Proverbs 14:25
in Proverbs 14A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A true witness delivereth souls; But he that uttereth lies causeth deceit.
KJV
A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA faithful witness delivers souls, etc. Christ, who is the faithful witness, liberates souls, as we read in the Apocalypse; and, as the Apostle says, he testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate (I Tim. VI). The devil, who rightly is called the deceitful, proclaims …
This site's exposition
Do not those who contrive evil go astray?
on Proverbs 14:22-25
Verse 22 asks, “Do not those who contrive evil go astray?” and answers that “those who plan goodness find loving devotion and faithfulness,” one Hebrew verb serving plans toward ruin and toward kindness. “A truthful witness saves lives,” the same integrity tested in a courtroom.
This site's exposition
A truthful witness saves lives
Albert Barnes notes that the second line might have said the deceitful witness destroys lives, and it says he utters lies. All destruction is contained in falsehood. In a court, a false witness could take a man's life.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A true witness delivereth souls,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In the second clause, “destroyeth life” might have been expected as the antithesis to “delivereth souls.” But what worse could be said? “A deceitful witness speaketh lies.” All destruction is implied in falsehood.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַצִּ֣יל | matzil | [is] delivering | H5337 → | 212 times |
| נְ֭פָשׁוֹת | nefashot | lives | H5315 → | 754 times |
| עֵ֣ד | ʾed | a witness of | H5707 → | 70 times |
| אֱמֶ֑ת | ʾemet | reliability | H571 → | 127 times |
| וְיָפִ֖חַ | veyafiach | so he may breathe out | H6315 → | 14 times |
| כְּזָבִ֣ים | kezavim | lies | H3577 → | 31 times |
| מִרְמָֽה׃ | mirmah | deceit | H4820 → | 39 times |
מַצִּ֣יל[is] delivering
matzilH5337 →212 times
נְ֭פָשׁוֹתlives
nefashotH5315 →754 times
עֵ֣דa witness of
ʾedH5707 →70 times
אֱמֶ֑תreliability
ʾemetH571 →127 times
וְיָפִ֖חַso he may breathe out
veyafiachH6315 →14 times
כְּזָבִ֣יםlies
kezavimH3577 →31 times
מִרְמָֽה׃deceit
mirmahH4820 →39 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Peter 3:3Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
it leads to
- Jude 1:18
when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”
- 1 Timothy 4:1–2
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- 2 Peter 2:10
Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2
Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to…
- Jude 1:16
These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
- Jude 1:18
Through
Proverbs 14:5An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness pours forth lies.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:1
“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- Proverbs 6:19
a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
- Proverbs 19:5
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
- Exodus 23:1
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).