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to be delivered?” says Yahweh. “Shall I who cause to give birth shut the womb?” says your God.
- Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,
- Deuteronomy 6:10-12 It shall be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and goodly cities which you didn’t build, and houses full of all good things which you didn’t fill, and cisterns dug out which you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees which you didn’t plant, and you shall eat and be full; then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 9. And David says, etc. In this testimony of…
9. And David says, etc. In this testimony of David there is also made some change in the words, but it is not what changes the meaning. For he thus speaks, “Let their table before them become a snare, and their peaceful things a trap;” there is no mention of retribution. As to the main point there is sufficient agreement. The Prophet prays, that whatever is desirable and happy in life might turn out to the ruin and destruction of the ungodly; and this is what he means by table and peaceful things. He then gives them up to blindness of spirit and weakening of strength; the one of which he expresses by the darkening of the eyes, and the other by the incurvation of the back. But that this should be extended almost to the whole nation, is not to be wondered at; for we know, that not only the chief men were incensed against David, but that the common people were also opposed to him. It appears plain, that what is read in that passage was not applied to a few, but to a large number; yea, when we consider of whom David was a type, there appears to be a spiritual import in the opposite clause.
Seeing then that this imprecation remains for all the adversaries of Christ, — that their meat shall be converted into poison, (as we see that the gospel is to be the savor of death unto death,) let us embrace with humility and trembling the grace of God. We may add, that since David speaks of the Israelites, who descended according to the flesh from Abraham, Paul fitly applies his testimony to the subject in hand, that the blindness of the majority of the people might not appear new or unusual.
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 As unhappy birds are enticed to death by that…
As unhappy birds are enticed to death by that which is their sustenance, so did that only thing turn to the Jews’ destruction, out of which they sought life, to wit, the Law of God, for the preposterous zeal whereof they refused the Gospel.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 9 And David saith, Let their table be made…
9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
Ver. 9. Be made a snare] As the bait is to the birds.
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 David saith; viz. in Psa 69:22,23. The apostle tieth…
David saith; viz. in Psa 69:22,23. The apostle tieth not himself to the very words of the psalmist, but being guided by the same Spirit by which David wrote, he adds and alters some words, without diminishing the sense.
Let their table be made a snare, &c.: some take these words for a prayer; others, a prophecy. David, in the person of Christ, (of whom he was a type), doth complain and prophesy of the extreme injuries and oppressions wherewith the Jews (his own people) should vex him; as that they should give him gall for meat, and in his thirst, give him vinegar to drink, Rom 11:21. Therefore, by way of imprecation, he prayeth down the wrath of God upon them: particularly, he prophesies or prays, that all their most pleasant things might be turned to their destruction; that their understandings might be darkened, so as they shall discern nothing of heavenly things; that they might savour nothing but earthly things, and be unable to lift up their heads and hearts to God, and to his gospel. Now David having, by the Spirit of prophecy, prayed down such miseries upon the Jews, they must be fulfilled; therefore the general unbelief and hardness of heart that is amongst that people is not to be wondered at.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain The apostle proceeds here to declare unto us, that…
The apostle proceeds here to declare unto us, that the general unbelief and hardness of heart which was found amongst the rejected Jews, was not to be wondered at, because it was prophetically foretold by holy David, in the person of the Messiah, of whom he was a type, that his own people the Jews should extremely injure and wrong him, oppress and vex him: for which wickedness he foretells what dreadful and tremendous judgments should come upon the Jews; namely,
That their table should be made to them a snare, a trap, and a stumbling-block; that is, that all their pleasant and delightful things should become the instruments of their destruction.
Read full note →
That their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. The darkening of their eyes signifies the taking away of the judgment and understanding from a people.
And the bowing down of the back always, intimates and implies their grovelling upon this earth; their relishing and savouring nothing but earthly things, never lifting up either head or heart to God.
