Commentary - Proverbs 19:5

Bird's-eye view

This proverb, along with its near twin in verse 9, sets before us one of the non-negotiable realities of God's moral government: words have consequences because God is a God of truth. The structure is a classic Hebrew parallelism, where the second line repeats and intensifies the first. The subject is the one who corrupts the legal process or the social fabric through falsehood. Whether in a formal court setting ("a false witness") or in the general course of life ("he who breathes out lies"), the sin is the same. It is an assault on the nature of God, who is truth, and an attack on the community, which is held together by trust. The proverb declares with absolute certainty that there is no escape. God's universe is wired for truth, and those who try to rewire it for their own advantage will find that the system electrocutes them in the end. Judgment is not a possibility; it is an inevitability.

The book of Proverbs is intensely practical, and this verse addresses a sin that is foundational to societal collapse. Without a shared commitment to the truth, there can be no justice, no real fellowship, no lasting peace. The liar introduces chaos into the system. He is a son of the devil, who is the father of lies. Therefore, God, in His commitment to His own name and to the good of His people, has bound Himself to judge falsehood. This judgment may come in this life through the unmasking of the lie and the consequent ruin, or it may be reserved for the final judgment, but come it will. The liar will not get away with it. This is a bedrock promise from a God who cannot lie.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs consistently treats sins of the tongue with the utmost seriousness. Falsehood is not a minor peccadillo; it is listed among the seven things that are an abomination to the Lord (Prov 6:16-19), with "a lying tongue" and "a false witness who speaks lies" making the list twice. This theme runs throughout the book. A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness utters lies (Prov 14:5). A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is a maul, a sword, and a sharp arrow; he is an instrument of violence (Prov 25:18). This verse, Proverbs 19:5, and its partner in 19:9 ("A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who breathes out lies will perish"), function as anchor points in this broader discussion. They are not just offering sage advice; they are stating a fundamental law of God's world. In a chapter that discusses poverty, foolishness, and the king's wrath, this verse reminds us that the stability of the entire social order, from the courtroom to the family, depends on the integrity of the spoken word.

Key Issues

God's Immune System

A society is a living organism, and truth is the bloodstream. Lies, therefore, are a pathogen. A society can withstand a certain amount of infection, but if the lies become systemic, the society dies. This is why God, the creator of human society, has built in an immune system. That immune system is His unwavering commitment to judge falsehood. This proverb is not a threat; it is a diagnosis and a prognosis. It is telling us how the world actually works.

The ninth commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Ex. 20:16), is the legal foundation. Proverbs takes that commandment and shows us how it plays out on the street corner, in the marketplace, and in the home. The Old Testament law was not sentimental about this. If a malicious witness testified falsely against his brother, the judges were to "do to him as he had meant to do to his brother" (Deut. 19:19). If he lied to get another man executed, he was to be executed. This is the principle of lex talionis, and it reveals how seriously God takes the sin of the lying tongue. Proverbs 19:5 is the wisdom literature's version of this same principle. God's justice is the ultimate enforcer of His law. No liar has ever, or will ever, slip through the cracks in God's hall of justice.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 A false witness will not go unpunished,

The first clause deals with the formal, legal setting. A "witness" is someone who makes a declaration in a matter of judgment. A false witness is one who corrupts this process, turning an instrument of justice into a weapon of destruction. He lies under oath, whether that oath is explicit or implied. This is a high-handed sin because it is a direct assault on the possibility of a just society. It undermines the very means by which a community discerns right from wrong and protects the innocent. The promise here is absolute: he "will not go unpunished." The Hebrew phrase means he will not be held guiltless or acquitted. God Himself is the ultimate judge who will not be deceived by courtroom theatrics. The earthly judge may be fooled, but the heavenly Judge never is. This is a promise that should terrify every perjurer and comfort every victim of slander. There will be a reckoning.

And he who breathes out lies will not escape.

The second clause broadens the scope. We move from the courtroom to the front porch, from the formal testimony to the informal conversation. This person is one who "breathes out lies." The imagery is potent. Lying for him is as natural and as constant as breathing. It is not an occasional stumble; it is his atmosphere, his native language. He is a fountain of falsehood, a purveyor of slander, gossip, and deceit. He speaks his father's language, for the devil is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44). For this person, the verdict is just as certain: he "will not escape." Escape what? He will not escape the consequences that God has attached to this sin. He will not escape the destruction that follows in the wake of lies. He will not escape the final judgment where all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8). He may think he is clever, that he can talk his way out of anything. But he cannot talk his way out of the presence of an omniscient God. The net of divine justice has no holes in it.

Application

The immediate application of this proverb is straightforward: do not lie. Do not bear false witness in a court of law, and do not be a person who breathes out lies in your daily life. This is a call to radical, personal integrity. Our "yes" must be "yes," and our "no," "no." This is because we are children of the God of truth, and we have been remade in the image of the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

But the application goes deeper. We live in an age that has made peace with the lie. Our politics, our media, our advertising, and sadly, even our churches, are often saturated with half-truths, spin, and outright falsehoods. We are tempted to grade lies on a curve, to excuse the lies told by "our side" while condemning the lies of the other. This proverb annihilates all such casuistry. God does not grade on a curve. A lie is a lie, and it is poison to the soul and to the society. We must therefore not only refuse to lie ourselves, but we must also refuse to tolerate or traffic in the lies of others. As Exodus 23:1 says, "You shall not circulate a false report." It makes little difference whether we carry the devil on our tongue or in our ear.

Ultimately, our only hope is found in the one who was the ultimate victim of false witnesses. At the trial of Jesus, false witnesses rose up to twist His words and secure His condemnation. He, the Truth incarnate, was murdered by lies. He took the full punishment not only for our lies, but for the very principle of falsehood itself. He absorbed the full, destructive penalty that this proverb promises. And because He did, there is forgiveness for liars who repent. There is grace for every one of us who has spoken falsely. The cross is where God punished our lies in Christ, so that we, in Him, might become speakers of the truth, by grace.