Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 9:15
The heathen are sunk down in the pit [that] they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. The heathen are sunk down to the pit] See on Ps 7:15.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Fallen into that destruction which they designed to bring upon us.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15, 16. The undesigned resultsof the devices of the wicked prove them to be of God’s overruling orordering, especially when those results are destructive to the wickedthemselves.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Heathen are sunk into the pit [that] they made,…. The psalmist having determined to praise the Lord, and called upon others to join with him in it, here enters upon it: for, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe, this is “the praise” he was desirous to show forth, which is occasioned by the destruction of God’s enemies, and the deliverance of his people: by “the Heathen” are meant not the Philistines, as Kimchi interprets it, who thought to cause Israel to fall, and fell themselves; but this is spoken prophetically of the nations of the earth, who have joined in the idolatry of antichrist, the Gentiles, by whom the holy city has been trodden under foot; even the several antichristian states, that will be destroyed by the pouring out of the seven vials, and especially the last, at the battle of Armageddon; and which will be brought on by themselves, with a design to destroy the whole kingdom and interest of Christ, but will issue in their utter ruin, which this phrase is expressive of; see
Re 18:3. The metaphor is taken from hunters, who dig pits for the wild beasts to fall into, that they may the more easily take them, into which they fall themselves; see Ps 7:15. Wicked men are mischievous and crafty, but sometimes they are taken in their own craftiness;
in the net which they laid is their own foot taken; which may signify the same thing as before, that the mischief they design for others falls upon themselves; only as the former phrase denotes their utter destruction like the sinking of a millstone in the sea, by which the irrecoverable ruin of Babylon is expressed, Re 18:21; this may design the restraint and hinderance of them from doing the evil they would; their feet are entangled, that they cannot run to shed blood; and their hands are held, that they cannot perform their enterprise; and their wrath in restrained and made to praise the Lord. The metaphor is taken from fowlers, who lay nets and snares for birds, and cover them that they may not be seen, but fall into them unawares; see Ps 124:7.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 9:16-17) And, as this -strophe says, the church is able to praise God; for it is rescued from death, and those who desired that death might overtake it, have fallen a prey to death themselves. Having interpreted the -strophe as the representation of the earlier we have no need to supply dicendo or dicturus, as Seb. Schmidt does, before this strophe, but it continues the praett. preceding the -strophe, which celebrate that which has just been experienced. The verb (root , whence also ) signifies originally to press upon anything with anything flat, to be pressed into, then, as here and in Psa 69:3, Psa 69:15, to sink in. (pausal form in connection with Mugrash) in the parallel member of the verse corresponds to the attributive (cf. , Psa 7:16). The union of the epicene with by Makkeph proceeds from the view, that is demonstrative as in Psa 12:8: the net there (which they have hidden). The punctuation, it is true, recognises a relative , Psa 17:9; Psa 68:29, but it mostly takes it as demonstrative, inasmuch as it connects it closely with the preceding noun, either by Makkeph (Psa 32:8; Psa 62:12; Psa 142:4; Psa 143:8) or by marking the noun with a conjunctive accent (Psa 10:2; Psa 31:5; Psa 132:12). The verb (Arabic to hang on, adhere to, IV to hold fast to) has the signification of seizing and catching in Hebrew.
In Psa 9:17 Ben Naphtali points with a : Jahve is known ( part. Niph.); Ben Asher , Jahve has made Himself known ( 3 pers. praet. Niph. in a reflexive signification, as in Eze 38:23). The readings of Ben Asher have become the textus receptus. That by which Jahve has made Himself known is stated immediately: He has executed judgment or right, by ensnaring the evil-doer ( , as in Psa 9:6) in his own craftily planned work designed for the destruction of Israel. Thus Gussetius has already interpreted it. is part. Kal from . If it were part. Niph. from the e , which occurs elsewhere only in a few verbs, as liquefactus , would be without an example. But it is not to be translated, with Ges. and Hengst.: “the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands,” in which case it would have to be pointed ( 3 praet. Niph.), as in the old versions. Jahve is the subject, and the suffix refers to the evil-doer. The thought is the same as in Job 34:11; Isa 1:31. This figure of the net, (from capere ), is peculiar to the Psalms that are inscribed . The music, and in fact, as the combination indicates, the playing of the stringed instruments (Psa 92:4), increases here; or the music is increased after a solo of the stringed instruments. The song here soars aloft to the climax of triumph.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
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.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Comp. Psa. 7:16.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘The nations are sunk down in the pit that they have made,
In the net which they concealed is their own foot taken.
