Proverbs 26:19

19 A man who lies to his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!" is just like that person.

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 Don't get mixed up in someone else's fight as you are passing by. That's like picking a dog up by its ears.

18 Suppose a crazy person shoots flaming arrows that can kill.

19 A man who lies to his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!" is just like that person.

20 If you don't have wood, your fire goes out. If you don't talk about others, arguing dies down.

21 Coal glows. Wood burns. And a man who argues stirs up fights.