Proverbs 12:19
The lip of truth shall be established for ever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
JPS TaNaKH 1917
In The King James Version
The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
In Context
18There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword; but the tongue of the wise is health.
20Deceit is in the heart of them that devise evil; but to the counsellors of peace is joy.
Cross References
2 Kings 5:26And he said unto him: 'Went not my heart with thee, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and maid-servants?
Psalms 52:4(52-6) Thou lovest all devouring words, the deceitful tongue.
Proverbs 19:9A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that breatheth forth lies shall perish.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 12:19
18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. The tongue is death or life, poison or medicine, as it is used. 1. There are words that are cutting and killing, that are like the piercings of a sword. Opprobrious words grieve the spirits of those to whom they are spoken, and cut them to the heart. Slanders, like a sword, wound the reputation of those of whom they are uttered, and perhaps incurably. Whisperings and evil surmises, like a sword, divide and cut asunder… Read the whole commentary →