Psalms 58:5
in Psalms 58refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely.
KJV
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
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This verse in Psalms 58
Commentary
14 notes on this verseWhich will not hearken to the voice of charmers,.... Or "that use enchantments", to enchant serpents, by muttering certain words, or by magical songs; by which means it is said that they have been drawn out of their holes, or caused to fly, or have become stupefied, and have lost their poison, and even burst asunder; as Bochart (b) relates from Pliny, Aelianus, Lucan, Isidore, Virgil, Ovid, Horace, and others: but an "asp" is unmoved by enchantments, and they are of no avail against its bites and poison (c).
This site's exposition
The wicked are estranged from the womb
on Psalms 58:3-5
Verse 3 dates the corruption from the womb and the straying from birth. Verses 4 and 5 turn it into venom and then deafness, a cobra that shuts its ears against the charmer's tune. The charmer's skill meets a shut ear.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusIN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:20 · Written before 390.
We hide away our sin, cloaking it over in the depth of our soul, like some festering and malignant disease, as if by escaping human notice we could escape the mighty eye of God and justice. Or else we make excuses for our sins by devising pleas in defense of our falls or by tightly closing our ears. Like the snake that stops its ears, we are obstinate in refusing to hear the voice of the charmer and be treated with the medicines of wisdom, by which spiritual sickness is healed.
Therefore, having been taught by these examples, I did not want to bite back at him who bites back at me or to retaliate in kind; and I chose rather to charm out the fury of a madman by incantation and to pour the antidote of a single look into a poisoned heart. But I am afraid that my efforts are in vain and that I shall be forced to sing the well-known song of David and console myself with these words: "The sinners are alienated from the assembly; they have gone astray from the womb; they have spoken false things. Their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent, like the deaf asp that stops its ears, which will not hear the voice of the charmers nor of the wizard that charms wisely. God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouths; the Lord shall break the teeth of the lions. They shall come to nothing, like water running down; he has bent his bow until they are weakened. Like wax that melts, they shall be taken away: fire has fallen on them, and they have not seen the sun." And again: "The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge of the wicked; he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner." And people shall say, "If, indeed, there is a reward to the just, there is, indeed, a God who judges them on the earth."
Though it appears that the serpent's nature is being delineated in the foregoing, rather, every vessel of evil is being delineated, and every serpent of depravity who casts himself down on the belly and hides his poison inside himself and ponders it inwardly in his breast. He25 is slippery in his thoughts, he advances in his deceits and wraps himself in his deceptions; he is always moving and stirring his poisons by thought and treading on his belly as well, that is, the seedbed of his heart.
"Indignation to them after the similitude of a serpent" [Psalm 58:4]. A great thing you are to hear. "Indignation to them after the similitude of a serpent." As if we had said, What is that which you have said? There follows, "As if of a deaf asp." Whence deaf? "And closing its ears." Therefore deaf, because it closes its ears. "And closing its ears." "Which will not hearken to the voice of men charming, and of the medicine medicated by the wise man" [Psalm 58:5]. As we have heard, because even men speak who have learned it with such research as they were able, but nevertheless it is a thing which the Spirit of God knows much better than any men. For it is not to no purpose that of this he has spoken, but because it may chance that true is even that which we have heard of the asp. When the asp begins to be affected by the Marsian charmer, who calls it forth with certain peculiar incantations, hear what it does....Give heed what is spoken to you for a simile's sake, what is noted you for avoidance. So therefore here also there has been given a certain simile derived from the Marsian, who makes incantation to bring forth the asp from the dark cavern; surely into light he would bring it: but it loving its darkness, wherein coiled up it hides itself, when it will not choose to come forth, nevertheless refusing to hear those words whereby it feels itself to be constrained, is said to press one ear against the ground, and with its tail to stop up the other, and therefore as much as possible escaping those words, it comes not forth to the charmer. To this as being like, the Spirit of God has spoken of certain persons hearing not the Word of God, and not only not doing, but altogether, that they may not do it, refusing to hear.
The heavens were opened, and Stephen saw the chief of martyrs; he saw Jesus standing at the Father's right hand; he saw, so that he would not keep quiet. As for his persecutors, they could not see, but they could be envious; and the reason they did not see was that they were envious. As for Stephen, he did not keep quiet about what he saw, in order to reach the one whom he saw. "Behold," he said, "I can see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of majesty." Immediately they covered their ears, as against a blasphemy. You can recognize them in the psalm: "Like the deaf cobra," it says, "that blocks its ears, in order not to hear the voice of the charmer and the spell cast by the wise one." Just as snakes, you see, in order to avoid bursting out and leaving their dens when they are being charmed, are said to press one ear to the ground and block the other with their tails—and yet the charmer brings them out. So also Stephen's persecutors were still hissing in their dens, while seething in their hearts. They were not yet bursting out; they blocked their ears. Let them burst out now, let them show what they really are; let them rush for the stones. They rushed, they stoned him.
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He imprecates and foretels their ruin, and the judgments which the righteous God would bring upon them for their injustice (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. 10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Not hearken - As they commonly say of the adders, such really are these men: deaf to all my counsels, to their own consciences, and to God's law. Of the charming or enchanting of serpents, mention is made both in other places of scripture, and in all sorts of authors, ancient and modern, Hebrew and Arabick, and Greek and Latin.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. Ungodly men are not to be won to right by arguments the most logical, or appeals the most pathetic. Try all your arts, ye preachers of the word! Lay yourselves out to meet the prejudices and tastes of sinners, and ye shall yet have to cry, "Who hath believed our report?" It is not in your music, but in the sinner's ear that the cause of failure lies, and it is only the power of God that can remove it.
