is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.”
Parallel translations
- WEB is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”
- KJV So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
- 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?”
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 5:4nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not appropriate; but rather giving of thanks.
- Prov 10:23It is a fool’s pleasure to do wickedness, but wisdom is a man of understanding’s pleasure.
- Prov 14:9Fools mock at making atonement for sins, but among the upright there is good will.
- Prov 15:21Folly is joy to one who is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding keeps his way straight.
- 2 Pet 2:13receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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
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