Proverbs 21:28

A lying witness ¹  will perish, ²  but the one who reports accurately speaks forever. ³ 

A false witness will perish, and whoever listens to him will be destroyed for ever.

A false witness will perish, But the man who listens to the truth will speak forever.

A false witness will be cut off, but an attentive witness will be allowed to speak.

A lying witness is unconvincing; a person who speaks truth is respected.

A false witness will be cut off, …

A false witness will perish, but a good listener will testify successfully.

A false witness shall perish, But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.

A lying witness ¹  will perish, ²  but the one who reports accurately speaks forever. ³ 

¹ tn Heb “a witness of lies,” an attributive genitive.

² tn The Hebrew verb translated “will perish” (יֹאבֵד, yo’bed) could mean that the false witness will die, either by the hand of God or by the community. But it also could be taken in the sense that the false testimony will be destroyed. This would mean that “false witness” would be a metonymy of cause – what he says will perish (cf. NCV “will be forgotten”).

³ tn Heb “but a man who listens speaks forever.” The first part of it may mean (1) a true witness, one who reports what he actually hears. But it may also refer to (2) someone who listens to the false testimony given by the false witness. The NIV follows the suggestion of a homonym for the Hebrew word with the meaning “will perish/be destroyed”: “will be destroyed forever.” This suggests a synonymous pair of ideas rather than a contrast. Others accept antithetical parallelism. C. H. Toy suggested an idea like “be established” to contrast with “will perish” (Proverbs [ICC], 411). W. McKane suggested it meant the truthful witness “will speak to the end” without being put down (Proverbs [OTL], 556). It is simpler to interpret the words that are here in the sense of a contrast. The idea of speaking forever/to the end would then be hyperbolic.