Psalms 57:6 · Bible study
Psalms 57:6 Commentary: Study: When Enemies Fall into Their Own Pit
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine how David's enemies are caught in their own net and pit, and what this reveals about God's certain justice.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Enemies set traps for David, but they fall into their own traps; God's justice is certain, even before it appears.
- Key words: net (cunning scheme), bowed down (anguish/dejection), pit (hidden danger), fall (reversal), Selah (pause to reflect).
- Main debate: Is “my soul is bowed down” intransitive (my soul is depressed) or transitive (they have bowed down my soul)? The LXX, Vulgate, and several commentators favor transitive; most English translations take the intransitive reading.
- Theological theme: Divine justice as poetic reversal, the wicked are snared by the work of their own hands.
- Best use: A verse for those suffering under unjust schemes; it teaches honest lament paired with confident hope in God's eventual vindication.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They spread a net for my feet; my soul was despondent. They dug a pit before me, but they themselves have fallen into it! Selah
WEB World English Bible 2000
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. Selah.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
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
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
A net they have prepared for my steps, Bowed down hath my soul, They have digged before me a pit, They have fallen into its midst. Selah.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down: they have digged a pit before me; they are fallen into the midst thereof. Selah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the wizard that charmeth wisely.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Red han armado á mis pasos; hase abatido mi alma: hoyo han cavado delante de mí; en medio de él han caído. ( Selah.)
Prepararam uma rede de armadilha para os meus passos, minha alma estava abatida; cavaram perante mim uma cova, porém eles mesmos caíram nela. (Selá)
Élève-toi sur les cieux, ô Dieu!
Sie stellen meinem Gang Netze und drücken meine Seele nieder; sie graben vor mir eine Grube, und fallen selbst hinein. ( Sela.)
Verhef U boven de hemelen, o God! Uw eer zij over de ganse aarde.
Essi avevano teso una rete ai miei passi; l’anima mia era accasciata; avevano scavata una fossa dinanzi a me, ma essi vi son caduti dentro. Sela.
Wywyżże się nad niebiosa, o Boże! a nade wszystką ziemią chwała twoja.
и не слышит голоса заклинателя, самого искусного в заклинаниях.
他們為我的腳 設下 網羅，壓制 我的心；他們在我面前 挖了 坑，自己反掉 在其中。（細拉）
They have made ready a net for my steps; my soul is bent down; they have made a great hole before me, and have gone down into it themselves. (Selah.)
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse pictures the enemies’ schemes recoiling on themselves. The metaphors of net and pit come from hunting, a net laid in an animal’s path, a pit covered with brush. The vivid reversal (the hunters fall into their own trap) expresses a theme found throughout the Psalms: God’s justice turns the plots of the wicked back on them. Keil and Delitzsch call the perfect tenses “the perfect of certainty”, the psalmist speaks of the enemies’ fall as already accomplished because his faith is so sure. The second line, “my soul is bowed down,” is the one point of disagreement. Most English versions take it as intransitive (my soul is depressed), but the Septuagint, Vulgate, and several commentators (Barnes, Cambridge, Keil) read it as transitive: “they have bowed down my soul.” Either way, the verse’s thrust is unchanged: the enemies’ subtlety is met with God’s justice, and the sufferer speaks with confidence that deliverance has already begun.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Intransitive reading: Most English translations render 'my soul is bowed down' as passive/intransitive, supported by the Masoretic pointing and a consistent reading in Jewish tradition.
- Transitive reading: The LXX, Vulgate, Barnes, Cambridge, and Keil read the verb as transitive ('they have bowed down my soul'), noting that this creates a tighter parallelism with the enemies' actions in lines 1 and 3.
- Emendation suggestion (Keil): Keil speculates the original read 'his (the net-layer's) own soul bends,' creating a full parallelism: 'they prepare a net; his own soul bows; they dig a pit; he falls in.' This is speculative and not widely adopted.
