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Psalm 58:4
Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
2No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands on the earth.
3The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
6Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, LORD.
Notice
The cobra’s poison and stopped ear make a grim picture of the wicked: their lies do harm, and even a skilled voice cannot reach them.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does the stopped ear add to the picture of poison?
Write on thisWhat harm, if any, comes to mind when you read this picture of poison?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 91:13You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.Both passages name the cobra as a threat; Psalm 58 describes its poison, while Psalm 91 speaks of trampling it underfoot.
James 3:8but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.Both use poison to describe human harm, with James naming the tongue and Psalm 58 describing people whose lies precede the snake comparison.
Psalm 140:3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah.Both compare harmful people to venomous snakes, with Psalm 140 locating the poison under their lips.
Deuteronomy 32:33Their wine is the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps.Both use serpent poison as an image of harm, though Deuteronomy describes wine and Psalm 58 describes the wicked.
Jeremiah 8:17“For, behold, I will send serpents, adders among you, which will not be charmed; and they will bite you,” says the LORD.Both portray snakes beyond a charmer’s influence: Psalm 58 compares the wicked to one, while Jeremiah announces serpents sent by the LORD.
Ecclesiastes 10:11If the snake bites before it is charmed, then is there no profit for the charmer’s tongue.Both passages connect a dangerous snake with a charmer whose skill offers no help in the situation described.
Romans 3:13“Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips.”Both connect deceitful people with snake poison; Romans places the poison under their lips, while Psalm 58 follows its mention of lies.
Acts 7:57But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears, then rushed at him with one accord.Both portray stopped ears: Psalm 58 uses a cobra to picture refusal to hear, while Acts describes a crowd stopping their ears.
Job 20:14yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.Cobra venom appears in both texts; the psalm compares people to poisonous snakes, while Job describes venom within a person’s body.
Job 20:16He will suck cobra venom. The viper’s tongue will kill him.Both name cobra venom; Psalm 58 uses it to characterize the wicked, while Job describes someone consuming it and dying.
Isaiah 11:8The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.Both name the cobra, though Psalm 58 stresses its poison and Isaiah pictures a nursing child playing near its hole.
Matthew 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to …Both use venomous snakes to describe people: Psalm 58 compares the wicked to a cobra, while Matthew records the accusation of viper offspring.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The psalm turns to God against people pictured as venomous and deaf to appeal. Their refusal to listen does not put them beyond his judgment.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 58:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).