Proverbs 26:19

19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

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 Like one who grabs a dog by the ears is a passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

18 Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,

19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

20 Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.

21 Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.