Deuteronomy 19:16

16 If {a malicious witness} gets up {to accuse} anyone to testify against him falsely,

Deuteronomy 19:16 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 19:16

If a false witness rise up against any man
In a court of judicature:

to testify against him:
that which is not true of him, let it be in what case it will; Aben Ezra instances in idolatry, but it holds good of any other.

Deuteronomy 19:16 In-Context

14 "You shall not move the boundary [marker] of your neighbor that {former generations} set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you to take possession of it.

15 {The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict} [with respect to] any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person committed; on the {evidence} of two witnesses or on the {evidence} of three witnesses {a charge shall be sustained}.

16 If {a malicious witness} gets up {to accuse} anyone to testify against him falsely,

17 then the two men {to whom the legal dispute pertains} shall stand {before} Yahweh, {before} the priests and the judges who are [in office] in those days.

18 Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and [if] it turns out that the witness is a false witness [and] he testified falsely against his brother,

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "a witness of violence"
• [b] Literally "against"