What is clear: All interpreters agree that the enemies’ traps backfire—they fall into the pit they dug—and that the verse expresses confidence in God's justice, even while the psalmist is still in distress.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the enemies | The enemies are those pursuing David, most likely Saul and his men, as indicated by the psalm's title and the historical setting. | Some traditions (e.g., Reformed) see the enemies as literal historical opponents; others (e.g., some early church interpreters) also read them as types of spiritual adversaries. |
| Meaning of 'bowed down' | The phrase describes distress or oppression affecting the psalmist's soul. | Is it intransitive (my soul is bowed down = I am depressed) or transitive (they have bowed down my soul = they oppressed me)? The LXX, Vulgate, Barnes, Cambridge, and Keil favor transitive; most English translations and the Masoretic reading take it as intransitive. |
| Timing of the enemies' fall | The verse asserts that the enemies fall into their own pit; this is a statement of divine justice. | Some (e.g., Keil) see the perfect tense as a 'perfect of certainty', the fall is so certain it is described as past. Others view it as a simple past narrative of what already happened in David's experience (e.g., at En-gedi). |
| Meaning of 'Selah' | It indicates a musical or reflective pause, inviting meditation on what precedes. | No major debate; all traditions treat it as a liturgical marker calling for reflection. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 57 sits within a group of “Michtam of David” psalms, with the title linking it to David’s flight from Saul into a cave. The two caves mentioned in the narratives are the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22) and the caves of En-gedi (1 Samuel 24). Either setting fits the imagery of nets and pits: David was a fugitive hiding in rocky terrain, his life pursued by Saul’s army. The hunter imagery reflects common ancient Near Eastern practices. Nets were used for trapping birds or small game; pits were dug, covered lightly, and used for larger animals. To say that enemies “prepared a net” and “dug a pit” was to accuse them of cunning, premeditated hostility. Adam Clarke notes that Saul indeed “digged a pit” for David at En-gedi, only to enter the very cave where David hid. A rabbinic tradition (recounted by Clarke) says God sent a spider to weave a web across the cave’s mouth, convincing Saul the cave was empty, saving David by a small, humble creature. The word “Selah” at the end calls for a musical or reflective pause, inviting the congregation to weigh the truth the verse just declared. David uses hunter language to expose his enemies’ malice, but the verse pivots on a profound reversal: the pit they dug becomes their grave.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Psalm 57:6 is well-preserved, and the consulted sources note no significant textual variants. The Septuagint renders the second line as “they have bowed down my soul” (καὶ κατέκαμψαν τὴν ψυχήν μου), which suggests a reading of the verb as transitive. This may reflect a slightly different vocalization or a different original reading, but the Masoretic Text (which all major modern translations follow) points the verb as intransitive. The difference does not change the verse’s main point.
Reception History
Psalm 57:6 has been treasured in both Jewish and Christian traditions as a vivid picture of divine justice. The rabbinic tradition (recorded by Adam Clarke) told a story of a spider weaving a web over the cave mouth, saving David, a sign that God can use the smallest creature to confound the powerful. Early church fathers, including Augustine, read the verse as an allegory of Christ’s enemies falling into the pit they dug for him. In the Reformation, Calvin and the Geneva Bible emphasized the psalmist’s faith that God will exalt himself by overturning the wicked. More broadly, the verse has inspired hymns of deliverance and is often cited in sermons on poetic justice. Its “Selah” invites believers across centuries to pause and trust that schemes against God’s people will not stand.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The hunter becomes the hunted. The enemies act like trappers, but their own devices ensnare them. The verse echoes Proverbs 26:27 and Psalm 7:15, 16: the wicked catch themselves.
- Suffering that bends the soul. The psalmist’s “bowed down” soul is a realistic admission of anguish. Faith does not deny pain; it names it before God, and then looks for the reversal.
- The grammar of certainty. The perfect tense (“they have fallen”) speaks of a future event as already done. This is the language of settled hope, not wishful thinking.
Five-point outline
- Scene: David in the cave, surrounded by hunters.
- Tools: net and pit, symbols of human craft and malice.
- Response: the soul bows, honest lament, not stoic denial.
- Reversal: the enemy falls into the pit he dug.
- Pause: Selah, stop and absorb what God has done.
Illustration hooks
- Someone at work spreads a rumor to destroy your reputation. Months later, the rumor is disproven and the person who started it is discredited. The pit they dug for you swallowed them instead.
- A driver cuts you off aggressively and speeds away. A mile down the road you see the same car pulled over by police. A small, visible reversal of “the wicked caught in their own schemes.”
