“Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips” (Romans 3:13).
The Apostle Paul drew upon some vivid Old Testament imagery as he evaluated the characteristics of unrepentant humanity in Romans 3:10-18. However, verse thirteen contains a few of the more graphic portrayals of the human condition in this portion of Scripture. The first (and most disturbing) of those portraits compares the human throat to an “open sepulchre” (KJV).
A contemporary rendering of this passage ties these metaphors together: “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave” (NLT). This characterization is reminiscent of Jesus’ assessment of Israel’s corrupt spiritual leadership…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:25-28).
Then, as now, burial chambers were sealed to contain the stench of the dead. In fact, Martha of Bethany voiced her concern regarding that very prospect right before Jesus raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. When taken together, these images accurately reflect the way some people express themselves. Unfortunately, we need only spend some time in the workplace, the market, the airport, the train station, or other such places where people gather to verify the general truth of this passage: “What comes out of their mouths is as foul as a rotting corpse” (Voice).
In addition, modern-day audio/visual platforms offer fertile ground for pundits, commentators, influencers, and content creators to validate this description from Romans 3:18. Our contemporary social media landscape also offers compelling evidence to support this verse. These online communities provide ample opportunity for human participants to verify the truth of this passage through personal attacks, hostile criticisms, and hateful, malevolent comments.
If we ever feel inclined to dismiss this characterization of unregenerate humanity from Romans 3:13, the current state of social media should quickly dispel that notion. That brings us to another relevant quote from Jesus…
“…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:34-35).