Proverbs 19:5
in Proverbs 19A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall not escape.
KJV
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
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This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Wealth attracts many friends
on Proverbs 19:4-9
Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend, a social fact the book states without approving it. A false witness receives the same sentence at verses 5 and 9, first that he "will not go unpunished" and then that he "will perish."
This site's exposition
A false witness will not go unpunished
The verse returns almost word for word at verse 9, and the repetition gives emphasis. Here the liar will not escape. In verse 9 he will perish, and the warning on false witness frames the cluster on the poor and their friends.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
There are true martyrs and false ones, because there are true and false witnesses. But Scripture says, "The false witness shall not go unpunished." If the false witness will not escape punishment, neither will the true witness be denied a crown. And it was, indeed, easy to bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth, because he is God; but to do so to the death, that was a great work.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A false witness will not go unpunished, etc. He reproved him who only followed words of knowledge without the efficacy of operation; now he reproves him who corrupts the very words of divine authority by misinterpretation. But that many things are often repeated indicates firmness, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A false witness shall not be unpunished,....
It is very unseemly for one that is a servant to sin and his lusts to rule over and oppress those that are God's freemen and made kings and priests to him. 11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
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 |
| שְׁ֭קָרִים | shekarim | lies | H8267 → | 113 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִנָּקֶ֑ה | yinakeh | he will go unpunished | H5352 → | 44 times |
| וְיָפִ֥יחַ | veyafiach | and he may breathe out | H6315 → | 14 times |
| כְּ֝זָבִ֗ים | kezavim | lies | H3577 → | 31 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמָּלֵֽט׃ | yimalet | he will escape | H4422 → | 95 times |
עֵ֣דa witness of
ʾedH5707 →70 times
שְׁ֭קָרִיםlies
shekarimH8267 →113 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִנָּקֶ֑הhe will go unpunished
yinakehH5352 →44 times
וְיָפִ֥יחַand he may breathe out
veyafiachH6315 →14 times
כְּ֝זָבִ֗יםlies
kezavimH3577 →31 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִמָּלֵֽט׃he will escape
yimaletH4422 →95 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
- 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,
- Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Psalms 101:5
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
Through
Proverbs 21:28A lying witness will perish, but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 4:13
And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
- 2 Corinthians 4:13
Through
Proverbs 19:9A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Revelation 22:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 286:1; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.