Proverbs 19:9

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Word by word

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וְיָפִ֖יחַ

pûwach

H6315

“and · to breathe”

Conjunction + Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 14× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Psalms 10:5

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 1741

to breathe, blow - (Qal) to breathe - (Hiphil) - to cause to exhale or breathe - to puff, snort - to excite, inflame - to puff, pant for it - to breathe out, utter - to blow, blast

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

7: words
7: distinct lemmas
Wisdom: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is וְיָפִ֖יחַ to breathe H6315 — appearing just 14 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

וְיָפִ֖יחַ to breathe H6315 occurs in 14 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

3 verbs
3 nouns
1 particle

Verb forms

יִנָּקֶ֑ה Niphal · Imperfect
וְיָפִ֖יחַ Hiphil · Imperfect
יֹאבֵֽד Qal · Imperfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 13 words from the Hebrew and 16 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 7 Hebrew tokens and 13 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Proverbs 19:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Proverbs 19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free.
Revelation 19:20 The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Jeremiah 28:15–17 Then said the prophet Jeremiah to Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah: Yahweh has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie.
2 Peter 2:1–3 But there also arose false prophets among the people, as among you also there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
Revelation 21:8 But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
Isaiah 9:15–17 The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
Jeremiah 23:25–32 I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

Jeremiah 29:31–32 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I didn't send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie;
Ezekiel 13:22 Because with lies you have grieved the heart of the righteous, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, and be saved alive:
2 Thessalonians 2:8–10 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the brightness of his coming;
1 Timothy 4:1–2 But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Proverbs 19:9 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

עֵ֣ד שְׁ֭קָרִים לֹ֣א יִנָּקֶ֑ה וְיָפִ֖יחַ כְּזָבִ֣ים יֹאבֵֽד

A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Proverbs 19:9 Septuagint · lemma form

μάρτυς ψευδής οὐ ἀτιμώρητος εἰμί ὅς δέ ἄν ἐκκαύω κακία ἀποὀλλύω ὑπό αὐτός

A false witness shall not be unpunished; and whoever shall kindle mischief shall perish by it.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

On this verse, Keil & Delitzsch discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Commentary

Notes on Proverbs 19:9 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Commentary source

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Pro 19:9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and [he that] speaketh lies shall perish.

Ver. 9. A false witness, &c.] See Pro 19:5.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Keil & Delitzsch

C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch

The group of proverbs (Pro 19:9-16) now following begins and closes in the same way as the preceding.

9 A lying witness doth not remain unpunished,

And one who breathes out lies perisheth,

or goeth to ruin, for אבד (R. בד, to divide, separate) signifies to lose oneself in the place of the separated, the dead (Arab. in the infinite). In Pro 19:5, instead of this ἀπολεῖται (lxx), the negative οὐ σωθήσεται is used, or as the lxx there more accurately renders it, οὐ διαφεύξεται.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

19:9 The reference to a false witness (see also 19:5) reminds us of the ninth commandment (Exod 20:16).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Henry's Commentary

Here is, 1. A repetition of what was said before (Pro 19:5), for we have need to be again and again warned of the danger of the sin of lying and false-witness-bearing, since nothing is of more fatal consequence. 2. An addition to it in one word; there it was said, He that speaks lies shall not escape, and intimated that he shall be punished. Here it is said, His punishment shall be such as will be his destruction: he shall perish; the lies he forged against others will be his own ruin. It is a damning destroying sin.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

9. shall perish] We have, shall not escape, in the otherwise identical proverb of Pro_19:5 above.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

A false witness shall not be unpunished,.... See Gill on Pro 19:5;

and he that speaketh lies shall perish; or "be lost", shall be undone for ever; he shall not enter into the holy city, but have his part in the lake of fire: they that speak lies in hypocrisy, doctrinal ones, and are given up to believe and profess them, such shall be damned, Th2 2:11.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

This was said before, Pro 19:5, and seems to be here repeated, either for its great use and weight in human society, and to show how much God abhors such practices; or to show the pernicious effects of this sin, and consequently of all other sins, one eminent kind being put for all the rest, and this in opposition to the good effects of wisdom or piety, which he declared in the foregoing verse.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

9. A false witness shall not be unpunished — This is the same as Pro_19:5, except one word, shall perish, or be lost, as in a wilderness. A vivid metaphor to represent a witness who becomes bewildered in the meshes of his falsehood under cross examination. in Pro_19:5 there is a meiosis in both members.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

A repetition of ver. 5, except that shall perish is substituted for "shall not escape." Septuagint, "And whosoever shall kindle mischief shall perish by it." The Greek translators have rendered the special reference in the original to slanderers and liars by a general term, and introduced the notion of Divine retribution, which is not definitely expressed in the Hebrew.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bridges on Proverbs

Charles Bridges

"A God of truth, and without iniquity; just and right is he — A God that cannot lie — Faithful and True." (Deu 32:4 . Tit 1:2 .) Such is the revealed character of Jehovah! We cannot wonder at the repeated denunciations against deceit. So gross a dishonor is it to his unchangeable attribute! One addition is here made to the former sentence. (Pro 19:5 .) The punishment shall not only be certain — "he that speaketh lies shall not escape" — "but it shall be utter ruin — He shall perish."†1 "Lies and desolation" are linked together. (Hos 12:1 .) "I will be a swift witness against false swearers — and them that fear not me — saith the LORD of Hosts." (Mal 3:5 .)

Footnotes:

†1 Jer 28:15-17; Jer 29:31-32 . 2Pe 2:1-3 . Rev 22:15 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Kretzmann's Popular Commentary

Paul E. Kretzmann

v. 9. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. Cf v. 5.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

A false witness will not go unpunished

This can be written in positive and active form. See how you translated this phrase in Proverbs 19:5. AT: "They will certainly punish a false witness" (See: Double Negatives and Active or Passive)

breathes out lies

This figure of speech uses "breathes" to refer to lying constantly. See how you translated this phrase in Proverbs 6:19. AT: "constantly lies" (See: Idiom)

It is not fitting

"It is not right"

luxury

condition of wealth and pleasure

much less for a slave

The words "it is" and "fitting" are understood from the previous phrase. They can be repeated. AT: "it is much less fitting for a slave" or "it is even worse for a slave" (See: Ellipsis)

translationWords

corrupt witness

breath

perish

fool

servant

rule

prince

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Proverbs, in the Wisdom, opens this verse with 7 words (7 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is pûwach (“to breathe”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “to breathe” (pûwach) shape what this verse is saying?
Psalms 10:5 shares the word «to breathe» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
The verb «יִנָּקֶ֑ה» is Niphal Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Keil & Delitzsch read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 7 Hebrew ↔ 13 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 12 words in this verse.
7 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 7 words in this verse.