Proverbs 25:18
in Proverbs 25Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor Is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
KJV
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
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This verse in Proverbs 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHe that has been struck by a stone goes to a physician, but sharper than a stone are the strokes of calumny. For, as Solomon has said, "A false witness is a war club, and a sword, and a sharp arrow," and its wounds truth alone is able to cure. If truth is set at naught, the wounds grow worse and worse.
This site's exposition
Like a club or sword or sharp arrow
on Proverbs 25:18-20
"Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor" stacks three weapons for one sin. The next line moves from weapon to disappointment, trust that cannot bear weight, like "a broken tooth or a foot out of joint."
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour,.... In whose house he has often been, and whom he has frequently visited; and, observing what was done there, not only discovers and tells abroad the secrets of his family, but even things which are false; yea, in a court of judicature, appears a witness against him, and swears falsely to his hurt and prejudice.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
A false witness is as destructive to reputation, as such weapons to the body (Pr 24:28). beareth . . . witness--literally, "answereth questions," as before a judge, against his neighbor.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Maul - A heavy sledge hammer. The word is connected with “malleus:” its diminutive “mallet” is still in use.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵפִ֣יץ | mefitz | a war-club | H4650 → | |
| וְ֭חֶרֶב | vecherev | and a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וְחֵ֣ץ | vechetz | and an arrow | H2671 → | 53 times |
| שָׁנ֑וּן | shanun | sharpened | H8150 → | |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עֹנֶ֥ה | ʾoneh | [who] testifies | H6030 → | 331 times |
| בְ֝רֵעֵ֗הוּ | vereehu | against neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| עֵ֣ד | ʾed | a witness of | H5707 → | 70 times |
| שָֽׁקֶר׃ | shaker | falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
מֵפִ֣יץa war-club
mefitzH4650 →
וְ֭חֶרֶבand a sword
vecherevH2719 →413 times
וְחֵ֣ץand an arrow
vechetzH2671 →53 times
שָׁנ֑וּןsharpened
shanunH8150 →
אִ֥ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עֹנֶ֥ה[who] testifies
ʾonehH6030 →331 times
בְ֝רֵעֵ֗הוּagainst neighbor his
vereehuH7453 →188 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
James 3:6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on…
it leads to
- Psalms 120:2–3
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
- Proverbs 16:27
A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
- Mark 7:15
Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
- Matthew 15:11–20
A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
- Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Psalms 120:2–3
Through
Proverbs 12:18Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
- Proverbs 15:4
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- Proverbs 16:24
Through
Jeremiah 9:8Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
it leads to
- Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Psalms 28:3
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); Athanasius of Alexandria, DEFENSE BEFORE CONSTANTIUS 12; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).