Proverbs 25:18
New International Version
Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.

New Living Translation
Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.

English Standard Version
A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

Berean Standard Bible
Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

King James Bible
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

New King James Version
A man who bears false witness against his neighbor Is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.

New American Standard Bible
Like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow Is a person who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

NASB 1995
Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

NASB 1977
Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

Legacy Standard Bible
Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

Amplified Bible
Like a club and a sword and a piercing arrow Is a man who testifies falsely against his neighbor (acquaintance).

Christian Standard Bible
A person giving false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
A man giving false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

American Standard Version
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor Is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

Contemporary English Version
Telling lies about friends is like attacking them with clubs and swords and sharp arrows.

English Revised Version
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
[Like] a club and a sword and a sharp arrow, [so] is a person who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

Good News Translation
A false accusation is as deadly as a sword, a club, or a sharp arrow.

International Standard Version
A club, a sword, and a sharp arrow— that's what a man is who lies about his neighbor.

Majority Standard Bible
Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

NET Bible
Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow, so is the one who testifies against his neighbor as a false witness.

New Heart English Bible
A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

Webster's Bible Translation
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

World English Bible
A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
A maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow, "" [Is] the man testifying a false testimony against his neighbor.

Young's Literal Translation
A maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow, Is the man testifying against his neighbour a false testimony.

Smith's Literal Translation
A mallet and a sword and an arrow sharpened, the man answering against his neighbor testimony of falsehood.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour, is like a dart and a sword and a sharp arrow.

Catholic Public Domain Version
A man who speaks false testimony against his neighbor is like a dart and a sword and a sharp arrow.

New American Bible
A club, sword, or sharp arrow— the one who bears false witness against a neighbor.

New Revised Standard Version
Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow is one who bears false witness against a neighbor.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like an iron bar, a sword, and a sharp arrow.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Like a club, a sword and a sharp arrow, so is a man that testifies false testimony against his neighbor.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
As a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow, So is a man that beareth false witness against his neighbour.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
As a club, and a dagger, and a pointed arrow, so also is a man who bears false witness against his friend.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
More Proverbs of Solomon
17Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, lest he grow weary and hate you. 18Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears FALSE witness against his neighbor. 19Like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.…

Cross References
James 3:6-8
The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. / All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, / but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Ephesians 4:25
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

Psalm 52:2-4
Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit. / You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking truth. Selah / You love every word that devours, O deceitful tongue.

Matthew 12:36-37
But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. / For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Colossians 3:9
Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,

Psalm 120:2-4
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue. / What will He do to you, and what will be added to you, O deceitful tongue? / Sharp arrows will come from the warrior, with burning coals of the broom tree!

1 Peter 3:10
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

Leviticus 19:11
You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another.

Romans 1:29-30
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, / slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.

Psalm 101:5
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.

Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

Jeremiah 9:3-5
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD. / “Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander. / Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.

1 Timothy 1:9-10
We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, / for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

Psalm 34:13
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.


Treasury of Scripture

A man that bears false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

Proverbs 12:18
There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

Psalm 52:2
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully.

Psalm 55:21
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

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Proverbs 25
1. observations about kings
8. and about avoiding causes of quarrels














Like a club or sword or sharp arrow
This phrase uses vivid imagery to convey the destructive power of false testimony. In ancient times, a club, sword, and arrow were common weapons of war, each designed to inflict harm or death. The Hebrew words used here, "maqqel" (club), "chereb" (sword), and "chets" (arrow), emphasize the severity and variety of damage that can be caused. A club represents blunt force, a sword signifies cutting and piercing, and an arrow denotes precision and distance in attack. This imagery underscores the idea that false words can be as damaging as physical violence, capable of wounding deeply and causing lasting harm.

is a man who bears false witness
The act of bearing false witness is explicitly condemned in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16). The Hebrew word "ed" (witness) and "sheqer" (falsehood) together highlight the moral and ethical breach involved in lying about another person. In the context of ancient Israel, where community cohesion and trust were vital, false testimony could lead to unjust punishment, social discord, and the breakdown of communal relationships. This phrase serves as a warning against the sin of deceit, emphasizing the responsibility to uphold truth and justice.

against his neighbor
The term "neighbor" (Hebrew: "rea") in biblical context extends beyond mere proximity to encompass fellow members of the community. It reflects the interconnectedness of individuals within the covenant community of Israel. Bearing false witness against a neighbor is not just a personal offense but a communal one, as it undermines the trust and integrity essential for societal harmony. This phrase calls believers to love and protect their neighbors, aligning with Jesus' teaching to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39), reinforcing the call to live in truth and righteousness.

(18) A maul--i.e., hammer, connected with "malleus" and "mallet." A false witness is as mischievous as the most deadly weapons.

Verse 18. - Hebrew, A maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow - a man that beareth false witness against his neighbour (see on Ver. 11). One who bears false witness against his neighbour prepares for him the instruments of death, such as those mentioned here. "A maul" (mephits), usually a heavy wooden hammer (compare malleus and "mallet"); here a club, or mace, used in battle, ῤόπαλον (Septuagint; comp. Jeremiah 51:20). There is a kind of climax in the three offensive weapons named - the club bruises, the sword inflicts wounds, the arrow pierces to the heart; and the three may represent the various baneful effects of false testimony, how it bruises reputation, spoils possessions, deprives of life. The second clause is from the Decalogue (Exodus 20:16).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
[Like] a club
מֵפִ֣יץ (mê·p̄îṣ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4650: Scatterer, disperser

or sword
וְ֭חֶרֶב (wə·ḥe·reḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

or sharp
שָׁנ֑וּן (šā·nūn)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 8150: To point, to pierce, to inculcate

arrow
וְחֵ֣ץ (wə·ḥêṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2671: A piercer, an arrow, a wound, thunderbolt, the shaft of a, spear

[is] a man
אִ֥ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

who bears
עֹנֶ֥ה (‘ō·neh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 6030: To answer, respond

FALSE
שָֽׁקֶר׃ (šā·qer)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8267: Deception, disappointment, falsehood

witness
עֵ֣ד (‘êḏ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5707: A witness, testimony, a recorder, prince

against his neighbor.
בְ֝רֵעֵ֗הוּ (ḇə·rê·‘ê·hū)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7453: Friend, companion, fellow


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 25:18 A man who gives false testimony against (Prov. Pro Pr)
Proverbs 25:17
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