Now all this which David spake of the wicked Jews in his time, the apostle applies and adapts to the incredulous and unbelieving Jews in his days, to whom the very preaching of the gospel was an occasion of obduration and hardness of heart.
Learn here, 1. That to the obstinate and obdurate enemies of God, the best things become baneful, and through their own corruption become the instruments and means of their own destruction. Let their table be made a snare, a trap, and a stumbling-block.
Learn, 2. That to be deprived of the use of our judgment and understanding, especially in things pertaining unto God, is a very dreadful judgment. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see.
3. That imprecations are to be used very warily, and only in weighty matters. These and other expressions of David, which look like imprecations, may as well be accounted prophetical predictions, foretelling what will come upon obstinate sinners, rather than praying that evil may come.
Great is the sin and danger of using imprecations lightly, either upon ourselves or others. Some persons use them to gain credit to what they say; but this will not do with wise men, who frequently observe, that persons most guilty are most apt to call for vengeance upon themselves, that they may be thought guiltless.
Lord! how do some sinners wish and call for that at which the devils tremble!--I mean damnation.
Alas! it slumbereth not; within a moment or two thou shalt feel what thou wilt not fear.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And David saith,.... That is, Christ by the mouth…
And David saith,.... That is, Christ by the mouth of David, or David in the person of Christ; for the psalm out of which the following words are taken is a prophecy of the Messiah, as appears from some passages cited out of it in the New Testament, and applied to Christ; compare Rom 11:4 with Joh 15:25, and Rom 11:9 with Joh 2:17, and Rom 11:21 with Joh 19:28; and what are here cited are not so much imprecations, as predictions of what should befall the Jews, by way of recompense for their ill usage of the Messiah, in giving him gall for meat, and vinegar for drink, Mat 27:34,
let their table be made a snare, and a trap and a stumbling block. By their "table" may be meant, the altar; see Mal 1:7; and the sacrifices offered up upon it, their meat offerings and drink offerings, and all others; likewise the laws concerning the difference of meats, and indeed the whole ceremonial law may be intended, which lay in meats and drinks, and such like things: now the Jews placing their justifying righteousness before God, in the observance of these rites and ceremonies, and imagining that by these sacrifices their sins were really expiated and atoned for, they neglected and submitted not to the righteousness of Christ, but went about to establish their own; so that that which should have led them to Christ, became an handwriting of ordinances against them, and rendered Christ of no effect to them: moreover, the sacred writings, which are full of spiritual food and divine refreshment, the prophecies of the Old Testament, which clearly pointed out Christ, not being understood, but misapplied by them, proved a trap, a snare, and a stumbling block to them; so that they rejected the true Messiah, which issued in their utter ruin and destruction: yea, the preaching of the Gospel, the salutary truths and wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, were a stumbling block to the Jews, nay, even the savour of death unto death. Though these words may be literally understood of their table mercies, the necessary provisions of life, their common food and drink, of which they had great scarcity in their last wars; so that they not only by wicked methods stole it from one another, but ate what was forbidden by their law, and what was abhorrent to nature, as one is said to eat her own child; nor is it to be overlooked what is suggested by some, that the passover may be meant by their "table"; which was their grand yearly feast, and which they were eating (s) when they were surrounded and taken by the Roman army, like birds in a net, or beasts in a trap: and all this as
Read full note →
a recompense to them; a just judgment upon them, by way of retaliation for their ill treatment of Christ when on the cross, giving him gall and vinegar for his meat and drink.