YHWH has made himself known, he has executed judgment:
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah
The consequence is that, thanks to God, those who have raised themselves against him have been defeated. They have set their traps for him and now they have fallen into their own traps. They have laid their hidden nets and now they have been caught in them themselves. Note how these descriptions stress their unrighteousness, because in the end the whole message of the Psalm is about the battle between righteousness and unrighteousness, with righteousness finally being the victor through the power of the Righteous One. Israel, the chosen of YHWH, is to be blessed because in as far as she is righteous. The nations are to be judged because they are unrighteous. On the one hand YHWH has made Himself known on behalf of the righteous, executed judgment and gained the victory, and on the other the unrighteous have been caught in their own snares. (Once Israel proved herself consistently unrighteous she lost the protection and the blessing).
So these words can still be applied to the true people of God, the new Israel, (Gal 3:29; Gal 6:16; Eph 2:12-22; Rom 11:17-24) today. They live as righteous ones in an unrighteous world, and can be sure of God’s genuine concern and action on their behalf.
‘Higgaion. Selah.’ Higgaion is a call for musical instruments to play (compare Psa 92:3 where it refers to the sound of a stringed instrument) in order to emphasise the triumphant conclusion. Selah may indicate a moment of pause, possibly while only music is played, signifying ‘think of what you have heard’ or ‘rejoice in what you have heard’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 9:15. The heathen are sunk down in the pit, &c. This makes a fine break in the poem; and David so often uses this method, that it will be sufficient to have hinted it once. You see his imagination is warmed to that degree, that he seems already to behold the destruction of his foes, and, in a sort of prophetic rapture, proceeds to describe their destiny.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
What a sure destruction must overtake all the enemies of God and of his Christ. In this life misery, and the evils they intend for others, falling upon themselves; and in that which is to come, everlasting destruction. It should seem that the word Higgaion joined to Selah, was intended as if to make a double pause of entreaty on the Reader, to mark and consider the awfulness of such conduct, as opposing God and his Christ. Similar to that solemn call; Now consider this ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there he none to deliver, Psa 50:22 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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.
In the net which they hid, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 9:15-16
Psa 9:15-16
“The nations are sunk down in the pit that they made:
In the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
Jehovah hath made himself known, he hath executed judgment:
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. (Higgaion, Selah)”
As many have pointed out, “The writer picks up the theme of the end-time again. Also the message of Psa 7:15-16 is brought in again here. That the wicked do indeed destroy themselves by their own wicked devices is an eternally true principle. As Watkinson expressed it, “The pit of human misery and ruin is digged by man, not by God.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 9:15. The heathen were the nations foreign to the people of Israel. They had devised plots against God’s people but had perished in their iniquity.
Psa 9:16. God was known or recognized by the righteousness of his judgments. They were different from the popular ones of the world. By the divine operations the wicked were trapped in their own schemes. Haggion is defined by Strong as “a musical notation.” It is therefore a term to be observed but not pronounced. Selah is explained by my comments at Psa 3:2.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 7:15, Psa 7:16, Psa 35:8, Psa 37:15, Psa 57:6, Psa 94:23, Pro 5:22, Pro 22:8
Reciprocal: Exo 21:33 – General Num 16:33 – into the Est 5:14 – he caused Est 7:9 – Hang him thereon Job 5:13 – taketh Job 18:8 – he is cast Psa 5:10 – let Psa 10:2 – let Psa 10:16 – heathen Psa 33:10 – The Lord Psa 35:7 – hid Psa 59:5 – the heathen Psa 94:13 – until the pit Pro 11:5 – direct Pro 11:27 – he that seeketh Pro 12:2 – a man Pro 12:12 – desireth Pro 26:27 – diggeth Pro 28:10 – he shall Ecc 10:8 – that Joh 8:9 – went out Act 5:37 – he also 1Co 3:19 – He
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:15 The heathen are {g} sunk down in the pit [that] they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
(g) For God overthrows the wicked in their enterprises.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
These verses are probably an expression of David’s confidence that the Lord would deliver him in anticipation of that deliverance (cf. Rev 18:2). The psalmist had already seen the wicked ensnared in their own traps many times, and he was sure this would happen again (cf. Psa 7:15).
"Higgaion" is probably a musical notation specifying quieter music. [Note: Kidner, p. 37.]