Bible Strands
Proverbs 13:5
The righteous hate falsehood, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The proverb is embedded in a wisdom collection addressing moral conduct, positioned between observations on diligence and the protective nature of righteousness. It presents a direct contrast between two types of people regarding truthfulness.
The words — שֶ֭קֶר (She.ker) denotes falsehood or deception, while יִשְׂנָ֣א (yis.Na') means he hates, indicating a visceral rejection. The text states the righteous actively despise falsehood, whereas the wicked invite shame through their actions.
The thread — The theme of rejecting falsehood appears in Psalms 119:163, where the psalmist declares hatred for deceit, and in the New Testament letters to Colossians 3:9 and Ephesians 4:25, which command believers to put off lying.
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to examine their own alignment with truth or deception. It demands a conscious rejection of falsehood as a marker of righteousness rather than a passive preference.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
Cross-references
- Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,
- Psalms 119:163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but Your law I love.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 20:43 There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.
- Ezekiel 36:31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.
- Proverbs 3:35 The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame.
- 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.”
- Proverbs 6:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
- Proverbs 30:8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.
- Ezekiel 6:9 Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.