(s) Josephus de Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 9.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And David saith - In that prophetic imprecation, which…
And David saith - In that prophetic imprecation, which is applicable to them, as well as to Judas. A recompence - Of their preceding wickedness. So sin is punished by sin; and thus the gospel, which should have fed and strengthened their souls, is become a means of destroying them. Psalm lxix, 22, 23
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. And David saith, Let their table, c.]…
Verse 9. And David saith, Let their table, c.] And from their present disposition it is reasonable to conclude that the same evils will fall upon them as fell upon the disobedient in former times, as predicted by David, Ps 69:22, Ps 69:23,that their very blessings should become curses to them, and their temporal mercies be their only recompense and yet even these earthly blessings, by not being enjoyed in the Lord, should be a stumbling block over which they should fall, and, instead of being a blessing, should be the means of their punishment. They would have a worldly Messiah, and therefore they rejected him whose kingdom was not of this world.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And David saith ... - This quotation is made…
And David saith ... - This quotation is made from Psa 69:22-23. This Psalm is repeatedly quoted as having reference to the events recorded in the New Testament. (See the note at Act 1:2.) This quotation is introduced immediately after one that undoubtedly refers to the Lord Jesus. Psa 69:21, “they gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” The passage here quoted immediately follows as an imprecation of vengeance for their sins. “Let their table,” etc. The quotation is not made, however, either literally from the Hebrew or from the Septuagint, but the sense only is retained. The Hebrew is, “Let their table before them be for a snare, and for those at peace, let it be for a gin.” The Septuagint is, “Let their table before them be for a snare, and for a stumbling-block, and for an offence.” The ancient Targum is, “Let their table which they had prepared before me be for a snare, and their sacrifices be for an offence.”
The meaning is this. The word “table” denotes food. In this they expected pleasure and support. David prays that even this, where they expected joy and refreshment, might prove to them the means of punishment and righteous retribution. A snare is that by which birds or wild beasts were taken. They are decoyed into it, or walk or fly carelessly into it, and it is sprung suddenly on them. So of the Jews. The petition is, that while they were seeking refreshment and joy, and anticipating at their table no danger, it might be made the means of their ruin. The only way in which this could be done would be, that their temporal enjoyments would lead them away from God, and produce stupidity and indifference to their spiritual interests. This is often the result of the pleasures of the table, or of seeking sensual gratifications. The apostle does not say whether this prayer was right or wrong. The use which he seems to make of it is this, that David’s imprecation was to be regarded in the light of a prophecy; that what he prayed for would come to pass; and that this had actually occurred in the time of the apostle; that their very enjoyments, their national and private privileges, had been the means of alienating them from God; had been a snare to them; and was the cause of their blindness and infidelity. This also is introduced in the psalm as a punishment for giving him vinegar to drink; and their treatment of the Messiah was the immediate cause why all this blindness had come upon the Jews.
Read full note →
A trap - This properly means anything by which wild beasts are taken in hunting. The word “snare” more properly refers to birds.
And a stumbling-block - Anything over which one stumbles or falls. Hence, anything which occasions us to sin, or to ruin ourselves.
And a recompense - The Hebrew word translated “what should have been for their welfare,” is capable of this meaning, and may denote their recompense, or what is appropriately rendered to them. It means here that their ordinary comforts and enjoyments, instead of promoting their permanent welfare, may be the occasion of their guilt and ruin. This is often the effect of earthly comforts. They might lead us to God, and should excite our gratitude and praise; but they are often abused to our spiritual slumber and guilt, and made the occasion of our ruin. The rich are thus often most forgetful of God; and the very abundance of their blessings made the means of darkness of mind, ingratitude, prayerlessness, and ruin. Satisfied with them, they forget the Giver; and while they enjoy many earthly blessings, God sends barrenness into their souls. This was the guilt of Sodom, “pride, and fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness,” Eze 16:49; and against this Moses solemnly warned the Jews; Deu 6:11-12; Deu 8:10-12. This same caution might be extended to the people of this land, and especially to those who are rich, and are blessed with all that their hearts have wished. From the use which the apostle makes of this passage in the Psalms, it is clear that he regarded it rather as a prophetic denunciation for their sins - a prediction of what would be - than as a prayer. In his time it had been fulfilled; and the very national privileges of the Jews, on which they so much prided themselves, and which might have been so great blessings, were the occasion of their greater sin in rejecting the Messiah, and of their greater condemnation. Thus, their table was made a trap, etc.
