Proverbs 25:18

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Translations sourced from the public-domain WEB, KJV, and ASV. See all sources.

“A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.”

— WEB

“A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.”

— KJV

“A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor Is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.”

— ASV

Bible Verses About Friendship

Cross-references

Related verses via the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Psalms 57:4 "My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue …"
Proverbs 12:18 "There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals."
Jeremiah 9:8 "Their tongue is a deadly arrow. It speaks deceit. One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart, he waits to ambu…"
James 3:6 "And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the cours…"
Jeremiah 9:3 "“They bend their tongue, as their bow, for falsehood. They have grown strong in the land, but not for truth; for they proceed from evil t…"
Psalms 120:3-4 "What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue?"
Psalms 52:2 "Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully."
Proverbs 24:28 "Don’t be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Don’t deceive with your lips."

Commentary

Here, 1. The sin condemned is bearing false witness against our neighbour, either in judgment or in common conversation, contrary to the law of the ninth commandment. 2. That which it is here condemned for is the mischievousness of it; it is in its power to ruin not only men's reputation, but their lives, estates, families, all that is dear to them. A false testimony is every thing that is dangerous; it is a maul (or club to knock a man's brains out with), a flail, which there is no fence against; it is a sword to wound near at hand and a sharp arrow to wound at a distance; we have therefore need to pray, Deliver my soul, O Lord! from lying lips, Psa 120:2.

— Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary (public domain)

A false witness is as destructive to reputation, as such weapons to the body (Pro 24:28). beareth . . . witness--literally, "answereth questions," as before a judge, against his neighbor.

— Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary (public domain)

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