Proverbs 1:18

but these men lie in wait for their own blood, ¹  they ambush their own lives! ² 

These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!

But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.

But not these people! They set an ambush for themselves; they booby–trap their own lives!

Yet that's what these people are doing--they're doing themselves in.

And they are secretly waiting for their blood and making ready destruction for themselves.

yet they lie in wait—to kill themselves! and set an ambush—for their own lives!

But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives.

but these men lie in wait for their own blood, ¹  they ambush their own lives! ² 

¹ sn They think that they are going to shed innocent blood, but in their blindness they do not realize that it is their own blood they shed. Their greed will lead to their destruction. This is an example of ironic poetic justice. They do not intend to destroy themselves; but this is what they accomplish.

² tn Heb “their own souls.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a metonymy (= soul) of association (= life). The noun נֶפֶשׁ often refers to physical “life” (Exod 21:23; Num 17:3; Judg 5:18; Prov 12:10; BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).