Proverbs 24:28

28 Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; And deceive not with thy lips.

Proverbs 24:28 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 24:28

Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause
Unless forced unto it, except there is some urgent reason for it; not upon any trivial account, or in any frivolous matter; never appear forward and eager to bear witness against him, and, whenever obliged to it, be not a false witness, but speak truth, whether thy neighbour be a friend or a foe; and deceive [not] with thy lips;
by bearing a false testimony, the judge, thy neighbour and thyself; for though men may be deceived, God cannot: or, shouldest thou do so, "thou wouldest break" and cut him to pieces "with thy lips" F24; which is the sense of the words according to R. Judah, as Ben Melech relates.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 (Kytpvb tytyphw) "et ne atteras labiis tuis", Vatablus; "et ne comminuas eum labiis tuis", Syriac version.

Proverbs 24:28 In-Context

26 He kisseth the lips Who giveth a right answer.
27 Prepare thy work without, And make it ready for thee in the field; And afterwards build thy house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; And deceive not with thy lips.
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.
30 I went by the field of the sluggard, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.