Owls ¹  will make nests and lay eggs ²  there; they will hatch them and protect them. ³  Yes, hawks ⁴  will gather there, each with its mate.

Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.

So John ¹  said to the crowds ²  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ³  Who warned you to flee ⁴  from the coming wrath?

Just as ¹  Moses lifted up the serpent ²  in the wilderness, ³  so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ⁴ 

When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood ¹  and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

But when he saw many Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

anything that crawls ¹  on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth. ² 

you animals and all you cattle, you creeping things and birds,

“Their throats are open graves, ¹  they deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips.” ² 

But I am afraid that ¹  just as the serpent ²  deceived Eve by his treachery, ³  your minds may be led astray ⁴  from a sincere and pure ⁵  devotion to Christ.

He ¹  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years.

his food is turned sour ¹  in his stomach; ²  it becomes the venom of serpents ³  within him.

By his breath ¹  the skies became fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. ² 

You crushed the heads of Leviathan; ¹  you fed ²  him to the people who live along the coast. ³ 

At that time ¹  the Lord will punish with his destructive, ²  great, and powerful sword Leviathan the fast-moving ³  serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent; he will kill the sea monster. ⁴ 

When the local people ¹  saw the creature hanging from Paul’s ²  hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself ³  has not allowed him to live!” ⁴ 

He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. ¹  He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time ²  the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. ³ 

So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this ¹  you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent ²  tricked ³  me, and I ate.”

They will be starved by famine, eaten by plague, and bitterly stung; ¹  I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.

My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. ¹  My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’” ²