Proverbs 24:28

24:28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, ¹ 

and do not deceive with your words. ² 

Proverbs 26:19

26:19 so is a person ³  who deceives his neighbor,

and says, “Was I not only joking?” ⁴ 

Isaiah 59:13-15

59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;

we turned back from following our God.

We stir up ⁵  oppression and rebellion;

we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ⁶ 

59:14 Justice is driven back;

godliness ⁷  stands far off.

Indeed, ⁸  honesty stumbles in the city square

and morality is not even able to enter.

59:15 Honesty has disappeared;

the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.

The Lord watches and is displeased, ⁹ 

for there is no justice.

Jeremiah 9:5

9:5 One friend deceives another

and no one tells the truth.

These people have trained themselves ¹⁰  to tell lies.

They do wrong and are unable to repent.

Amos 8:5

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ¹¹  be over, ¹²  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ¹³  so we can open up the grain bins? ¹⁴ 

We’re eager ¹⁵  to sell less for a higher price, ¹⁶ 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ¹⁷ 

Micah 6:10-12

6:10 “I will not overlook, ¹⁸  O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, ¹⁹ 

or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. ²⁰ 

6:11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales,

or a bag of deceptive weights. ²¹ 

6:12 The city’s rich men think nothing of resorting to violence; ²² 

her inhabitants lie, ²³ 

their tongues speak deceptive words. ²⁴ 

[24:28]  ¹ sn The legal setting of these sayings continues with this warning against being a false accuser. The “witness” in this line is one who has no basis for his testimony. “Without cause” is the adverb from חָנָן (khanan), which means “to be gracious.” The adverb means “without a cause; gratis; free.” It is also cognate to the word חֵן (“grace” or “unmerited [or, undeserved] favor.” The connotation is that the opposite is due. So the adverb would mean that there was no cause, no justification for the witness, but that the evidence seemed to lie on the other side.

[24:28]  ² tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause; it means “what is said.” Here it refers to what is said in court as a false witness.

[26:19]  ³ tn Heb “man.”

[26:19]  ⁴ sn The subject of this proverb is not simply a deceiver, but one who does so out of jest, or at least who claims he was joking afterward. The participle מְשַׂחֵק has the idea of “laughing, mocking”; in this context it might convey the idea of “kidding” or “joking.” The point is that such practical joking is immature and often dangerous. To the foolish deceiver it might all seem like fun, like sport; but it can destroy people. One cannot trifle with dangerous weapons, or put them in irresponsible hands; likewise one cannot trifle with human relationships. W. G. Plaut notes, “The only worthwhile humor is that which laughs with, not at others” (Proverbs, 270).

[59:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[59:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”

[59:14]  ⁷ tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”

[59:14]  ⁸ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[59:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.

[8:5]  ¹¹ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

[8:5]  ¹² tn Heb “pass by.”

[8:5]  ¹³ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[8:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

[8:5]  ¹⁵ tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.

[8:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

[6:10]  ¹⁸ tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”

[6:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”

[6:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”

[6:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “Do I acquit sinful scales, and a bag of deceptive weights?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I do not,” and has been translated as a declarative statement for clarity and emphasis.

[6:12]  ²² tn Heb “because her rich are full of violence.”

[6:12]  ²³ tn Heb “speak lies.”

[6:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”