dig a pit for (someone or something)

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dig a pit for (someone or something)

To attempt to ensnare or trap someone or something. The FBI has been digging a pit for that very dangerous criminal. I know you dug a pit for that pesky racoon. Any luck catching him yet? It turned out that the CEO had been embezzling money for years, but her web of lies was only exposed after federal investigators dug a pit for her.

dig a pit for

try to trap.

This is a common biblical metaphor: for example, in Jeremiah 18:20 we find ‘they have digged a pit for my soul’.