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The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
Psalms 119:85 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law.
  • BSB The arrogant have dug pits for me in violation of Your law.
  • NKJV The proud have dug pits for me, Which is not according to Your law.
  • NASB The arrogant have dug pits for me, People who are not in accord with Your Law.
  • NLT These arrogant people who hate your instructions have dug deep pits to trap me.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The arrogant have dug pits to trap him, acting contrary to God's law. The wicked oppose both the righteous and the word that condemns them.

Overview

The psalmist describes deliberate traps set by the proud, plots that stand in direct violation of God's law. Their lawlessness against him is at root rebellion against God's revealed will. The picture of the innocent ensnared by the wicked finds its deepest fulfillment in Christ, against whom plots were laid, yet who triumphed over them (Ps. 7:15; Acts 2:23-24).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Prov 16:27An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
  • Ps 35:7For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
  • Jer 18:20Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
  • Ps 7:15He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
  • Ps 119:78Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
  • Ps 36:11Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
  • Ps 58:1–2Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
  • Jer 18:22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 119:85YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 119:85 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.