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And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
Romans 11:9 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB David says, “Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.
  • BSB And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
  • NKJV And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
  • NASB And David says, “May their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
  • NLT Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve.

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

David's words are applied to unbelieving Israel: their blessings become a snare, trap, and retribution.

Overview

Paul cites Psalm 69:22-23, a psalm often read messianically and applied to Christ's sufferers. The 'table,' a symbol of provision and even religious privilege, becomes a stumbling block when received without faith. The verse warns that God's good gifts, misused or trusted apart from Christ, can turn to judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Ps 69:22–23Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
  • Luke 12:20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
  • Ps 28:4Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
  • 1 Sam 25:36–38And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
  • Isa 59:18According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
  • Job 20:20–23Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.
  • Prov 1:32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
  • Isa 8:13–14Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
  • Luke 16:19–25There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
  • 1 Tim 6:17–19Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
  • Deut 32:35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
  • Deut 32:13–15He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;
  • Isa 66:9Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
  • Heb 2:2For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
  • Deut 6:10–12And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 11:9YouTube · 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 RomansMatthew 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

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 11:9 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.