Romans 3 · Verse 13

Romans 3:13

Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

Romans 3:13, King James Version

Romans 3:13 in other translations

BSB	“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
WEB	“Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips.”
ASV	Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their lips:
YLT	A sepulchre opened is their throat; with their tongues they used deceit; poison of asps is under their lips.
DARBY	their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; asps' poison is under their lips:
BBE	Their throat is like an open place of death; with their tongues they have said what is not true: the poison of snakes is under their lips:
Webster	Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

What does Romans 3:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 3:13-18

13-18. Their, &c.--From generals, the apostle here comes to particulars, culling from different parts of Scripture passages which speak of depravity as it affects the different members of the body; as if to show more affectingly how "from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness" in us. throat is an open sepulchre--(Psa 5:9); that is, "What proceeds out of their heart, and finds vent in speech and action through the throat, is like the pestilential breath of an open grave." with their tongues they have used deceit--(Psa 5:9); that is, "That tongue which is man's glory (Psa 16:9; 57:8) is prostituted to the purposes of deception." the poison of asps is under their lips--(Psa 140:3): that is, "Those lips which should 'drop as an honeycomb,' and 'feed many,' and 'give thanks unto His name' (So 4:11; Pr 10:21; He 13:15), are employed to secrete and to dart deadly poison."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 13. Their throat, etc. This expression is taken from Ps 5:9, literally from the Septuagint. The design of the psalm is to reprove those who were false, traitorous, slanderous, etc., Ps 5:6. The psalmist has the sin of deceit, and falsehood, and slander particularly in his eye. The expressions here are to be interpreted in accordance with that. The sentiment here may be, as the grave is ever open to receive all into it, that is, into destruction, so the mouth or the throat of the slanderer is ever open to swallow up the peace and happiness of all. Or it may mean, as from an open sepulchre there proceeds an offensive and pestilential vapour, so from the mouths of slanderous persons there proceeds noisome and ruinous words. (Stuart.) I think the connexion demands the former interpretation.

With their tongues, etc. In their conversation, their promises, etc., they have been false, treacherous, and unfaithful.

The poison of asps. This is taken literally from the Septuagint of Ps 140:3. The asp, or adder, is a species of serpent whose poison is of such active operation that it kills almost the instant that it penetrates, and that without remedy. It is small, and commonly lies concealed, often in the sand in a road, and strikes the traveller before he sees it. It is found chiefly in Egypt and Lybia. It is said by ancient writers that the celebrated Cleopatra, rather than be carried a captive to Rome by Augustus, suffered an asp to bite her in the arm, by which she soon died. The precise species of serpent which is here meant by the psalmist, however, cannot be ascertained. All that is necessary to understand the passage is, that it refers to a serpent whose bite was deadly, and rapid in its execution.

Is under their lips. The poison of the serpent is contained in a small bag which is concealed at the root of the tooth. When the tooth is struck into the flesh, the poison is pressed out, through a small hole in the tooth, into the wound. whether the psalmist was acquainted with that fact, or referred to it, cannot be known: his words do not of necessity imply it. The sentiment is, that as the poison of the asp is rapid, certain, spreading quickly through the system, and producing death, so the words of the slanderer are deadly, pestiferous, quickly destroying the reputation and happiness of man. They are as subtle, as insinuating, and as deadly to the reputation, as the poison of the adder is to the body. Wicked men, in the Bible, are often compared to serpents, Mt 23:33, Gen 49:17.

(s) "throat is an open" Ps 5:9 (t) "poison of asps" Ps 140:3

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre - This and all the following verses to the end of the 18th are found in the Septuagint, but not in the Hebrew text; and it is most evident that it was from this version that the apostle quoted, as the verses cannot be found in any other place with so near an approximation to the apostle's meaning and words. The verses in question, however, are not found in the Alexandrian MS. But they exist in the Vulgate, the Ethiopic, and the Arabic. As the most ancient copies of the Septuagint do not contain these verses, some contend that the apostle has quoted them from different parts of Scripture; and later transcribers of the Septuagint, finding that the 10th, 11th, and 12th, verses were quoted from the xivth Psalm, imagined that the rest were found originally there too, and so incorporated them in their copies, from the apostle's text. Their throat is an open sepulchre - By their malicious and wicked words they bury, as it were, the reputation of all men. The whole of this verse appears to belong to their habit of lying, defamation, slandering, etc., by which they wounded, blasted, and poisoned the reputation of others.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Romans 3:9-18

Here again is shown that all mankind are under the guilt of sin, as a burden; and under the government and dominion of sin, as enslaved to it, to work wickedness. This is made plain by several passages of Scripture from the Old Testament, which describe the corrupt and depraved state of all men, till grace restrain or change them. Great as our advantages are, these texts describe multitudes who call themselves…

Read the full comment on Romans 3:9-18 →

Romans 3:13 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

τάφοςtaphosA graveG5028

ἀνεῳγμένοςaneōgmenosopenedG455

ὁho[is] theG3588

λάρυγξlarugxthroatG2995

αὐτῶν,autōnof them,G846

ταῖςtaiswith theG3588

γλώσσαιςglōssaistonguesG1100

αὐτῶνautōnof themG846

ἐδολιοῦσαν·edoliousanthey were practicing deceit;G1387

ἰὸςios[the] venomG2447

ἀσπίδωνaspidōnof vipersG785

ὑπὸhupo[is] underG5259

τὰtatheG3588

χείληcheilēlipsG5491

αὐτῶν·autōnof them;G846

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Romans 3:13

Psalms 5:9
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
Psalms 140:3
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
Matthew 23:27-28
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Jeremiah 9:3-5
And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Psalms 57:4
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Isaiah 59:3
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
James 3:5-8
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Ezekiel 13:7
Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
Psalms 52:2
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Matthew 12:34-35
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Romans 3:4
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Psalms 36:3
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

throat.
Ps 5:9; Jer 5:16; Mt 23:27,28
with their.
4; Ps 5:9; 12:3,4; 36:3; 52:2; 57:4; Isa 59:3; Jer 9:3-5; Eze 13:7
Mt 12:34,35; Jas 3:5-8
the poison.
De 32:33; Job 20:14-16; Ps 140:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Romans 3:12
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Romans 3:13
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Romans 3:14
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

Read all of Romans 3

Romans 3:13 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Sepulcro abierto es su garganta; con sus lenguas tratan engañosamente; veneno de áspides está debajo de sus labios;
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	« c’est un sépulcre ouvert que leur gosier; ils ont frauduleusement usé de leurs langues »; « il y a du venin d’aspic sous leurs lèvres »;
German Elberfelder 1871	"Ihr Schlund ist ein offenes Grab; mit ihren Zungen handelten sie trüglich." Otterngift ist unter ihren Lippen."
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum, linguis suis dolose agebant: venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum: