Romans 3:13 Meaning and Explanation
“Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Sin travels through words as surely as through violent hands. Paul pictures the mouth as a grave and hidden venom, showing how ordinary speech can carry death into trust, reputation, community, and peace long after the sound itself has faded.
Paul uses the Psalms to expose destructive speech: open throats spread death, deceitful tongues manipulate, and poisonous lips injure others.
The Context of Romans 3:13
Romans 3 begins by affirming the great advantage entrusted to Jewish people through God's oracles and defending God's faithfulness despite human unbelief. Paul then says Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin and supports that charge with a chain of scriptural quotations. Verses 10 through 12 describe people leaving the right path. Verse 13 combines images from Psalms 5 and 140 about throat, tongue, and lips. Verses 14 through 18 continue from cursing toward bloodshed, misery, lost peace, and absence of reverent fear. Verse 19 explains that the law silences boasting and establishes worldwide accountability before God.
What Does Romans 3:13 Mean?
'Their throat is an open sepulchre' makes speech an entrance from which death and uncleanness emerge. An open grave exposes what should be contained and endangers those nearby. 'With their tongues they have used deceit' names intentional manipulation, language shaped to create a false impression for advantage. 'The poison of asps is under their lips' pictures harm concealed until speech releases it. The verse moves through throat, tongue, and lips as though examining the whole instrument of speech. Words become morally embodied acts that can corrupt, deceive, and wound even when the speaker never raises a hand.
Paul quotes Israel's Scriptures in an argument that places both Jews and Gentiles under accountability. He does not use the Psalms to insult one ethnicity from outside; the law speaks within the covenant community and closes every boasting mouth. The quotation gathers recognizable patterns of human sin rather than claiming every sentence spoken by every person is equally poisonous. Its force is diagnostic and universal: no group can point at another while ignoring deceit and harm in its own speech. The same mouth that cites Scripture may still need the law's searching exposure.
Jesus identifies words as fruit flowing from the heart and warns that people will answer for careless speech. He also speaks truth without deceit, heals through His word, forgives enemies, and calls the dead from their graves. Where sinful speech opens death, Christ's voice gives life. His grace allows deceptive people to confess without creating another layer of manipulation and can retrain speech toward truth, blessing, and peace. Following Him includes attention to what remains 'under the lips': motives and resentments brought to God before they become poison for a neighbor.
Bible Verses Related to Romans 3:13
“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.”
- Psalm 5:9
“They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.”
- Psalm 140:3
“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
- Matthew 12:36
“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
- James 3:8
Where Romans 3:13 Echoes in Scripture
Psalm 5:9 is the direct source for the open-sepulchre and flattering-tongue images. The psalm describes enemies whose inward part is wickedness and whose speech cannot be trusted. Paul draws that portrait into a wider human indictment, requiring every reader to face the death-bearing potential of deceptive words.
How to Apply Romans 3:13 Today
Before repeating a damaging claim, we can verify it, consider whether sharing serves a legitimate protective purpose, and give the person a fair opportunity to answer where safe. Deceit also includes technically true words arranged to mislead. Repair may require correcting the same audience that heard the falsehood and accepting consequences for lost trust. Communities can reward honest confession more than polished image management. Prayerful pauses, direct communication, and refusal of anonymous cruelty help retrain the mouth toward the life-giving speech of Christ.
Reflection & Prayer
What harmful motive or resentment is waiting under our lips, and how can we bring it into truth before speaking? A prayer: God of truth, expose deceit and poison in our speech. Forgive the people we have harmed, guide our repair, and make our words honest, healing, and obedient to Jesus. Amen.