Proverbs 24 · Verse 28

Proverbs 24:28

Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
Proverbs 24:28, King James Version

Proverbs 24:28 in other translations

BSBDo not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
WEBDon’t be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Don’t deceive with your lips.
ASVBe not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; And deceive not with thy lips.
YLTBe not a witness for nought against thy neighbour, Or thou hast enticed with thy lips.
DARBYBe not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and wouldest thou deceive with thy lips?
BBEDo not be a violent witness against your neighbour, or let your lips say what is false.
WebsterBe not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.

What does Proverbs 24:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
28. Do not speak even truth needlessly against any, and never falsehood.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 28 Be not a witness - Do not be forward to offer thyself to bear testimony against a neighbor, in a matter which may prejudice him, where the essential claims of justice do not require such interference; and especially do not do this in a spirit of revenge, because he has injured thee before.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Proverbs 24:28-29
There are three defaults in a witness pointed out.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 24:28 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אַל\־'al-may notH408
תְּהִ֣יte.Hiyou beH1961
עֵד\־'ed-a witnessH5707
חִנָּ֣םchi.Namwithout causeH2600
בְּרֵעֶ֑ךָbe.re.'E.khain neighbor yourH7453
וַ֝הֲפִתִּ֗יתָva.ha.fi.Ti.taand ¿ will you deceiveH6601
בִּשְׂפָתֶֽיךָ\׃bis.fa.Tei.khawith lips yourH8193

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 24:28

  • Ephesians 4:25

    Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

  • Matthew 26:59-60

    Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

  • Proverbs 25:18

    A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

  • 1 Kings 21:9-13

    And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. …

  • Colossians 3:9

    Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

  • Proverbs 14:5

    A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

  • Proverbs 19:9

    A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

  • Proverbs 19:5

    A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

  • Revelation 22:15

    For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

  • Matthew 27:23

    And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

  • Exodus 23:1

    Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

  • John 15:25

    But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
not.
14:5; 19:5,9; 21:28; Ex 20:16; 23:1; 1Sa 22:9,10; 1Ki 21:9-13
Job 2:3; Ps 35:7,11; 52:1; *title
Mt 26:59,60; 27:23; Joh 15:25
deceive.
Eph 4:25; Col 3:9; Re 21:8; 22:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 24:27

    Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.

  • Proverbs 24:28

    Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.

  • Proverbs 24:29

    Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.

Read all of Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24:28 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
No seas sin causa testigo contra tu prójimo; y no lisonjees con tus labios.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Ne sois pas témoin, sans motif, contre ton prochain; voudrais-tu donc tromper de tes lèvres?
German
Elberfelder 1871
Werde nicht ohne Ursache Zeuge wider deinen Nächsten; wolltest du denn täuschen mit deinen Lippen?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum, nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis.