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 

Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbour.

Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.

Anyone who tells lies against the neighbors in court or on the street is a loose cannon.

One who gives false witness against his neighbour is a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow.

Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow is one who bears false witness against a neighbor.

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor Is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.

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 

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.