So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
Parallel translations
- WEB is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”
- BSB so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
- NKJV Is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “I was only joking!”
- NASB So is a person who deceives his neighbor, And says, “Was I not joking?”
- NLT is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
One who deceives a neighbor and claims he was only joking is like that reckless madman. Hiding harm behind humor is dangerous deceit.
Overview
Completing verse 18, this exposes those who wound others through deception and then dismiss it as a joke. Such excuses do not undo the real damage done to relationships and trust. The proverb calls for honesty and integrity, refusing to mask cruelty as harmless fun (Eph 4:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Eph 5:4Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
- Prov 10:23It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
- Prov 14:9Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
- Prov 15:21Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
- 2 Pet 2:13And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 26:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.