Rom 11:10
Let their eyes be darkened - This is taken literally from the psalm, and was evidently the main part of the passage which the apostle had in his eye. This was fulfilled in the insensibility and blindness of the Jews. And the apostle shows them that it was long ago predicted, or invoked, as a punishment on them for giving the Messiah vinegar to drink; Psa 69:21, Psa 69:23.
And bow down their back alway - The Hebrew Psa 69:23 is, “Let their loins totter or shake,” that is, as one does when he has on him a heavy burden. The apostle has retained this sense. It means, let them be called to bear heavy and oppressive burdens; let them be subjected to toil or servitude, as a reward for their sins. That this had come upon the Jews in the time of Paul is clear; and it is further clear that it came upon them, as it was implied in the psalm, in consequence of their treatment of the Messiah. Much difficulty has been felt in reconciling the petitions in the psalms for calamities on enemies, with the spirit of the New Testament. Perhaps they cannot all be thus reconciled; and it is not at all improbable that many of those imprecations were wrong. David was not a perfect man; and the Spirit of inspiration is not responsible for his imperfections. Every doctrine delivered by the sacred writers is true; every fact recorded is recorded as it was.
But it does not follow that all the men who wrote, or about whom a narrative was given, were perfect. The reverse is the fact. And it does not militate against the inspiration of the Scriptures that we have a record of the failings and imperfections of those men. When they uttered improper sentiments, when they manifested improper feelings, when they performed wicked actions, it is no argument against the inspiration of the Scriptures that they were recorded. All that is done in such a case, and all that inspiration demands, is that they be recorded as they are. We wish to see human nature as it is; and one design of making the record of such failings is to show what man is, even under the influence of religion; not as a perfect being, for that would not be true; but as he actually exists mingled with imperfection. Thus, many of the wishes of the ancient saints, imperfect as they were, are condemned as sinful by the spirit of the Christian religion.
They were never commended or approved, but they are recorded just to show us what was in fact the character of man, even partially under the influence of religion. Of this nature probably, were many of the petitions in the Psalms; and the Spirit of God is no more answerable for the feeling because it is recorded, than he is for the feelings of the Edomites when they said, “Rase it, rase it to the foundation” Psa 137:7. Many of those prayers, however, were imprecations on his enemies as a public man, as the magistrate of the land. As it is right and desirable that the robber and the pirate should be detected and punished; as all good people seek it, and it is indispensable for the welfare of the community, where is the impropriety of praying that it may be done? Is it not right to pray that the laws may be executed; that justice may be maintained; and that restraint should be imposed on the guilty? Assuredly this may be done with a very different spirit from that of revenge. It may be the prayer of the magistrate that God will help him in what he is appointed to do, and in what ought to be done. Besides, many of these imprecations were regarded as simply predictions of what would be the effect of sin; or of what God would do to the guilty. Such was the case we are now considering, as understood by the apostle. But in a prediction there can be nothing wrong.
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 And David saith-- (Psa 69:23), which in such a…
And David saith-- (Psa 69:23), which in such a Messianic psalm must be meant of the rejecters of Christ.
Let their table, &c.--that is, Let their very blessings prove a curse to them, and their enjoyments only sting and take vengeance on them.
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 9. David saith—Psalms 6:23. Quote not verbally, but freely.
9. David saith—Psalms 6:23. Quote not verbally, but freely.
Table— Which should be a place of hospitable trust.
Read full note →
Stumblingblock—Note on Mat_18:7.
Recompense—A retribution. For all these disastrous results are the retributive, as well as the natural, results of their own wilful wickedness. This law of retribution is expressed in the form of a prayer, as showing that inspiration fully endorses the result and demands its completion. (Rev_18:6.)
