Psalms 35:7

7 For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.

Psalms 35:7 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 35:7

For without cause have they hid for me their net [in] a pit,
&c.] This is said in allusion to the custom of digging pits, and putting nets into them, for the catching of wild beasts; and covering them with straw or dust, or such like things, as Jarchi observes, that they might not be discerned; and which intends the secret and crafty methods taken by David's enemies to ensnare him and destroy him; though he had given them no cause to use him in such a manner; which is an aggravation of their sins, and a reason of the above imprecations, as well as of what follows: and in the same manner, and without any just cause, Christ and his members have been treated by wicked men, and therefore their damnation is just, and will be inevitable:

[which] without cause they have digged for my soul;
which is added for further explanation's sake, and to aggravate their sin, and to show the justness of their punishment.

Psalms 35:7 In-Context

5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.
8 Let ruin come on them unawares. And let the net that they hid ensnare them; let them fall in it—to their ruin.
9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his deliverance.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Heb [a pit, their net]
  • [b]. The word [pit] is transposed from the preceding line
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.