Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 17:11

"They have now compassed us in our steps; They set their eyes to cast [us] down to the earth." — Psalms 17:11 (ASV)

They have now ... — Evidently, the meaning is, Wherever we go they surround us like curs, that is, they dog our footsteps. But the text is confused.

They have set. — Literally, they fix their eyes to cast on the earth. This may mean, “they fix their eyes on me, ready to strike me to the ground.” Ewald suggests, “they direct their eyes through the land to strike.”

However, Mr. Burgess suggests a translation that is both simple and convincing. He proposes bringing the first word back from the next verse and vocalizing it as our blood, instead of the awkward rendering his likeness. He thus arrives at the translation: “They have set their eyes to shed our blood on the earth.”

For the Hebrew verb used in a similar sense, compare Isaiah 66:12.