Proverbs 14:5

A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:1 A woman who has no fear of God, who is wilful and wasteful, and indulges her ease, will as certainly ruin her family, as if she plucked her house down. 2. Here are grace and sin in their true colours. Those that despise God's precepts and promises, despise God and all his power and mercy. 3. Pride grows from that root of bitterness which is in the heart. The root must be plucked up, or we cannot conquer this branch. The prudent words of wise men get them out of difficulties. 4. There can be no advantage without something which, though of little moment, will affright the indolent. 5. A conscientious witness will not dare to represent anything otherwise than according to his knowledge. 6. A scorner treats Divine things with contempt. He that feels his ignorance and unworthiness will search the Scriptures in a humble spirit. 7. We discover a wicked man if there is no savour of piety in his discourse. 8. We are travellers, whose concern is, not to spy out wonders, but to get to their journey's end; to understand the rules we are to walk by, also the ends we are to walk toward. The bad man cheats himself, and goes on in his mistake. 9. Foolish and profane men consider sin a mere trifle, to be made light of rather than mourned over. Fools mock at the sin-offering; but those that make light of sin, make light of Christ. 10. We do not know what stings of conscience, or consuming passions, torment the prosperous sinner. Nor does the world know the peace of mind a serious Christian enjoys, even in poverty and sickness. 11. Sin ruins many great families; whilst righteousness often raises and strengthens even mean families. 12. The ways of carelessness, of worldliness, and of sensuality, seem right to those that walk in them; but self-deceivers prove self-destroyers. See the vanity of carnal mirth. 14. Of all sinners backsliders will have the most terror when they reflect on their own ways. 15. Eager readiness to believe what others say, has ever proved mischievous. The whole world was thus ruined at first. The man who is spiritually wise, depends on the Saviour alone for acceptance. He is watchful against the enemies of his salvation, by taking heed to God's word. 16. Holy fear guards against every thing unholy. 17. An angry man is to be pitied as well as blamed; but the revengeful is more hateful.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

i. e., Labor has its rough, unpleasant side, yet it ends in profit. So also, the life of contemplation may seem purer, "cleaner "than that of action. The outer business of the world brings its cares and disturbances, but also "much increase." There will be a sure reward of that activity in good works for him who goes, as with "the strength of the ox," to the task to which God calls him.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. 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.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Will not lie, to wit, in common discourse and conversation, whereby he showeth his love to truth, and giveth assurance that when he is called to be a witness, he will be true and faithful.

But a false witness will utter lies; or, as the words lie in the Hebrew, and or but he that

will utter lies (that accustometh himself to lying) is or will be a false witness, when occasion requires it. Having debauched his conscience by daily lying, he is thereby prepared and disposed to false witness-bearing. Compare Proverbs 12:17.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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. This may be applied to Gospel ministers, who are witnesses of Christ; the Gospel they preach is a testimony concerning him, and they bear a faithful witness to the truth; nor will they, knowingly and willingly, deliver out a falsehood, or a doctrinal lie, since "no lie is of the truth", 1 John 2:21; the character of a faithful witness is given to Christ, Revelation 1:5; who is a "witness" of his father's love and grace, of his mind and will, and of the doctrines of the Gospel relating to himself, and the method of salvation by him; and he is "faithful" to him that appointed him; nor can he nor will he lie, for he is "truth" itself;

but a false witness will utter lies; or "blow" (e) them out, and spread them abroad in great plenty; he will not stick to tell them, and, having no conscience, will utter them as fast as he can, with all boldness and confidence; for one that fears not to bear testimony to a falsehood upon oath, will not scruple to lie in common talk. Or the words, "nay" be rendered, "he that uttereth lies will be a false witness"; he that accustoms himself to lying, in his conversation with men in private company, will become a false witness upon occasion in a public court of judicature: such an one is not to be depended on; lesser sins lead to greater, lying to perjury. So false teachers, and the followers of the man of sin, speak lies in hypocrisy, doctrinal ones, which they are given up to believe; and such as do so are false witnesses, deceivers, and antichrist.

(e) "efflabit", Montanus; "efflat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Geneva Study Bible

A faithful witness will not lie: but {e} a false witness will utter lies.

(e) For the maintenance of his own ambition, and not for God's glory, as Simon Magus.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. will utter] uttereth, R.V., “Heb. breatheth out” marg.; ἐκκαίει ψευδῆ, LXX., in the sense of kindleth, bloweth into flame.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - A repetition of Proverbs 12:17 (see also Proverbs 6:19). A faithful witness cannot be induced to swerve from the truth by threat or bribe. Will utter; Hebrew, breatheth forth. A false witness with no compulsion, as it were naturally, puts forth lies (comp. ver. 25; Proverbs 19:5). Septuagint, " An unrighteous witness kindleth (ἐκκαίει) falsehood." Proverbs 14:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Striking if also accidental is the frequency of the א and ב in Proverbs 14:4. This is continued in Proverbs 14:5, where the collector gives two proverbs, the first of which commences with a word beginning with א, and the second with one beginning with ב:

5 A faithful witness does not speak untruth;

   But a lying witness breathes out falsehoods.

The right vocalization and sequence of the accents is בּקּשׁ לץ חכמה (ק with Tsere and the servile Mahpach, חכמה with Munach, because the following Athnach-word has not two syllables before the tone). As in 5a עד אמוּנים, so in 5b עד שׁקר is the subject. Different is the relation of subject and predicate in the second line of the parallel proverbs, Proverbs 14:25, Proverbs 19:5. With 5a cf. ציר אמוּנים, Proverbs 13:17; and regarding יפיח (one who breathes out), vid., at Proverbs 6:19; Proverbs 12:17.