a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
Parallel translations
- WEB a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.
- KJV A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
- NKJV A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
- NASB A false witness who declares lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.
- NLT a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.
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
God hates a lying witness and anyone who stirs up conflict among brothers. False testimony and division are especially detestable.
Overview
The list climaxes with the false witness who pours out lies and the one who sows discord among kin. Sowing strife is the seventh and weightiest item, emphasizing how God values truthfulness and unity. The New Testament likewise calls believers to honest speech and peacemaking within God's family.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Prov 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
- Prov 6:14With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord.
- Jas 3:18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.
- Prov 19:9A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.
- Ps 27:12Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Deut 19:16–20If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,
- Prov 25:18Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
- Jas 3:14–16But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- Prov 12:17He who speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.
- Prov 22:10Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease.
- Prov 26:20Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
- 2 Tim 2:23But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.
- Acts 6:13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
- 3 Jn 1:9–10I have written to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not accept our instruction.
- 1 Kgs 21:10–15But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
- Prov 16:28A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.
- Exod 20:16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Matt 26:59Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Ps 35:11Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
- Exod 23:1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- Matt 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
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 6:19 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.