A crooked witness ¹  scorns justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours ²  iniquity.

biblegateway Pro 19:28

A rascally witness makes a mockery of justice, And the mouth of the wicked spreads iniquity.

A worthless witness mocks justice, and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.

A worthless witness mocks justice, and the mouths of wicked people swallow up trouble.

biblegateway Pro 19:28

A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

A worthless witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

bibleoremus Pro 19:28

A worthless witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

A lying witness makes a mockery of justice, and the talk of the wicked fosters mischief.

biblegateway Pro 19:28

A disreputable witness scorns justice, And the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.

biblegateway Pro 19:28

A crooked witness ¹  scorns justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours ²  iniquity.

¹ tn Heb “a witness who is worthless and wicked” (עֵד בְּלִיַּעַל, ’ed beliyya’al). Cf. KJV “an ungodly witness”; NAB “an unprincipled witness”; NCV “an evil witness”; NASB “a rascally witness.”

¹ sn These are crooked or corrupt witnesses who willfully distort the facts and make a mockery of the whole legal process.

² tn The parallel line says the mouth of the wicked “gulps down” or “swallows” (יְבַלַּע, yÿvala’) iniquity. The verb does not seem to fit the line (or the proverb) very well. Some have emended the text to יַבִּיעַ (yavia’, “gushes”) as in 15:28 (cf. NAB “pours out”). Driver followed an Arabic balaga to get “enunciates,” which works well with the idea of a false witness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 529). As it stands, however, the line indicates that in what he says the wicked person accepts evil – and that could describe a false witness.