Proverbs 14:25

25 A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is a traitor.

Proverbs 14:25 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 14:25

A true witness delivereth souls
Or, "a witness of truth" {x}: one that witnesses truth upon oath in a court of judicature, he "delivers souls"; men, not one man only, but many; a whole family, or more, in danger of being ruined; he delivers them, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions add, "from evils"; from evil charges and accusations brought against them; from the oppression of their enemies, from the loss of their good name, and from ruin and destruction, that otherwise would have come upon them; he delivers their "lives" ^F25, as it may be rendered, in danger of being lost by false accusations: so a witness of the truth of Christ, or a faithful minister of the Gospel, not only saves himself, but them that hear him; and is an instrument of delivering the souls of men from error and damnation; but a deceitful [witness] speaketh lies;
boldly, openly, by wholesale; he blows them out ^F26, to the ruin of the good names and characters, and to the destruction of the lives, of the innocent; and so a false teacher, one that lies in wait to deceive, speaks lies in hypocrisy, doctrinal lies, to the ruin of the souls of men. The Targum is,

``he that speaketh lies is deceitful;''

he is "deceit" ^F1 itself, as in the Hebrew text. Such is the man of sin, and such are his emissaries.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (tma de) "testis veritatis", Montanus, Cocceius, Schultens.
F25 (twvpn) "vitas; animam pro vita usurpari notum", Gejerus.
F26 (xypy) "efflat", Tigurine version, Piscator, Gejerus; "spirat", Schultens; "efflabit", Monatnus.
F1 (hmrm) "dolus", Montanus, Vatablus; "fraus", Cocceius.

Proverbs 14:25 In-Context

23 Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty!

24 Wealth is a crown for the wise; the effort of fools yields only foolishness.

25 A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is a traitor.

26 Those who fear the LORD are secure; he will be a refuge for their children.

27 Fear of the LORD is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death.