A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish. A false witnessThe phrase "a false witness" refers to someone who deliberately lies or provides misleading testimony, especially in a legal context. In Hebrew, the word for "false" is "שָׁקֶר" (sheqer), which conveys deceit and untruth. The term "witness" is "עֵד" (ed), indicating someone who bears testimony. In ancient Israel, the integrity of witnesses was crucial for justice, as legal systems heavily relied on oral testimonies. The ninth commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" ( Exodus 20:16), underscores the importance of truthfulness. A false witness disrupts justice and societal harmony, which God values deeply. will not go unpunished
This phrase emphasizes the certainty of divine justice. The Hebrew root for "punished" is "נָקָה" (naqah), meaning to be acquitted or left unpunished. The negative construction here assures that falsehood will inevitably lead to consequences. In the biblical context, God is portrayed as a just judge who ensures that wrongdoing is addressed. This assurance serves as both a warning to those who might consider deceit and a comfort to those who suffer from it, affirming that God sees all and will act in His time. and one who pours out lies
The imagery of "pouring out lies" suggests an abundance and intentionality in deceit. The Hebrew verb "יַפִּיחַ" (yaphiakh) conveys the idea of breathing out or emitting, indicating that lies flow naturally from this person. This phrase highlights the habitual nature of lying, contrasting with a single false testimony. In biblical literature, the tongue is often depicted as a powerful tool for both good and evil (James 3:5-6). The repeated emphasis on truthfulness in Proverbs reflects the high value placed on integrity and the destructive power of deceit. will perish
The term "perish" comes from the Hebrew "אָבַד" (avad), meaning to be lost, destroyed, or to vanish. This word carries a sense of finality and totality. In the biblical worldview, perishing is not merely physical death but can also imply spiritual ruin or separation from God. The fate of those who persist in deceit is contrasted with the life and prosperity promised to the righteous. This serves as a sobering reminder of the ultimate consequences of living contrary to God's truth and righteousness. Persons / Places / Events 1. SolomonTraditionally regarded as the author of Proverbs, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. His proverbs often address moral and ethical living. 2. IsraelThe nation to whom the Proverbs were originally given, providing guidance for living in accordance with God's laws. 3. False WitnessA person who gives untrue testimony, particularly in a legal or judicial context, which is a central focus of this proverb. 4. JudgmentThe event or process by which God or human authorities hold individuals accountable for their actions, especially in the context of truth and falsehood. Teaching Points The Seriousness of TruthfulnessGod values truth, and lying is a serious offense with both temporal and eternal consequences. Christians are called to be people of integrity, reflecting God's nature. Consequences of DeceitThe proverb warns that deceit leads to punishment and destruction. This serves as a deterrent against lying and encourages believers to consider the long-term impact of their words. Integrity in WitnessBeing a truthful witness is crucial, not only in legal matters but in all aspects of life. Christians are called to uphold truth in their testimonies, whether in court, at work, or in personal relationships. God's JusticeThe assurance that a false witness will not go unpunished reflects God's justice. Believers can trust that God will ultimately right wrongs and hold individuals accountable. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the prohibition against bearing false witness in the Ten Commandments relate to the warning in Proverbs 19:9? 2. In what ways can we ensure that we are truthful witnesses in our daily lives, both in speech and action? 3. How does understanding the consequences of lying, as described in Proverbs 19:9, influence your approach to honesty? 4. What are some practical steps you can take to cultivate a habit of truthfulness and integrity in your personal and professional life? 5. How does the assurance of God's justice, as seen in this proverb, provide comfort and motivation for living a life of truth? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 20:16This verse is part of the Ten Commandments, which prohibits bearing false witness, highlighting the importance of truthfulness in God's law. Proverbs 6:16-19Lists things the Lord hates, including a lying tongue and a false witness, reinforcing the theme of divine disapproval of deceit. Revelation 21:8Describes the ultimate fate of liars, connecting the temporal consequences of lying with eternal judgment. People Isaiah, SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics FALSE, Breather, Breatheth, Cut, Deceit, Forth, Held, Innocent, Lies, Perish, Perisheth, Pours, Punishment, Speaketh, Tells, Unpunished, Uttereth, Utters, WitnessDictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 19:9 1461 truth, nature of
5625 witnesses, false
5951 slander
6147 deceit, practice
8715 dishonesty, and God
8751 false witness
8776 lies Library How the Slothful and the Hasty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 16.) Differently to be admonished are the slothful and the hasty. For the former are to be persuaded not to lose, by putting it off, the good they have to do; but the latter are to be admonished lest, while they forestall the time of good deeds by inconsiderate haste, they change their meritorious character. To the slothful therefore it is to be intimated, that often, when we will not do at the right time what we can, before long, when we will, we cannot. For the very indolence of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the GreatHow the Impatient and the Patient are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 10.) Differently to be admonished are the impatient and the patient. For the impatient are to be told that, while they neglect to bridle their spirit, they are hurried through many steep places of iniquity which they seek not after, inasmuch as fury drives the mind whither desire draws it not, and, when perturbed, it does, not knowing, what it afterwards grieves for when it knows. The impatient are also to be told that, when carried headlong by the impulse of emotion, they act in some …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Second Journey through Galilee - the Healing of the Leper.
A DAY and an evening such as of that Sabbath of healing in Capernaum must, with reverence be it written, have been followed by what opens the next section. [2299] To the thoughtful observer there is such unbroken harmony in the Life of Jesus, such accord of the inward and outward, as to carry instinctive conviction of the truth of its record. It was, so to speak, an inward necessity that the God-Man, when brought into contact with disease and misery, whether from physical or supernatural causes, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Kingdom of God Conceived as the Inheritance of the Poor.
These maxims, good for a country where life is nourished by the air and the light, and this delicate communism of a band of children of God reposing in confidence on the bosom of their Father, might suit a simple sect constantly persuaded that its Utopia was about to be realized. But it is clear that they could not satisfy the whole of society. Jesus understood very soon, in fact, that the official world of his time would by no means adopt his kingdom. He took his resolution with extreme boldness. …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus "Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." As man is naturally given to boasting and gloriation in something (for the heart cannot want some object to rest upon and take complacency in, it is framed with such a capacity of employing other things), so there is a strong inclination in man towards the time to come, he hath an immortal appetite, and an appetite of immortality; and therefore his desires usually stretch farther than the present …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Man's Misery by the Fall
Q-19: WHAT IS THE MISERY OF THAT ESTATE WHEREINTO MAN FELL? A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever. 'And were by nature children of wrath.' Eph 2:2. Adam left an unhappy portion to his posterity, Sin and Misery. Having considered the first of these, original sin, we shall now advert to the misery of that state. In the first, we have seen mankind offending; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Exod 20: 16. THE tongue which at first was made to be an organ of God's praise, is now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This commandment binds the tongue to its good behaviour. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue, the teeth and lips; and this commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part: the first is set down in plain words, the other …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Proverbs 19:9 NIVProverbs 19:9 NLTProverbs 19:9 ESVProverbs 19:9 NASBProverbs 19:9 KJV
Proverbs 19:9 Commentaries
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