- A child builds a trap for a sibling out of pillows, only to trip into it herself. Even children understand the justice of the boomerang.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God always turn evil back on the evildoer? What about when they seem to get away with it?
- How can I speak about deliverance as already accomplished when I am still in the middle of the trial?
- What does “Selah” mean for my own prayer life? How do I pause and let the truth of God’s justice settle?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 57:6 sits at a turning point. David has prayed for mercy (vv.1, 3), described his danger (v.4), and called for God to be exalted (v.5). Now, in verse 6, he looks at his enemies’ tactics and sees them already reversed. This verse invites us to ask: what does it mean to trust God’s justice before we see it? How does honest lament coexist with certain hope?
Discussion questions
- Read verse 6 in two or three different translations (e.g., WEB, BSB, KJV). What differences do you notice in the second line?
- The verse uses two hunting images: a net and a pit. What do these images tell you about the enemies’ character and intentions?
- How does the phrase “my soul is bowed down” (or “they have bowed down my soul”) affect your understanding of David’s emotional state? Why does he include this detail?
- Look at the cross-references: Psalm 7:15, 16, Psalm 9:15, 16, Psalm 35:7, 8. What pattern do these verses share? Why does this pattern appear so often in the Psalms?
- The grammar of the final line (“they fall into the middle of it themselves”) uses a perfect tense in Hebrew, which Keil and Delitzsch call “the perfect of certainty.” How would you explain this to someone who asks, “But the enemies haven’t fallen yet, how can David say they did?”
- Think of a time when someone tried to harm you (or someone you know) and their plan backfired. How did that experience shape your view of God’s justice?
- What does the presence of “Selah” at the end of this verse ask you to do? How might you build a “Selah” moment into your own prayer life this week?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Samuel 23:22 | 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. |
| I Samuel 23:26 | 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 7:15 | He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made. |
| Psalms 7:16 | The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head. |
| Psalms 9:15 | The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken. |
| Psalms 9:16 | Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah. |
| Psalms 35:7 | For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul. |
| Psalms 35:8 | Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke draws attention to the ironic justice in Saul's own trap: the pit he dug for David became the place where his own life lay at David's mercy. He also highlights the rabbinical tradition that God used a spider's web at the cave mouth to conceal David, showing how the Creator can employ the most insignificant means to protect the righteous and confound the wicked.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes draws attention to a textual detail in the Hebrew: the phrase usually rendered "my soul is bowed down" can also be translated actively, as "they have bowed down my soul" or even "he pressed down my soul," referring to the enemies. He then links the images of the net and pit to their fuller treatment in other psalms.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin examines the title Al-tascheth, meaning "destroy not," and rejects the common explanation that it refers to David sparing Saul's life, since the psalm's prayers were offered before that event. He instead favors that the phrase either names a familiar tune or preserves David's brief cry for mercy in extreme danger.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator insists that this verse belongs in its current position, rejecting attempts to rearrange the psalm. Faith now sees God's authority manifested, turning the enemies' own schemes into their ruin. The Hebrew phrase for "bowed down" may be read differently, but the picture is clear: hunters caught in the trap they set.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva notes highlight how the wicked's own schemes turn against them: the pit they dug for the psalmist becomes the place they fall into themselves.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill connects this verse directly to the incident in 1 Samuel where Saul entered the very cave where David hid, so the enemies who dug a pit for David fell into it themselves. He also reads David's bowed-down soul as a type foreshadowing Christ's anguish under sin and divine wrath.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
(Compare Psa 7:15 ; Psa 9:15 ; Psa 9:16 ).
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlights David's shift from hope to absolute certainty of victory, expressed in the perfect tense of confidence. David actively awakens the dawn with his music,
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange highlights the psalm's division into two halves by the repeated refrain. The first half expresses faith's hope for help based on past experience of God's grace, while the second half, after enemies fall into their own trap, shifts to confident praise of God's glory over all the earth. This structure reveals the progression from urgent prayer to certain victory.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry reads the unusual psalm title, "Destroy not," as God's restraining command over David's enemies. God permitted Saul to pursue David but always under the limit, "Destroy him not," because a greater blessing was in David—Christ himself, destined to come from his line.