Proverbs 19:9
in Proverbs 19A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall perish.
KJV
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
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This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA false witness shall not be unpunished,.... See Gill on Pro 19:5; and he that speaketh lies shall perish; or "be lost", shall be undone for ever; he shall not enter into the holy city, but have his part in the lake of fire: they that speak lies in hypocrisy, doctrinal ones, and are given up to believe and profess them, such shall be damned, 2Th 2:11.
This 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
one who pours out lies will perish
The verse repeats verse 5 and changes its end, the false witness who pours out lies now perishing. John Gill reads perish as lost for ever, and he extends the lies to false doctrine. The witness will not go unpunished.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Pleasure does not befit a fool, much less a slave It is derived by an a fortiori conclusion that it does not befit a slave to rule over princes.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| וְיָפִ֖יחַ | veyafiach | and he may breathe out | H6315 → | 14 times |
| כְּזָבִ֣ים | kezavim | lies | H3577 → | 31 times |
| יֹאבֵֽד׃ פ | yoved | he will perish | H6 → | 184 times |
עֵ֣דa witness of
ʾedH5707 →70 times
שְׁ֭קָרִיםlies
shekarimH8267 →113 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִנָּקֶ֑הhe will go unpunished
yinakehH5352 →44 times
וְיָפִ֖יחַand he may breathe out
veyafiachH6315 →14 times
כְּזָבִ֣יםlies
kezavimH3577 →31 times
יֹאבֵֽד׃ פhe will perish
yovedH6 →184 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
Revelation 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 20:14–15
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
- Ephesians 5:5–6
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Through
Revelation 22:15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Galatians 5:19–21
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
- Revelation 21:8
Through
Revelation 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and…
it leads to
- Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day…
- Revelation 20:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs

This page draws on Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.