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 9. And David saith] Psa_69:22, (LXX. Psa_68:23.) The quotation…
9. And David saith] Psa_69:22, (LXX. Psa_68:23.) The quotation is nearly (in Rom_11:10 verbatim) with the LXX.; which in the first of the two verses expands the Hebrew. The Heb. there may be rendered, “May their table before them become a trap, and let it be, when they are at peace, (in security,) a snare.” The idea of requital lies in the root of the Heb. word for “peace;” and thus the LXX. interpreted “unto requitals of them;” assuming another form of the word.—The whole Psalm is full of Messiah.—The point of the quotation is that the Psalm indicates a judicial turning of blessings into curses, and a judicial blindness and impotence of the soul, as the way in which retribution would come on Messiah’s enemies. “Seeing then that this imprecation remains for all the adversaries of Christ—that their meat should be converted into poison, (as we see that the Gospel is to be the savour of death unto death,)—let us embrace with humility and trembling the grace of God.” (Calvin.)
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 (9) And David saith.—It appears highly improbable that this…
(9) And David saith.—It appears highly improbable that this Psalm was really written by David. Nor can the Davidic authorship be argued strongly from this passage, as “David” merely seems to stand for the Book of Psalms, with which his name was traditionally connected.
St. Paul is quoting freely from the LXX. In the original of Psalms 69 these verses refer to the fate invoked by the psalmist upon his persecutors; here they are applied by St. Paul to the fiat of the Almighty which had been pronounced against the unbelieving people of Israel.
Read full note →
Let their table . . .—In the very moment of their feasting, let them be caught in a stratagem of their enemies.
And a trap.—These words are not found either in the Hebrew or in the LXX., and appear to be added by St. Paul. Translate rather, Let them be for a chase—i.e., instead of feasting, let them be hunted and persecuted.
And a recompence unto them.—Similarly the LXX. The Hebrew is, “When they are in peace, let it be a trap” (“that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap”—A.V.)—i.e., when they are eating and drinking securely, let them be caught as in a trap; let their security itself deceive them. By “recompence unto them” the Apostle means, Let their prosperity bring upon them retaliation for what they have done—namely, for their rejection of Christ.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 9. And David saith. Psalm 69:22, 23. Let their…
9. And David saith. Psalm 69:22, 23. Let their table be made a snare, etc. This prediction is applied to the enemies of Christ. Its meaning is that their enmity shall react upon and injure themselves. Even their table shall become a place of danger.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain And David saith, Let their table be made a…
And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them [ Psa_69:22-23 . the word "trap" is added from Psa_35:8 . Theodoret says that Psalm 69 "is a prediction of the sufferings of Christ, and the final destruction of the Jews on that account." That which is presented in the form of a wish is, therefore, really a prophecy. Let the food on their table be as the bait to the snare and the trap, and the stumbling-block over which the tempted creature falls to lame itself. Let that which they think a source of pleasure and life become an enticement to pain and death. Dropping the figure, the words mean that the very religion of the Old Dispensation, to which the Jew looked for spiritual joy and sustenance, should become to him a sorrow and a fatal famine, so that this very blessing became to him a curse. The word "recompense" denotes a punishment for an evil deed; its presence here shows that the evil which came upon the Jews was caused by their own fault and sin, and not by absolute decree]:
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Let their table become a net and a trap
Let their table become a net and a trap
"Table" here is a metonym that represents feasting, and "net" and "trap" are metaphors that represent punishment. You can translate this in an active form. AT: "Please, God, make their feasts like a trap that catches them" (See: Metonymy and Metaphor and Active or Passive)
Read full note →
a stumbling block
A "stumbling block" is anything that causes a person to trip so that he falls down. Here it represents something that tempts a person to sin. AT: "something that tempts them to sin" (See: Metaphor)
a retribution for them
"something that allows you to take revenge on them"
bend their backs continually
Here "bend their back" is a metonym for forcing slaves to carry heavy loads on their backs. This is a metaphor for making them suffer. AT: "make them suffer like people carrying heavy loads" (See: Metonymy and Metaphor)
translationWords
David
stumbling block
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.