Proverbs 24:28

28 ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis

Proverbs 24:28 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 24:28

Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause
Unless forced unto it, except there is some urgent reason for it; not upon any trivial account, or in any frivolous matter; never appear forward and eager to bear witness against him, and, whenever obliged to it, be not a false witness, but speak truth, whether thy neighbour be a friend or a foe; and deceive [not] with thy lips;
by bearing a false testimony, the judge, thy neighbour and thyself; for though men may be deceived, God cannot: or, shouldest thou do so, "thou wouldest break" and cut him to pieces "with thy lips" F24; which is the sense of the words according to R. Judah, as Ben Melech relates.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 (Kytpvb tytyphw) "et ne atteras labiis tuis", Vatablus; "et ne comminuas eum labiis tuis", Syriac version.

Proverbs 24:28 In-Context

26 labia deosculabitur qui recta verba respondet
27 praepara foris opus tuum et diligenter exerce agrum tuum ut postea aedifices domum tuam
28 ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis
29 ne dicas quomodo fecit mihi sic faciam ei reddam unicuique secundum opus suum
30 per agrum hominis pigri transivi et per vineam viri stulti
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.