In these two verses the psalmist speaks of the punishment of the heathen in vivid terms of their being victims of their own evil plans (see 7.15-16).
For nations see comments on 2.1.
Two figures are used: that of a pit, such as was dug in order to catch wild animals, and that of a net, used for catching birds, fish, or small animals. For pit see comments on 7.15. Instead of net, which is not used widely in English as a specific term for an instrument to catch animals, Good News Translation uses the more generic term “trap.” The verb translated have sunk in appears in Psalms only here and in 69.2, 14. The verb “to hide” is often used with “traps” and “nets” (see 31.4; 35.7-8; 64.5; 140.5; 142.3).
In cultures where trapping animals in pits is unknown, it will be necessary to make explicit the purpose of such a pit; for example, “It is just as though the heathen have dug a pit to make their enemies fall in and have fallen in themselves.”
In allowing the wicked to be “trapped by their own deeds” (Good News Translation), Yahweh reveals himself as a just judge. The expression The LORD has made himself known must often be recast as “the LORD has shown who he is.”
The words “by his righteous judgments” (Good News Translation) translate “he has done justice” (so Biblia Dios Habla Hoy; An American Translation and Revised Standard Version he has executed judgment); New English Bible “Justice is done.” “His righteous judgments” is a nominal phrase which must often be recast as a clause, and the object of the event of judging must often be made explicit; for example, “he judges people in the right way.” This entire clause can then be related to the previous one as a clause of means: “The LORD has shown who he is by the fact that he judges people in the right way.”
In the last statement (verse 16b), “by the work of his hands the wicked (person) is snared,” “his hands” is usually taken to mean the hands of the wicked person himself; but Briggs and Moffatt take it to mean the hands of Yahweh: “as his hands have trapped the ungodly.” Instead of understanding the verb in the Masoretic text in line b as the passive of the verb “to snare” (Revised Standard Version are snared, Good News Translation “are trapped”), Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (“C” decision) takes the Masoretic text pointing (so Briggs) as the participle of the verb “to push” or “to stumble,” meaning either “Yahweh pushes” or “the wicked stumble.” It seems better to take the text as Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and others have done. In the work of their own hands and Good News Translation‘s “by their own deeds” are used to express the means by which they are caught. In this context the work of their own hands refers specifically to the pit and the net that they had prepared in order to trap their enemies; it is therefore better to translate “are trapped by the devices they themselves built.” In languages which require an active verb, line b of verse 16 must be recast; for example, “the evil deeds which bad people do trap them.” If the term “net” is used, one must be careful to indicate specifically the type of nets used to catch wild animals, and not one of the various nets used only for fishing.
Higgaion appears also in 19.14, where it means “meditation,” and in 92.3b, where it is translated “melody.” If it is related to the verb for “to meditate” (1.2), it may mean a quiet melody. New Jerusalem Bible translates “Muted music” (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); Bible en français courant “interlude.”
Selah: see comments on 3.2.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .