Psalms 140:5 Commentary: The Many Snares of the Proud

Psalm 140 is attributed to David, and the situation fits his years of being hunted by Saul and by foreign enemies (cf. 1 Samuel 19, 26). Commentators note that David often had to evade ambushes set at city gates, along roads, and even in his own home (Gill cites 1 Samuel 19:11). The hunting metaphors in verse 5 reflect literal practices of the ancient Near East, where bird-trapping and net-hunting were daily sights. The “snare” (a simple noose or spring-trap), “cords” (used to yank the net closed), a “net” spread on the ground, and “gins” (small mechanical traps or lures) together paint a picture of thorough preparation. The location “by the path” is key: the animal’s habitual route is where the hunter knows to set his trap (Cambridge Bible).

The broader psalm supplies the context. Verse 1 cries out for deliverance from “evil men” and “violent men,” and verse 3 compares their tongues to serpents’ poison. Verse 4 asks to be kept from those who “purposed to overthrow my goings.” In verse 6, David turns from complaint to trust: “You are my God.” This structure, lament, description of threat, then a pivot to prayer and confidence, is typical of individual laments. The repeated Selah (three times in the psalm) invites a meditative pause, ensuring the congregation reflects on both the danger and the deliverance. Culturally, the image of being hunted like prey would resonate deeply with an ancient audience who knew that a single misstep meant capture or death. For David, the threat is not open warfare but the hidden plot, the betrayer who smiles, the colleague who watches for a slip. This heightens the feeling of vulnerability: the enemy is not just strong, but cunning.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Masoretic Text is consistent across the Hebrew witnesses, and the ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, Targum) reflect the same hunting vocabulary. The sole variation appears in the Douay-Rheims translation, which follows a different manuscript tradition for the whole psalm, but the verse itself is not textually disputed.

This verse has been read in Christian tradition as both a literal record of David’s suffering and a type of Christ’s persecution by the religious leaders (Matthew Henry). The hunting imagery made it a natural text for prayers against hidden spiritual attacks; early church writers used it to describe the devil’s snares (1 Timothy 3:7). In the Middle Ages, the verse was sometimes included in the penitential psalms as a confession that one’s own sins can be hidden traps. More broadly, the repeated ‘Selah’ has been incorporated into hymnody and liturgy as a prompt for silent reflection. Protestant commentators from Calvin to Spurgeon have found in this verse a model for bringing secret injuries into the open before God, trusting that no snare escapes His notice.

Three-point outline

1. Hidden snares: Enemies do not always attack openly; they set covert traps. The word “hidden” sets the tone: David’s danger is secret, carefully placed where he cannot see it (Barnes).
2. The proud character: The plural “proud” links hostility to arrogance. Cambridge notes they defy God by opposing His servant. Their pride blinds them to their own coming downfall.
3. Selah, pause and trust: The abrupt “Selah” after the list of traps is a call to stop, to take in the truth, and to turn from fear to dependence on the God who sees every hidden snare (Clarke).

Five-point outline

1. Snare (secret ambush): The first image is a simple loop or spring, the enemy tries to catch David off guard.
2. Cords (controlling the net): Barnes explains that cords are attached to the net; the enemy controls when the trap springs. This speaks to pre-planned coordination.
3. Net (sweeping capture): A net spread “by the wayside” suggests a large, wide-ranging scheme, not just one threat but an entire system of opposition.
4. Gins/traps (enticement to ruin): Cambridge translates as “baits or lures”, the enemy offers something attractive to lead David into destruction.
5. Selah (the counter-move): The pause is itself an act of faith. Before David prays for rescue, he stops to acknowledge that the danger is real but that God is watching.

Illustration hooks

• A parent discovers their teenager has been cyberbullied through fake social media accounts, the attacks are hidden, anonymous, and carefully timed to hit when the teen is most vulnerable.
• An employee finds out that a coworker has been spreading half-truths about their performance to the boss, no open confrontation, just a sly “net” spread in the path of their career.
• A Christian leader shares how a church split was orchestrated not by loud disagreements but by quiet, behind-the-scenes complaints, a snare laid by “proud” people who thought they knew better.

Questions your congregation is asking

• “Why do people seem to plot against good people, even in the church?”
• “How can I protect myself from secret slander or hidden traps at work or in relationships?”
• “How do I stay trusting in God when I discover someone I trusted has been setting a net for me?”

This small-group guide invites you to walk through the hunting imagery verse by verse, noticing how the psalmist names his threat with startling honesty and then uses the word “Selah” to step back into trust. Let the metaphors work on your imagination.

Discussion questions

1. Read the verse aloud from two different translations. Which images jump out at you first?
2. The psalmist uses four distinct hunting terms: snare, cords, net, gins/traps. Why do you think he piles them up? What does that say about the nature of his persecution?
3. Barnes says the enemy “took all the usual precautions of a fowler, to bring him into an ambush.” Can you think of a time when opposition to your faith or character came from hidden sources rather than open confrontation?
4. Why does the psalmist call his enemies “the proud”? How does their pride relate to their method of attack? (See Psalm 10:4 and Cambridge’s note that their hostility is a “defiance of God.”)
5. The word “Selah” appears after this verse. In your own words, what change of attitude or action does the psalmist call for in that pause?
6. How does the rest of the psalm (especially verses 6, 7 and 12, 13) answer the fear that these opening verses create?
7. What is one “net” or “trap” you face in your current season? What would it look like to pause (Selah) before God about it this week?