Proverbs 26:19

19 So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?

Proverbs 26:19 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 26:19

So [is] the man [that] deceiveth his neighbour
By telling him a lie; or by reporting false things concerning him; or by cheating him in trade and commerce; or by taking his goods privately from him; and, when caught in either of these, and saith, Am not I in sport?
do not be angry, I designed no hurt; it is all in jest, a mere joke: but, had he not been apprehended, it would have been in earnest, as he was. This is only an excuse, and as absurd an one as if a man should set fire to his neighbour's house and barns, or throw arrows at him, or strike him with any instrument of death, as the sword and then say he was only in jest, or pretend madness.

Proverbs 26:19 In-Context

17 He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.

18 As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,

19 So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?

20 Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.

21 Like breath on coals and wood on fire, so a man given to argument gets a fight started.