Isaiah 59:5
New International Version
They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.

New Living Translation
They hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders’ webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.

English Standard Version
They hatch adders’ eggs; they weave the spider’s web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.

Berean Standard Bible
They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

King James Bible
They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

New King James Version
They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

New American Standard Bible
They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; The one who eats of their eggs dies, And from what is crushed, a snake breaks out.

NASB 1995
They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.

NASB 1977
They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.

Legacy Standard Bible
They break open vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.

Amplified Bible
They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s webs; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from an egg which is crushed a viper breaks out.

Christian Standard Bible
They hatch viper’s eggs and weave spider’s webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They hatch viper’s eggs and weave spider’s webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

American Standard Version
They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth; and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Contemporary English Version
You eat the deadly eggs of poisonous snakes, and more snakes crawl out from the eggs left to hatch. You weave spider webs,

English Revised Version
They hatch basilisks' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They hatch viper eggs and weave spiderwebs. Those who eat their eggs will die. When an egg is crushed, a poisonous snake is hatched.

International Standard Version
They hatch adders' eggs and weave a spider's web; whoever eats their eggs dies, and any crushed egg hatches out futility.

Majority Standard Bible
They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

NET Bible
They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.

New Heart English Bible
They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.

Webster's Bible Translation
They hatch cockatrice eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

World English Bible
They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
They have hatched eggs of a viper, "" And weave webs of a spider, "" Whoever is eating their eggs dies, and the crushed hatches a viper.

Young's Literal Translation
Eggs of a viper they have hatched, And webs of a spider they weave, Whoso is eating their eggs doth die, And the crushed hatcheth a viper.

Smith's Literal Translation
They plundered vipers eggs, and they will weave spiders webs: he eating from their eggs shall die, and being crushed, it shall break forth a viper.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They have broken the eggs of asps, and have woven the webs of spiders: he that shall eat of their eggs, shall die: and that which is brought out, shall be hatched into a basilisk.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They have ruptured the eggs of asps, and they have woven the webs of spiders. Whoever will eat of their eggs will die. For what has been incubated will hatch into a king snake.

New American Bible
They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave spiders’ webs: Whoever eats the eggs will die, if one of them is crushed, it will hatch a viper;

New Revised Standard Version
They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web; whoever eats their eggs dies, and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They hatch adder's eggs, and weave a spider's web; he who eats of their eggs shall die, and those which hatch out will be found to be vipers.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The eggs of the Dragon they have hatched, and the webs of spiders they have spun. He who eats of their eggs shall die, and what hatches out can slither
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
They hatch basilisks' eggs, And weave the spider's web; He that eateth of their eggs dieth, And that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
They have hatched asps' eggs, and weave a spider's web: and he that is going to eat of their eggs, having crushed an addled egg, has found also in it a basilisk.
Audio Bible



Context
Sin Separates Us from God
4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity. 5They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched. 6Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.…

Cross References
Job 20:16
He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

Jeremiah 8:17
“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.

Psalm 140:3
They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah

Romans 3:13
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

Matthew 23:33
You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

Luke 3:7
Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Micah 7:4
The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time of their confusion.

Proverbs 23:32
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.

Revelation 9:19
For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm.

2 Corinthians 11:3
I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Deuteronomy 32:33
Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.

Psalm 58:4
Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,

Acts 28:3-6
Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand. / When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” / But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ...

1 Corinthians 10:9
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.


Treasury of Scripture

They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eats of their eggs dies, and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.

cockatrice or adder's

Isaiah 14:29
Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

Proverbs 23:32
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

crushed breaketh out into a viper.

Matthew 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Matthew 12:34
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Jump to Previous
Adders Basilisks Birth Breaketh Breaks Broken Cockatrice Crushed Death Die Dies Dieth Eateth Eating Eats Egg Eggs Food Forth Hatch Hatched Hatcheth Poison-Snake Serpents Snake Snake's Spider Spider's Spin Threads Viper Vipers Weave Web Webs
Jump to Next
Adders Basilisks Birth Breaketh Breaks Broken Cockatrice Crushed Death Die Dies Dieth Eateth Eating Eats Egg Eggs Food Forth Hatch Hatched Hatcheth Poison-Snake Serpents Snake Snake's Spider Spider's Spin Threads Viper Vipers Weave Web Webs
Isaiah 59
1. Calamities are not due to lack of saving power in God, but to their own sins
16. Salvation is only of God
20. The covenant of the Redeemer














