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Psalms 58:4

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

Their poison [is] like the poison of a serpent: [they are] like the deaf adder [that] stoppeth her ear;

Psalms 58:4 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Psalms 58:4

Theological / Devotional

Their poison. The malignant words that they speak (see Ps. 140:3; Rom. 3:13).

The deaf adder. Their obstinate wickedness is compared to the stubbornness of the adder, or asp, that refuses to submit to the snake charmer. The snake is not really deaf, but appears so because of the difficulty of charming it. The expression “deaf as an adder” is probably to be traced to this famous reference to snake charming (Eccl. 10:11; see Jer. 8:17). The popular misconception that the adder is deaf and that snakes respond only to the gesticulations of the snake charmer has been adequately refuted.

By SdaBc