A false witness against his neighbor is a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow combined.
Solomon next piles three weapons into one image of false witness: Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor (v.18). Three weapons are gathered into Proverbs 25:18.
A club crushes by impact. A sword cuts. A sharp arrow pierces from a distance. The three weapons cover three modes of harm: blunt force, slicing, and ranged attack. The verse stacks them to show how comprehensive the damage of false witness is.
A man who bears false witness against his neighbor. The false witness produces all three kinds of damage at once. He crushes the neighbor's reputation, cuts his standing in the community, and pierces him from a distance through testimony given in his absence. Exodus 20:16 places false witness among the Ten Commandments. Solomon shows here why: the harm is multiple and severe.
Proverbs 25:18
18 Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow
Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
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Proverbs 25:18 meaning
Solomon next piles three weapons into one image of false witness: Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor (v.18). Three weapons are gathered into Proverbs 25:18.
A club crushes by impact. A sword cuts. A sharp arrow pierces from a distance. The three weapons cover three modes of harm: blunt force, slicing, and ranged attack. The verse stacks them to show how comprehensive the damage of false witness is.
A man who bears false witness against his neighbor. The false witness produces all three kinds of damage at once. He crushes the neighbor's reputation, cuts his standing in the community, and pierces him from a distance through testimony given in his absence. Exodus 20:16 places false witness among the Ten Commandments. Solomon shows here why: the harm is multiple and severe.