Limitless Word
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.
Psalms 57:6 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB 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.
  • BSB 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
  • NKJV They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They have dug a pit before me; Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah
  • NASB They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah
  • NLT My enemies have set a trap for me. I am weary from distress. They have dug a deep pit in my path, but they themselves have fallen into it. Interlude

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

Enemies set a net and dug a pit, but they fall into it themselves. It celebrates God turning the wicked's schemes against them.

Overview

David's foes laid traps to bring him down, yet their own pit becomes their downfall. This poetic justice reflects the biblical principle that the wicked are caught in their own devices (Psalm 7:15). It assures believers that God can overturn the plots aimed at his people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Ps 145:14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
  • Ps 7:15–16He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
  • Prov 28:10Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
  • Mic 7:2The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
  • Ps 140:5The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.
  • Ps 35:7–8For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
  • Ps 9:15–16The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
  • Prov 29:5A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
  • Ps 142:3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
  • Matt 26:37–38And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
  • Ps 143:4Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
  • Ps 42:6O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
  • 1 Sam 23:22–26Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 57:6YouTube · 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 57:6 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.