He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.
The instances here given of the miserable condition of the wicked man in this world are expressed with great fulness and fluency of language, and the same thing returned to again and repeated in other words. Let us therefore reduce the particulars to their proper heads, and observe, I. What his wickedness is for which he is punished. 1.
Commenting on Job 20:10-22
He shall suck the poison of asps,.... Or "the head of asps" (u); for their poison lies in their heads, particularly in their "teeth" (w); or rather is a liquor in the gums, yellow like oil (x); according to Pliny (y), in copulation the male puts his head into the mouth of the female, which she sucks and gnaws off through the sweetness of the...
shall suck--It shall turn out that he has sucked the poison, &c.