By St. Photius the Great
The pit spoken of here signifies a plot against one’s neighbor and great destruction, according to what is written: “He dug a pit, dug it deep, and fell into the pit that he made” (Ps. 7:16); and: “The wicked man is caught in the works of his own hands.” (Ps. 9:17).
And so, he who digs and opens such a pit for another, first of all falls into it himself. For while he plots evil, before his neighbor even suffers, he has already ruined his own soul. If he inflicts bodily harm on another, he sometimes even benefits him instead of destroying him; but he has thrown himself into the abyss of spiritual destruction.
He who plots the loss of his neighbor, whether he achieves his goal or not, in all cases harms his own soul. For the incorruptible justice of God judges not only by the result, but also by the intention and will. And although often the one against whom evil is directed is saved, the evil-minded one nevertheless inevitably suffers condemnation.
With these words, Ecclesiastes instructs us: whoever wants to remain unharmed from evil and punishment, let him refrain from every evil deed. But he who plots evil against his neighbor will not escape the retribution of the law – if he has hurt someone’s eye, he will lose his own, if he has pulled out someone’s tooth, he will lose his own (see Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21).
There is no crime against a neighbor that does not deliver the perpetrator to just retribution. Therefore, he who digs a pit for another, i.e. seeks to destroy him, will not avoid falling into the pit of condemnation, which he has actually dug deep for himself, by digging the pit of his neighbor.
Source: Amphilochius, Question 63