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. Ungodly men are not to be won to right by arguments the most logical, or appeals the most pathetic. Try all your arts, ye preachers of the word! Lay yourselves out to meet the prejudices and tastes of sinners, and ye shall yet have to cry, "Who hath believed our report?" It is not in your music, but in the sinner's ear that the cause of failure lies, and it is only the power of God that can remove it. No, we call and call, and call in vain, till the arm of the Lord is revealed. This is at once the sinner's guilt and danger. He ought to hear but will not, and because he will not hear, he cannot escape the damnation of hell.
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers - The old Psalter translates and paraphrases these two verses curiously: - Vulg. Furor illis secundum similitudinem serpentis; sicut aspidis surdae et obturantis aures suas: Quae non exaudiet vocem incantantium et venefici in cantantis sapienter. Trans. Wodes (madness) til thaim aftir the liking of the neddir, as of the snake doumb and stoppand her eres. Paraph. Right calles he tham wod, (mad), for that hafe na witte to se whider that ga: for that louke thair eghen, and rennys till the are thaire wodness til clumsthed that wil noght be turned as of the snake that festis (fastens) the ta ere til the erth, and the tother ere stoppis with hir taile: Sua do thai that thai here not Godis word; that stope thair eris with luf of erthli thing that thai delite thaim in; and with thair taile, that es with all synnes, that that will noght amend. Trans. The whith salle noght here the voyce of charmand, and of the venim in akare of charmand wisli. Paraph. This snake stopis hir eres that she be noght broth to light; for if she herd it, she come forth sone, he charmes swa wysli in his craft. Swa the wikkid men wit noght here the voyce of Crist and his lufers that are wys charmes; for thi wild (would) bring them till light of heven. Wyt ye well (know) that he (i.e., Christ) lufes noght charmars and venim makers but be (by) vices of bestes, he takes lickening of vices of men. It seems as if there were a species of snake or adder that is nearly deaf; and as their instinct informs them that if they listen to the sounds which charmers use they shall become a prey; therefore they stop their ears to prevent the little hearing they have from being the means of their destruction. To this the Old Psalter refers. […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers - The word rendered “charmers” - לחשׁ lachash - means properly “whisperers, mutterers,” and it refers here to those who made use of spells or incantations - sorcerers or magicians. See the notes at Isa 8:19. These incantations were accompanied usually with a low, muttering sound, or with a gentle whisper, as if for the purpose of calming and controlling the object of the incantation. Such charmers of serpents (or pretended charmers) abounded among the ancients, and still abound in India. The art is carried in India to great perfection; and there are multitudes of persons who obtain a livelihood by this pretended or real power over venomous serpents. Their living is obtained either by “exhibiting” their power over serpents which they carry with them in their peregrinations, or by “drawing” them by their incantations from the walls of gardens, houses, and hedges, where they had taken up their abode. Multitudes of facts, referred to by those who have resided in India, seem to confirm the opinion that this power is real. Charming never so wisely - Margin, “Be the charmer never so cunning.” The word rendered here “charming” - חובר chober - means properly to bind; to bind together. The “literal” meaning of the original Hebrew is, “binding spells that are wise,” or, that are “cunning;” in other words, making use of the most cunning or skillful of their incantations and charms. The meaning is, that the utmost skill of enchantment will be unsuccessful. They are beyond the reach of any such arts. So with the people referred to by David. They were malignant and venomous; and nothing would disarm them of their malignity, and destroy their venom. What is here affirmed of these men is true in a certain sense of all people. The depravity of the human heart is such that nothing that man can employ will subdue it. […]
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִ֭שְׁמַע | yishma' | it listens | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| לְק֣וֹל | lekol | to [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| מְלַחֲשִׁ֑ים | melachashim | charmers | H3907 → | |
| חוֹבֵ֖ר | chover | [one who] casts | H2266 → | 29 times |
| חֲבָרִ֣ים | chavarim | spells | H2267 → | |
| מְחֻכָּֽם׃ | mechukam | skillful | H2449 → | 27 times |
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִ֭שְׁמַעit listens
yishma'H8085 →1159 times
לְק֣וֹלto [the] sound of
lekolH6963 →506 times
מְלַחֲשִׁ֑יםcharmers
melachashimH3907 →
חוֹבֵ֖ר[one who] casts
choverH2266 →29 times
חֲבָרִ֣יםspells
chavarimH2267 →
מְחֻכָּֽם׃skillful
mechukamH2449 →27 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 19:3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and…
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:19
When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Daniel 2:2
So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,
- 1 Chronicles 10:13
So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,
- Isaiah 8:19
Through
Jeremiah 8:17“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 10:11
If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.
- Psalms 58:4–5
Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
- Deuteronomy 32:24
They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust.
- Ecclesiastes 10:11
Through
Deuteronomy 18:11casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:31
You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
- 1 Samuel 28:11–14
“Whom shall I bring up for you?” the woman asked. “Bring up Samuel,” he replied.
- Leviticus 19:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, FLIGHT FROM THE WORLD 7:42; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 58; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 316:2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Gregory of Nazianzus, IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:20; Jerome, Against Rufinus 3.43; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.