Bible Strands
Proverbs 25:18
Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text presents Solomon’s proverbs compiled by Hezekiah’s men, directed at readers seeking practical guidance for daily conduct. It sits between instructions on respecting physical boundaries and warnings about relying on unreliable allies.
The words — The Hebrew מֵפִיץ (mepits) literally means a war-club, while עֹנֶה עֵד (oneh ed) translates to one who testifies or bears witness. These terms frame the act of false testimony as a deliberate assault rather than a mere verbal slip.
The thread — The imagery of deadly weapons applied to speech recurs in Proverbs 12:18, Jeremiah 9:8, and Psalm 57:4, where tongues are compared to spears, arrows, and swords. These passages collectively treat malicious speech as a calculated weapon designed to pierce and destroy.
Why it lands — The verse demands that readers recognize false testimony as intentional violence requiring the same caution as physical weapons. It calls for immediate accountability and protective boundaries when someone’s words threaten communal trust.
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 man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
Cross-references
- Psalms 57:4 My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Proverbs 12:18 Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Jeremiah 9:8 Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- James 3:6 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.
- Psalms 120:3 What will He do to you, and what will be added to you, O deceitful tongue?
- Proverbs 24:28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
- Jeremiah 9:3 “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.
- Psalms 52:2 Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Psalms 140:3 They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
- Psalms 55:21 His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.