Commentary - Proverbs 25:18

Bird's-eye view

This proverb is a stark and visceral depiction of the ninth commandment's importance. It teaches that verbal sin is not a lesser category of transgression but is, in fact, a form of violent assault. The man who lies about his neighbor is not merely speaking untrue syllables; he is wielding a deadly arsenal. Solomon uses three distinct images of weaponry, a club, a sword, and an arrow, to illustrate the comprehensive and destructive power of slander. The lie can be a blunt instrument of ruin, a sharp tool of betrayal, or a projectile of distant malice. The central point is that words have substance and effect. They are not ethereal puffs of air but tangible forces that can crush, cut, and kill. This proverb forces us to take our speech as seriously as we would take the handling of lethal weapons, recognizing that the slanderer is, in God's economy, a man of violence.

Ultimately, this proverb drives us to the Gospel. We are all guilty of this kind of verbal violence, and we were all the targets of the ultimate false witness, who is Satan, the father of lies. Christ Himself was condemned by false witnesses, bearing the full weight of this sin. In His death, He disarmed the accuser, and in His resurrection, He gives us a new heart from which a new kind of speech can flow. He transforms our mouths from arsenals of destruction into fountains of life.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs 25 begins with the note that "these also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied." This places the collection of chapters 25-29 in a historical setting of spiritual reformation. King Hezekiah was a reformer who sought to bring Judah back to the law of God, and part of that work involved the recovery and study of God's inspired wisdom. This particular proverb sits within a collection that deals with relationships, justice, and wise conduct. It follows verses about dealing with neighbors and precedes verses about the dangers of unreliability. Its placement underscores that truthful speech is a non-negotiable foundation for a stable and just society, a central concern for a reforming king and for the people of God in any era.

Key Issues

The Arsenal of the Tongue

In our therapeutic age, we have a sentimental little rhyme for children: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." The Bible would like a word. The Bible teaches that this is a lie from the pit. Words can do far more damage than sticks and stones. A broken bone can heal, but a ruined reputation can last a lifetime and beyond. A physical wound can be stitched, but the wound of betrayal from a false friend festers in the soul. Solomon here is not engaging in hyperbole; he is giving us a sober, realistic assessment of what a lying tongue actually is. It is an arsenal. The man who bears false witness is not an orator; he is an assailant. He is not a gossip; he is a thug. The proverb uses a triad of weapons to show us the different ways this verbal violence is deployed.

Verse by Verse Commentary

18 Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

The structure of the proverb is a comparison, but it is a comparison of identity. The false witness is these things. He embodies their function and their effect. Let us consider the three weapons in turn.

First, he is a club, or a war maul. This is a weapon of blunt force trauma. It does not cut; it crushes. This is the kind of lie that is not subtle or surgical. It is the brute force accusation that shatters a person's standing in the community. It is the public denunciation, the career-ending slander, the overwhelming lie that leaves its victim spiritually bruised, broken, and gasping. It is designed not to wound, but to obliterate.

Second, he is a sword. A sword is a weapon for close-quarters combat. It cuts and it pierces. This is the lie told by a trusted friend, a spouse, a business partner. It is the stab in the back. Because of the intimate nature of the relationship, the wound goes deep. It severs the ligaments of trust and fellowship. This kind of verbal assault causes a bleeding of the soul that is grievous and difficult to staunch. It is the betrayal that says, "Et tu, Brute?"

Third, he is a sharp arrow. An arrow is a projectile weapon. It does its damage from a distance. The archer can be hidden, anonymous, far from his target. This is the sin of gossip, of rumor-mongering, of the anonymous letter, or, in our day, the social media post. The slanderer can launch his attack and wound his neighbor's reputation in circles where the victim is not present to defend himself. The arrow flies from the shadows, strikes unexpectedly, and inflicts its poison from afar. The man who says, "Have you heard about so-and-so?" is nocking an arrow.

The subject of this violence is the neighbor. This is a covenantal term. It refers to anyone with whom we are in community, anyone to whom we owe the basic obligations of love and truth. To bear false witness is to commit an act of treason against the basic fabric of human society, which God has designed to run on the tracks of truth. By lying, a man treats his neighbor not as an image-bearer of God to be honored, but as an object to be destroyed for his own gain or satisfaction.

Application

This proverb must land on us with real weight. We live in an age where words have become cheap, disposable, and weaponized on a mass scale. The internet and social media have placed a quiver of sharp arrows in everyone's hands, and we fire them off with reckless abandon. We must see this for what it is: a call to radical repentance for the sins of our tongues.

In the church, this has a particular application. A church that tolerates gossip and slander is a church that allows its members to assault one another with clubs, swords, and arrows in the fellowship hall. Church discipline is not, in the first instance, about doctrinal purity; it is about basic righteousness, and that includes dealing with those who are verbally violent. To ignore the slanderer is to fail to protect the sheep from a wolf in their midst.

The ultimate application, as always, is the gospel. Every one of us has wielded these weapons. We have all spoken falsely, twisted the truth, or passed on a rumor. We are all guilty. The only man who ever spoke with perfect truth and integrity was the Lord Jesus Christ. And ironically, He was the one who stood silent as false witnesses rose up to condemn Him. He took the full, crushing, piercing, and poisonous force of all humanity's lies upon Himself at the cross. He was bludgeoned by the club, run through with the sword, and pierced by the arrows of our sin.

Because He did this, there is forgiveness for liars. And more than that, there is transformation. The gospel does not just forgive our sinful speech; it changes it. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts and turns our mouths, which were once arsenals of death, into instruments of life. He enables us to put away falsehood and to "speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another" (Eph 4:25). The one who was broken by lies now heals us from our lies, so that we might become people of the truth.