Psalms 58:4

58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake, ¹ 

like a deaf serpent ²  that does not hear, ³ 

Mark 16:18

16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; ⁴  they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.”

Acts 28:3-6

28:3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood ⁵  and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 28:4 When the local people ⁶  saw the creature hanging from Paul’s ⁷  hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself ⁸  has not allowed him to live!” ⁹  28:5 However, ¹⁰  Paul ¹¹  shook ¹²  the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 28:6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up ¹³  or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited ¹⁴  a long time and had seen ¹⁵  nothing unusual happen ¹⁶  to him, they changed their minds ¹⁷  and said he was a god. ¹⁸ 

Romans 3:13

3:13 “Their throats are open graves, ¹⁹ 

they deceive with their tongues,

the poison of asps is under their lips.” ²⁰ 

Romans 16:20

16:20 The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

[58:4]  ¹ tn Heb “[there is] venom to them according to the likeness of venom of a snake.”

[58:4]  ² tn Or perhaps “cobra” (cf. NASB, NIV). Other suggested species of snakes are “asp” (NEB) and “adder” (NRSV).

[58:4]  ³ tn Heb “[that] stops up its ear.” The apparent Hiphil jussive verbal form should be understood as a Qal imperfect with “i” theme vowel (see GKC 168 §63.n).

[16:18]  ⁴ tn For further comment on the nature of this statement, whether it is a promise or prediction, see ExSyn 403-6.

[28:3]  ⁵ tn Or “sticks.”

[28:4]  ⁶ tn Although this is literally βάρβαροι (barbaroi; “foreigners, barbarians”) used for non-Greek or non-Romans, as BDAG 166 s.v. βάρβαρος 2.b notes, “Of the inhabitants of Malta, who apparently spoke in their native language Ac 28:2, 4 (here β. certainly without derogatory tone…).”

[28:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁸ tn That is, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live. BDAG 250 s.v. δίκη 2 states, “Justice personified as a deity Ac 28:4”; L&N 12.27, “a goddess who personifies justice in seeking out and punishing the guilty – ‘the goddess Justice.’ ἡ δίκη ζῆν οὐκ εἴασεν ‘the goddess Justice would not let him live’ Ac 28:4.” Although a number of modern English translations have rendered δίκη (dikh) “justice,” preferring to use an abstraction, in the original setting it is almost certainly a reference to a pagan deity. In the translation, the noun “justice” was capitalized and the reflexive pronoun “herself” was supplied to make the personification clear. This was considered preferable to supplying a word like ‘goddess’ in connection with δίκη.

[28:4]  ⁹ sn The entire scene is played out initially as a kind of oracle from the gods resulting in the judgment of a guilty person (Justice herself has not allowed him to live). Paul’s survival of this incident without ill effects thus spoke volumes about his innocence.

[28:5]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 4 indicates the particle has an adversative sense here: “but, however.”

[28:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:5]  ¹² tn Grk “shaking the creature off…he suffered no harm.” The participle ἀποτινάξας (apotinaxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:6]  ¹³ tn Or “going to burn with fever.” According to BDAG 814 s.v. πίμπρημι, either meaning (“swell up” or “burn with fever”) is possible for Acts 28:6.

[28:6]  ¹⁴ tn The participle προσδοκώντων (prosdokwntwn) has been taken temporally.

[28:6]  ¹⁵ tn The participle θεωρούντων (qewrountwn) has been taken temporally.

[28:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “happening.” The participle γινόμενον (ginomenon) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “changing their minds.” The participle μεταβαλόμενοι (metabalomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:6]  ¹⁸ sn And said he was a god. The reaction is like Acts 14:11-19 where the crowd wanted to make Paul and Barnabas into gods. The providence of God had protected Paul again.

[3:13]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”

[3:13]  ²⁰ sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.