Bible Strands
Psalms 9:16
The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David addresses the assembly in a psalm of corporate lament and praise, positioning this declaration immediately after the nations' entrapment in Psalms 9:15 and directly before their descent into Sheol in Psalms 9:17.
The words — The Hebrew verb נודע (no.Da') means "he has made himself known," working with עשה ('a.Sah) "he has done" to show Yahweh reveals Himself through His justice. The following terms פועל (Fo.'al) "work," כפיו (Ka.pa/v) "his hands," and נוקש (no.Kesh) "striking down" form the clause describing how the wicked (רשע, ra.Sha') are caught by their own actions.
The thread — This sequence of divine revelation through judgment and self-entrapment runs through Exodus 7:5, Exodus 14:31, and Proverbs 12:13.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that God's justice is actively displayed in historical events, while the wicked face consequences generated by their own schemes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
Cross-references
- Exodus 7:5 And 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.”
- Proverbs 12:13 An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.
- Exodus 14:31 When 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.
- Psalms 83:17 May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.
- Exodus 14:4 And 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.
- Joshua 2:10 For 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.
- Judges 1:7 Then 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.
- Isaiah 8:15 Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”
- Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 29:22 Then 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.