תהלים, פרק קמ״א, פסוק ט׳

A heartfelt prayer expresses a deep yearning for divine providence and protection against unseen threats and the calculated plots of enemies. Rather than asking God to strip these adversaries of their free will to carry out their schemes, the petitioner pleads for personal guidance. He asks God to direct his steps and guard his feet so that he might safely navigate around traps that have already been carefully prepared, hidden, and set specifically for him [אלשיך, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד].

As the plea for safety continues, it expands to include rescue from multiple forms of danger, prompting different perspectives on how these threats relate to one another. Some view the mention of multiple traps as a simple repetition, used to emphasize the intensity of the plea for safety [מאירי].

Others suggest these represent distinct types of threats. In this view, the initial danger refers to a very specific trap laid out directly for the petitioner, while the subsequent dangers represent a broader array of hidden pitfalls and wicked schemes devised against him [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד].

A third approach understands the different descriptions as two components of a single, unified threat. The first refers to the overall structure of the trap itself, while the second refers to the lethal mechanism hidden inside it—the exact part that strikes and kills the victim once they are caught [מלבי״ם].