“Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly poison of vipers.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their wine is the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps.
- KJV Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
- BSB Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.
- NKJV Their wine is the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom of cobras.
- NLT Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Their wine is the venom of serpents and the cruel poison of asps. It matters because it intensifies the picture of how deadly the enemies' corruption is.
Overview
Extending the vine imagery, their 'wine' is portrayed as lethal poison. The serpent venom evokes deadly danger and recalls the deceiver from Eden. This vivid depiction of corruption's deadliness underscores the seriousness of sin, against which God acts in judgment and from which He delivers His people through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ps 58:4Their poison is like the poison of a snake; like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
- Rom 3:13“Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips”;
- Jer 8:14“Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against Yahweh.
- Job 20:14–16yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.
- Ps 140:3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 32:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.