Proverbs 21:28
in Proverbs 21A lying witness will perish, but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A false witness shall perish; But the man that heareth shall speak so as to endure.
KJV
A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe false witness will perish, etc. He who testifies that he serves God, but does not follow through with deeds, will perish. But he who faithfully, as he promises, submits to divine commands, his speech reaches victory, because while he strives through obedience to conquer …
This site's exposition
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable
on Proverbs 21:27-29
"The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable" returns to the ground of verse 3, worship without obedience made worse when brought with ill intent. A lying witness will perish, but the man who listens to truth "will speak forever," true testimony outlasting the false.
This site's exposition
the man who listens to truth
Albert Barnes explains that the man who listens to truth and repeats simply what he has heard speaks a testimony that abides. Bede reads the lying witness as one who claims to serve God and fails to show it in deeds. That witness will perish.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A false witness shall perish,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Speaketh constantly - His testimony abides evermore who repeats simply what he has heard, whether from the lips of men or from the voice within, in contrast with “the false witness.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֵד־ | ʾed- | a witness of | H5707 → | 70 times |
| כְּזָבִ֥ים | kezavim | lies | H3577 → | 31 times |
| יֹאבֵ֑ד | yoved | he will perish | H6 → | 184 times |
| וְאִ֥ישׁ | veish | and a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ | shomea' | [who] listens | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| לָנֶ֥צַח | lanetzach | to perpetuity | H5331 → | |
| יְדַבֵּֽר׃ | yedaber | he will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
עֵד־a witness of
ʾed-H5707 →70 times
כְּזָבִ֥יםlies
kezavimH3577 →31 times
יֹאבֵ֑דhe will perish
yovedH6 →184 times
וְאִ֥ישׁand a person
veishH376 →1663 times
שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗עַ[who] listens
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
לָנֶ֥צַחto perpetuity
lanetzachH5331 →
יְדַבֵּֽר׃he will speak
yedaberH1696 →1141 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 Corinthians 4:13And 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,
it leads to
- Psalms 116:10
I believed, therefore I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”
- Hebrews 11:1–40
Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
- 2 Corinthians 3:12
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
- 1 Corinthians 12:9
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
- Romans 1:12
that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
- Psalms 116:10
Through
Proverbs 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
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 19:9
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.
- Exodus 23:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.