Bird's-eye view
This pithy proverb from Agur is a sharp warning against a particular kind of meddling, a specific form of slander that disrupts a foundational household relationship. It is not a prohibition against all forms of reporting or truth-telling, but rather a caution against malicious or thoughtless interference between a master and his servant. The wisdom here is intensely practical, grounded in the realities of a hierarchical society. To slander a servant to his master is to play with fire; you are inserting yourself into a relationship of authority and dependence where you do not belong. The potential consequences are twofold: the servant, whose livelihood and reputation you have attacked, may curse you, and more importantly, God may hold you accountable for the damage you have caused, finding you guilty. This verse teaches us to mind our own business, to respect established lines of authority, and to recognize that our words have real-world consequences, both horizontally with men and vertically with God.
At its heart, this is a lesson about the Ninth Commandment. Bearing false witness is not just about courtroom perjury; it includes any word that damages our neighbor's reputation. Here, the neighbor is a servant, a person in a vulnerable position. The proverb thus protects the lowly and warns the proud busybody. In a broader gospel context, it reminds us that we serve a Master who knows all facts. There is no slandering a servant to Him, for He judges righteously. Our Lord Jesus was the ultimate slandered servant, accused maliciously before the authorities of His day. And yet, He did not revile in return, entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. This proverb, therefore, calls us to a kind of verbal discipline that reflects the justice and order of God's kingdom.
Outline
- 1. The Wisdom of Non-Interference (Prov 30:10)
- a. The Prohibition: Do Not Slander a Slave (Prov 30:10a)
- b. The Consequence from Man: Lest He Curse You (Prov 30:10b)
- c. The Consequence from God: And You Be Found Guilty (Prov 30:10c)
Context In Proverbs
Proverbs 30 is a collection of the sayings of Agur, son of Jakeh. His words are distinct in tone from much of Solomon's work in the earlier chapters. There is a pronounced humility here, an acknowledgment of his own creaturely limitations before an infinite God (Prov 30:1-4). Following this profound confession, Agur delivers a series of numerical proverbs and pointed observations about the created order and human behavior. This specific verse, verse 10, stands alone as a direct command, a piece of sharp, practical advice nestled between observations about generational sin (vv. 11-14) and insatiable things (vv. 15-16). Its placement underscores its importance as a standalone piece of ethical wisdom. It is a concrete application of the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of all wisdom. A man who fears God will also fear to disrupt the social fabric God has woven, which includes respecting the relationships within a household.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Slander
- Biblical Social Hierarchies
- The Power of the Curse
- Divine Justice and Guilt
- The Application to Modern Contexts
A Word Fitly Spoken
The book of Proverbs is intensely concerned with the power of the tongue. Life and death are in the power of the tongue (Prov 18:21). A lying tongue is an abomination to the Lord (Prov 12:22). A talebearer reveals secrets (Prov 11:13). Over and over, we are warned that our words are not neutral puffs of air; they are potent forces that build up or tear down. They create or they destroy.
This proverb zooms in on a particularly destructive use of words. The word for "slander" here is not the common one; it has the sense of denouncing someone or reporting them maliciously. It is not simply lying, but using information, whether true or false, with the intent to harm. It is to go to a man in authority and use your words to poison his mind against someone under his care. This is a cowardly form of attack. Instead of addressing the servant directly, the slanderer goes "over his head," leveraging the master's power to do his dirty work for him. This is the essence of talebearing and meddling, and Agur tells us in no uncertain terms to have nothing to do with it.
Verse by Verse Commentary
10 Do not slander a slave to his master,
The command is direct and specific. The object of the prohibition is a slave, or servant. In the biblical context, this refers to a household servant, someone in a position of economic and social dependence. This is not the same thing as the race-based chattel slavery of the antebellum South, a distinction that is crucial. This was a recognized social structure, and the Bible gives regulations to ensure it is conducted with justice and equity (Eph 6:9; Col 4:1). The person being addressed is an outsider to this master-servant relationship. You are being told not to meddle. The word for slander here means to use your tongue against someone. It implies a malicious report, an accusation designed to get the servant into trouble. It is a form of bearing false witness, but it can also include spreading true information with a malicious motive. The point is the disruption of a relationship. You are throwing a rock into the gears of another man's household, and the book of Proverbs consistently warns against being a busybody in other men's matters.
Lest he curse you and you be found guilty.
The warning is twofold, covering both the horizontal and vertical consequences. First, the horizontal: the servant may curse you. We should not dismiss this as the impotent muttering of a powerless man. In the biblical worldview, a curse is not just an expression of anger; it is an appeal to a higher power for justice. When a person who has been wronged, especially a vulnerable person, cries out for vindication, God listens (Ex 22:22-23). The curse of the poor and the oppressed has weight. You have attacked this man's livelihood and his standing with his master; he is justified in appealing to God against you. His curse is a formal protest lodged in the court of heaven.
The second consequence is the verdict from that heavenly court: and you be found guilty. The word here is the one used for incurring guilt that requires a trespass offering (Lev 5:1-5). It means to be held liable, to be declared legally culpable for a wrong. This is the ultimate danger. The master might believe you, and the servant might be punished. You might walk away thinking you have gotten away with it. But God saw it. He is the ultimate Master, the ultimate defender of the weak. He will weigh your words, your motives, and the damage you caused, and He will find you guilty. The slander might have been spoken in secret, but the verdict will be open. This is a solemn warning that social meddling is not a light thing in God's eyes; it is a sin that incurs real guilt.
Application
While our society does not have the same formal master-servant structure, the principle of this proverb is timeless and directly applicable to our lives. The modern equivalent would be slandering an employee to his boss, a student to her teacher, or a church member to his pastor. It is the act of using back channels and gossip to damage someone's reputation with a person in authority over them.
This is a sin that thrives in offices, in churches, and on the internet. It is the anonymous email to the company HR department. It is the whisper campaign against a fellow believer. It is the subtweet aimed at someone's reputation. It is cowardly, and it is wicked. If you have a genuine issue with someone, the biblical pattern is to go to them directly (Matt 18:15). You do not go around them to their superior in order to cause them harm.
The application for us is to cultivate a profound respect for the reputations of others and for established lines of authority. We are to be people whose "yes" is "yes," who speak truth directly and in love, not indirectly and with malice. We must recognize that even if our tattle-telling succeeds in the short term, there is a curse that follows it, and a divine court that will ultimately hold us to account. The gospel frees us from the need to build ourselves up by tearing others down. Having been justified freely by grace, we are now called to be agents of that grace. This means we are to be defenders of reputations, not destroyers of them. We are to be peacemakers, not troublemakers. We are to mind our own business, trusting that God is the one who will ultimately bring every secret thing to light and render a perfectly just verdict.