Rolleth a stone - The illustration refers, probably, to the use made of stones in the rough warfare of an earlier age. Compare Judges 9:53; 2-Samuel 11:21. The man is supposed to be rolling the stone up to the heights.

Whoso diggeth a pit - See note on Psalm 7:15. There is a Latin proverb like this: Malum consilium consultori pessimum, "A bad counsel, but worst to the giver." Harm watch; harm catch.

Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein,.... That devises mischief against others, it shall come upon himself. The allusion is to the digging of pits for catching wild beasts, which are slightly covered with earth; and which sometimes the pursuers, through inadvertency, fall into themselves; the passage seems to be taken from Psalm 7:15;
and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him; that rolls a stone up hill, if he does not take care, it will return back, and fall with great force upon himself; so the mischief which a wicked man labours hard at, as men do in digging a pit, or rolling a stone, in time rolls back upon themselves; the measure they mete out to others is measured to them. Jarchi makes mention of an "hagadah", or exposition, which illustrates this passage, by the case of Abimelech; who slew threescore and ten persons on one stone, and was himself killed with a piece of a millstone cast upon him, Judges 9:18; this may put in mind of the fable of Sisyphus (o), feigned in hell to roll a great stone to the top of a mountain, which presently falling down on his head, made his labour fruitless.
(o) "Aut petis aut urges ruitum, Sisyphe, saxum", Ovid. Metamorph. l. 4. v. 460.

What pains men take to do mischief to others! but it is digging a pit, it is rolling a stone, hard work; and they prepare mischief to themselves.

27 He who diggeth a pit falleth therein;
And he that rolleth up a stone, upon himself it rolleth back.
The thought that destruction prepared for others recoils upon its contriver, has found its expression everywhere among men in divers forms of proverbial sayings; in the form which it here receives, 27a has its oldest original in Psalm 7:16, whence it is repeated here and in Ecclesiastes 10:8, and Sir. 27:26. Regarding כּרה, vid., at Proverbs 16:27. בּהּ here has the sense of in eam ipsam; expressed in French, the proverb is: celui qui creuse la fosse, y tombera; in Italian: chi cava la fossa, cader in essa. The second line of this proverb accords with Psalm 7:17 (vid., Hupfeld and Riehm on this passage). It is natural to think of the rolling as a rolling upwards; cf. Sir. 27:25, ὁ βάλλων λίθον εἰς ὕψος ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ βάλλει, i.e., throws it on his own head. וגלל אבן is to be syntactically judged of like Proverbs 18:13.

Rolleth - Up the hill with design to do mischief to some person.