Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Parallel translations
- WEB Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
- BSB We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the net is torn, and we have slipped away.
- NKJV Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
- NASB Our souls have escaped like a bird from the trapper’s snare; The snare is broken and we have escaped.
- NLT We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free!
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
Their soul has escaped like a bird from the snare; the snare is broken and they are free. God shattered the trap and set His people free.
Overview
The psalmist pictures the people as a bird freed from a 'fowler's snare,' with the trap itself 'broken.' The deliverance is complete: not merely an escape but the destruction of the trap. This vivid freedom anticipates the liberty Christ gives, breaking the snares of sin and death for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 91:3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
- Prov 6:5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
- 2 Tim 2:26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
- Ps 25:15Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
- 1 Sam 25:29Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.
- 1 Sam 23:26–27And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.
- 2 Sam 17:21–22And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
- 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.
- 2 Sam 17:2And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
- Jer 5:26For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
- 1 Sam 24:14–15After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 124:7 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.