Proverbs 14:5
in Proverbs 14An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness pours forth lies.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A faithful witness will not lie; But a false witness uttereth lies.
KJV
A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThese things we have said concerning those that in truth have been martyrs for Christ, but not concerning false martyrs, concerning whom the oracle speaks, "The name of the ungodly is extinguished." For "a faithful witness will not lie, but an unjust witness inflames lies." For he that departs this life in his testimony without lying, for the sake of the truth, is a faithful martyr, worthy to be believed in such things wherein he strove for the word of truth by his own blood. .
This site's exposition
The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back
on Proverbs 14:3-5
“The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back,” so the proud mouth strikes the fool who carries it. “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,” so the mess an ox makes is the price of the harvest it brings.
This site's exposition
An honest witness does not deceive
Israel's courts settled a case on the word of witnesses, so one false tongue could decide it. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown render pours forth lies as breathes out lies, a man who lies as easily as he breathes. His daily habit shows in court.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
These things we have said concerning those that in truth have been martyrs for Christ, but not concerning false martyrs, concerning whom the oracle speaks, "The name of the ungodly is extinguished." For "a faithful witness will not lie, but an unjust witness inflames lies." …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A faithful witness will not lie,.... For that would be contrary to his character as faithful; and as he will not witness to a falsehood upon oath in a court of judicature, so neither will he tell a lie in common conversation.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
A faithful witness, &c.--one tested to be such. utter lies--or, "breathe out lies"--that is, habitually lies (Pr 6:19; compare Ac 9:1). Or the sense is, that habitual truthfulness, or lying, will be evinced in witness-bearing.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֵ֣ד | ʾed | a witness of | H5707 → | 70 times |
| אֱ֭מוּנִים | ʾemunim | faithfulness<es> | H529 → | 8 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְכַזֵּ֑ב | yekhazev | he tells lies | H3576 → | |
| וְיָפִ֥יחַ | veyafiach | and he may breathe out | H6315 → | 14 times |
| כְּ֝זָבִ֗ים | kezavim | lies | H3577 → | 31 times |
| עֵ֣ד | ʾed | a witness of | H5707 → | 70 times |
| שָֽׁקֶר׃ | shaker | falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
עֵ֣דa witness of
ʾedH5707 →70 times
אֱ֭מוּנִיםfaithfulness<es>
ʾemunimH529 →8 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְכַזֵּ֑בhe tells lies
yekhazevH3576 →
וְיָפִ֥יחַand he may breathe out
veyafiachH6315 →14 times
כְּ֝זָבִ֗יםlies
kezavimH3577 →31 times
עֵ֣דa witness of
ʾedH5707 →70 times
שָֽׁקֶר׃falsehood
shakerH8267 →113 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
Exodus 23:1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:5
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 101:5
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.
- Deuteronomy 19:16–21
If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,
- Proverbs 19:5
Through
Proverbs 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
it leads to
- Proverbs 6:19
a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 21:28
A lying witness will perish, but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.
- Proverbs 6:19
Through
Proverbs 6:19a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:9
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 6:14
With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord.
- James 3:18
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.
- Proverbs 19:9
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Nilus of Sinai, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 5:1.9.