Proverbs 25:18

Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow, ¹  so is the one who testifies against ²  his neighbor as a false witness. ³ 

Ps 52:2; Ps 55:21; Ps 57:4; Ps 120:3,4; Ps 140:3; Pr 12:18; Jer 9:3,8; Jas 3:6

¹ sn The first line identifies the emblem of the proverb: False witnesses are here compared to deadly weapons because they can cause the death of innocent people (e.g., Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20; and Prov 14:5).

² tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) followed by the preposition בְּ (bet) with its object means “to testify against” (answer against someone). With the preposition לְ (lamed) it would mean “to testify for” someone. Here the false witness is an adversary, hence the comparison with deadly weapons.

³ tn While עֵד (’ed) could be interpreted as “evidence” (a meaning that came from a metonymy – what the witness gives in court), its normal meaning is “witness.” Here it would function as an adverbial accusative, specifying how he would answer in court.