The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.
- KJV The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
- NKJV The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah
- NASB The Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. A wicked one is ensnared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion Selah
- NLT The Lord is known for his justice. The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet 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
God is known by the justice He executes, snaring the wicked in their own works. God reveals His character through righteous judgment.
Overview
David declares that Yahweh makes Himself known precisely by judging righteously, with the wicked trapped by their own deeds. The musical notations 'Higgaion' and 'Selah' invite reflective pause on this truth. God's self-revelation through justice culminates in the cross and final judgment, where His righteousness is fully displayed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Exod 7:5And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
- Prov 12:13An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.
- Ps 83:17–18May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.
- Exod 14:31When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
- Exod 14:4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.
- Judg 1:7Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.
- Josh 2:10–11For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction.
- Isa 8:15Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”
- Ps 5:1For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.
- 1 Sam 6:19–20But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
- Prov 6:2if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
- Exod 14:10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
- Deut 29:22–28Then the generation to come—your sons who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land—will see the plagues of the land and the sicknesses the LORD has inflicted on it.
- 2 Kgs 19:34–35‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
- Ps 11:6On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
- Ps 48:11Mount Zion is glad, the daughters of Judah rejoice, on account of Your judgments.
- 1 Sam 17:46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
- Ps 58:10–11The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- 2 Kgs 19:19And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
- Ps 19:14May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
- Isa 28:13Then the word of the LORD to them will become: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there,” so that they will go stumbling backward and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.
- Ps 140:9May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
- Ps 92:3with the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 9:16 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.