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Selected Verse: Proverbs 12:17 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Pr 12:17 |
King James |
He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
| The thought which lies below the surface is that of the inseparable union between truth and justice. The end does not justify the means, and only he who breathes and utters truth makes the righteous cause clear. |
| Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
Most of the remaining parables of this section refer to the right use and the abuse of the tongue.
17 He that breathes the love of truth, utters that which is right;
But a lying tongue, deceit
This verse is similar in meaning to Pro 14:5 (where 5b = Pro 6:19); the second line of the distich = Pro 14:25. Everywhere else יפיח כּזבים stand together, only here יפיח is joined to אמוּנה; vid., regarding this יפיח forming an attributive clause, and then employed as an adjective, but with distinct verbal force, at Pro 6:19. Viewed superficially, the proverb appears tautological; it is not so, however, but places in causal connection the internal character of men and their utterances: whoever breathes אמוּנה, truth or conscientiousness (the property of the אמוּן, vid., at Psa 12:2), i.e., lets the voice of this be heard in his utterances, such an one speaks צדק, i.e., uprightness, integrity, that which is correct, right (Isa 45:19, cf. Isa 41:26), in relation to truth in general, and to the present case in particular; but he who עד שׁקרים, i.e., he who, against better knowledge and the consciousness of untruth, confirms by his testimony (from עוּד, revertere, to say again and again), therewith gives utterance to his impure character, his wicked intention, proceeding from delight in doing evil or from self-interest, and diverted towards the injury of his neighbour. As אמונה and מרמה correspond as statements of the contents of the utterances, so צדק and שקרים as statements of their motive and aim. מרמה is obj. accus. of the יגּיד (from הגּיד, to bring to light, cf. נגד, visibility) to be supplied, not the pred. nom. dolorum structor, as Fleischer poetically finds. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Deceit - He who uses himself to lying in his common talk, will use falsehood and deceit in judgment. |
26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
25 A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.