“Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 58:4 Mean?
"Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear." The wicked are compared to venomous snakes — but specifically to a deaf adder, a snake that deliberately blocks its ears to avoid the charmer's music. The image layers two dangers: they're poisonous (their words and actions inject venom) AND they're deaf to correction (they've stopped their ears against every voice that could redirect them).
The phrase "stoppeth her ear" (yattem ozno — stops, closes, blocks its ear) implies deliberate self-deafening: the adder CHOOSES to block sound. The deafness isn't a disability. It's a strategy. The snake that refuses to hear the charmer's voice can't be controlled, redirected, or tamed. The ear-stopping is self-protective — it preserves the snake's lethal independence.
The double poison imagery — "their poison is like the poison of a serpent" — grounds the metaphor in physical reality: the wicked don't just deceive or annoy. They poison. Their effect on others is toxic, injected, and physiologically destructive. The venom works inside the victim the way poison works in the blood.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Are you stopping your ears against a voice that could redirect you?
- 2.Who combines toxicity with chosen deafness in your life — and how do you protect yourself?
- 3.What does the adder deliberately blocking its ears teach about the nature of willful spiritual deafness?
- 4.What 'charmer's voice' — what corrective truth — have you been refusing to hear?
Devotional
Poisonous like a snake. Deaf like an adder that blocks its own ears. The wicked are dangerous on two levels: they inject venom into everyone they touch, AND they've made themselves immune to any voice that could change them. The poison is active. The deafness is chosen.
The deaf adder is the more terrifying image: a poisonous snake is dangerous, but a charmer can still influence it. A deaf adder — one that has deliberately stopped its ears — can't be charmed, can't be redirected, can't be tamed. The ear-stopping removes the last means of influence. The snake that refuses to hear is the snake that can't be reached.
The 'stoppeth her ear' is deliberate: this isn't a snake born deaf. It's a snake that CHOOSES deafness. The wicked person described here has heard the music of truth, heard the voice of correction, heard the charmer's appeal — and intentionally blocked it. The deafness is a decision. The refusal to hear is a strategy for maintaining the freedom to poison.
The combination — poison plus deafness — creates the most dangerous human being: someone who hurts everyone they encounter AND refuses every corrective voice. The person who wounds you and can't hear you say 'stop.' The toxic presence that has immunized itself against accountability. Venom without restraint.
Who in your life combines toxicity with chosen deafness — and are YOU stopping your own ears against a voice that could redirect you?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent,.... Either their "wrath" and fury, as the word (x) may be rendered,…
Their poison - Their malignity; their bad spirit; that which they utter or throw out of their mouth. The reference here…
We have reason to think that this psalm refers to the malice of Saul and his janizaries against David, because it bears…
They are not only insidious and venomous as serpents, but obstinately oppose all attempts to control them; like the deaf…
Cross References
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