He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
He that diggeth a pit ... - the wrong done to others recoils on the perpetrators themselves (Ecclesiastes 8:9); they fall into the pit which they dug for others (Esther 7:10; Psalms 7:15; Proverbs 26:27). Image from pitfalls laid for wild beasts; the maker might readily fall into his own pit, as it was covered with branches.
A serpent shall bite him - as when one is stung by a serpent lurking in the stones of his neighbour's garden or vineyard wall (Psalms 80:12), which he maliciously pulls down (Amos 5:19): cf. the prohibition (Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17).