I challenge anyone to read these verses and tell me they don't say the wicked are sinful from birth.
The text in Psalms 58:3 is poetic and highly figurative. Even Calvinist Albert Barnes admits original sin cannot be gleaned from the passage "
The words, “the wicked,” here do not necessarily refer to the whole human family (though what is thus affirmed is true of all the human race), but to people who in their lives develop a wicked character; and the affirmation in regard to them is that they go astray early in life - from their very infancy.
Strictly speaking, therefore, it cannot be shown that the psalmist in this declaration had reference to the whole human race, or that he meant to make a universal declaration in regard to man as being early estranged or alienated from God; and the passage, therefore, cannot directly, and with exact propriety, be adduced to prove the doctrine that “original sin” pertains to all the race--"
Barnes is basically saying David is talking about
his enemies, but in general, David is speaking about all people who BECOME wicked, who GO ASTRAY early in life in their youth, not at birth. Genesis 8:21 says man's heart is evil from his youth...not at birth. The Bible does not contradict itself.
In the immediate context of Psalms 58:3 David says:
The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
--they "go astray" showing personal culpability and not how they were passively born against their will. The passages does not say one is responsible for the sins of another.
--they speak lies. Obviously new borns cannot speak.
-must have their "teeth broken". Again, not a reference to new borns. The wicked are spoken of as poisonous snakes. The idea is they should be killed to stop their poison from spreading.
--to take the passage literally, then David is not talking about human infants, but young lions.
Albert Barnes point being, looking at ones life in whole, early in life at youth one moves from God, he speaks lies, ie, rebels against God speaking things contrary to God and will not listen to God.
Further more if tries to literalize Psalms 58:3 with Psalms 51:5, then one has a problem. Psalms 58:3 speaks of birth while Psalms 51:5 speaks of conception. Conception and birth are two distinct points separated by about 9 months. If one is literally conceived a sinner then he cannot become a sinner at birth for he already is a sinner. If one is not a sinner until he is born, then he cannot be a sinner at conception.
