“... As in the earlier citations, all three psalms (5, 9, 139) make distinctions between the righteous and the wicked that the catena drops (5:5, 12; 9:1-4, 12-14; 139:4, 13). The throat of sinners in v. 13 is described as a “grave that has been opened.” [...] Since an open grave allowed pollution to spread, this metaphor may refer to corrupt and filthy speech. It is also possible that the metaphor of an open grave reflects the ancient view of Mot, the god of death, whose gigantic maw had an “insatiable . . . voracious appetite” to swallow up the living. In that case, the metaphor relates to death-dealing words and indicates the likely future of those who participate in this kind of speech. In the second line of the quatrain, the tongue participates by its deceit in the universal lies of the human race. [...] In the third line the deadly poison of asps is spewed out by lethal words that destroy others as well as one's self. [...] In the final line the mouth utters words of cursing and bitterness against the world. These metaphors are vivid descriptions of unrighteous communication, the “sins of the mouth.” ...”