Romans 11:9

David saith. The quotation is from Ps. 69:22, 23, not agreeing exactly with either the Hebrew or the LXX. In the original context the psalmist is invoking the wrath of God upon his own enemies, whom he regards as also the enemies of God (see on Imprecatory Psalms, Vol. III, p. 624). Several passages in this psalm are employed by NT writers as prophetic reference to the Messiah, the sinless Sufferer (see on Ps. 69), and these words quoted by Paul are fittingly applied to the rejectors of Christ.

Table. Gr. trapeza, which may represent also what is on the table, hence the translation “feast” (RSV). The Targums interpret this table as one spread before the Lord, such as the sacrificial feasts. The blessings the Jews enjoyed became a curse to them. Likewise, the divinely given Scriptures and laws and religious institutions, in which they trusted for life and salvation (John 5:39, 40; Rom. 2:17; AA 99, 100; DA 212), became a snare and a trap. God’s gift to them, having been misunderstood and misused, became the cause of their failure and their persistence in unbelief. Heaven’s choicest gifts, when improperly used, bring only injury to the recipient.