“Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;”
The comparison of the wicked to serpents whose poison is like that of a cobra articulates the danger and deception of the wicked, establishing that their evil operates through the channels of deception and subtlety. The serpent imagery connects to the Genesis narrative where the serpent represents rebellion against God through cunning deception. The reference to poison suggests that the wicked's words and deeds are lethal; they kill through the subtle injection of their venom. This verse deepens the characterization of the wicked: their threat is not primarily overt violence but hidden deception and subtle harm.
Church Fathers on Psalms 58:4
1. The words which we have sung must be rather hearkened to by us, than proclaimed. For to all men as it were in an assemblage of mankind, the Truth cries, “If truly indeed justice ye speak, judge right things, you sons of men” Psalm 57:1. For to what unjust man is it not an easy thing to speak justice? Or what man if questioned about justice, when he has not a cause, would not easily answer what is just? Inasmuch as the hand of our Maker in our very hearts has written this…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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