They hatch viper’s eggs
The imagery of "viper’s eggs" is potent, symbolizing the birth of sin and iniquity. In Hebrew, the word for "viper" is "צִפְעוֹנִי" (tsiphoni), which refers to a venomous serpent. This metaphor suggests that the actions and thoughts of the people are inherently dangerous and destructive. The hatching of these eggs implies that sin, once conceived, leads to inevitable harm and death, much like the venom of a viper. Historically, serpents have been symbols of deceit and danger, echoing the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), which led humanity into sin.

and weave a spider’s web
The "spider’s web" represents the intricate and deceitful plans of the wicked. In Hebrew, "עַכָּבִישׁ" (akkavish) is the word for spider, and its web is a trap, delicate yet deadly. This imagery conveys the futility and fragility of the wicked's schemes. Just as a spider’s web can ensnare unsuspecting prey, so too do the deceitful plans of sinners entrap others. The web, though appearing strong, is easily destroyed, symbolizing the ultimate failure of evil against God’s righteousness.

Whoever eats their eggs will die
This phrase underscores the lethal consequences of engaging with sin. The act of "eating" these eggs suggests participation in or acceptance of sinful actions. The Hebrew concept of eating often implies internalizing or making something a part of oneself. Thus, those who partake in the wickedness of others are doomed to suffer the same fate. This serves as a warning against complicity in sin, emphasizing the spiritual death that results from turning away from God’s commandments.

crack one open, and a viper is hatched
The cracking of the egg reveals the hidden danger within, a "viper" ready to strike. This phrase highlights the deceptive nature of sin; what may seem harmless or insignificant at first can lead to devastating consequences. The hatching of a viper signifies the full manifestation of sin’s destructive power. In a broader scriptural context, this reflects the principle that sin, when fully grown, brings forth death (James 1:15). It is a call to vigilance and repentance, urging believers to recognize and reject sin before it takes root and causes harm.

(5) They hatch cockatrice' eggs.--Better, basilisk's, as in Isaiah 14:29. The schemes of the evil-doers are displayed in their power for evil and their impotence for good. To "eat of the eggs," which are assumed to be poisonous, is to fall in with their schemes, and so be ruined: to "crush" them is to oppose and so to rouse a more venomous opposition. Men break the egg, and the living viper darts forth to attack them.

Verse 5. - They hatch cockatrice' eggs. (On the cockatrice, see the comment upon Isaiah 11:8.) The meaning here is that the people gave themselves to brooding on and hatching purposes which were as pernicious and destructive as the eggs of venomous serpents. And weave the spider's web; i.e. "their purposes were as flimsy and unsubstantial as the web of the spider." He that eateth, etc. If a man partake of their plans, he becomes morally as bad as they, and is smitten with spiritual death. If an attempt be made to "crush" and destroy their plans, the only result is the premature birth of a viper.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They hatch
בִּקֵּ֔עוּ (biq·qê·‘ū)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1234: To cleave, to rend, break, rip, open

the eggs
בֵּיצֵ֤י (bê·ṣê)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 1000: An egg

of vipers
צִפְעוֹנִי֙ (ṣip̄·‘ō·w·nî)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6848: A serpent

and weave
יֶאֱרֹ֑גוּ (ye·’ĕ·rō·ḡū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 707: To plait, weave

a spider’s
עַכָּבִ֖ישׁ (‘ak·kā·ḇîš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5908: A spider

web.
וְקוּרֵ֥י (wə·qū·rê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6980: Trenches, a web

Whoever eats
הָאֹכֵ֤ל (hā·’ō·ḵêl)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

their eggs
מִבֵּֽיצֵיהֶם֙ (mib·bê·ṣê·hem)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1000: An egg

will die;
יָמ֔וּת (yā·mūṯ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

crack one open,
וְהַזּוּרֶ֖ה (wə·haz·zū·reh)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular
Strong's 2116: Trodden on

and a viper
אֶפְעֶֽה׃ (’ep̄·‘eh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 660: An asp, other venomous serpent

is hatched.
תִּבָּקַ֥ע (tib·bā·qa‘)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1234: To cleave, to rend, break, rip, open


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 59:5 They hatch adders' eggs and weave (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 59:4
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