The Meaning of Proverbs 6:19 Explained

Proverbs 6:19

KJV: A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

YLT: A false witness who doth breathe out lies -- And one sending forth contentions between brethren.

Darby: a false witness that uttereth lies, and he that soweth discords among brethren.

ASV: A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

A false  witness  [that] speaketh  lies,  and he that soweth  discord  among brethren. 

What does Proverbs 6:19 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 6:1-19 - Avoid Suretyship And Sloth
A young man, being entreated by his friend to go bond for him, consents, in an easy-going way to become his surety. He promises to be responsible for the other's debt. From that moment he resembles a roe caught by a hunter or a bird snared by a fowler. If any shall have enmeshed himself in an obligation of this kind he is exhorted to spare no pains, to stand on no false pride, but to go with all urgency to the man for whom he has pledged his credit, and get released at all cost. If we can afford to be surety, we can afford to lend the money ourselves. If we cannot do the former, it is weak and foolish to do the latter.
The ants swarm in the woods and fields, and rebuke our laziness and thriftlessness. They work day and might, storing their galleries with food, building mounds which relatively to the size of the builders are three or four times larger than the Pyramids. In sickness they nurse one another; in the winter they feed on their supplies. Learn from the ceaseless industry of Nature, and do something worthy before sundown! [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 6

1  against indebtedness
6  idleness
12  and mischievousness
16  seven things detestable to God
20  the blessings of obedience
25  the mischief of unfaithfulness

What do the individual words in Proverbs 6:19 mean?

[who] speaks lies a witness FALSE and one who sows discord among brothers -
יָפִ֣יחַ כְּ֭זָבִים עֵ֣ד שָׁ֑קֶר וּמְשַׁלֵּ֥חַ מְ֝דָנִ֗ים בֵּ֣ין אַחִֽים פ

יָפִ֣יחַ  [who]  speaks 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פּוּחַ 
Sense: to breathe, blow.
כְּ֭זָבִים  lies 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: כָּזָב  
Sense: a lie, untruth, falsehood, deceptive thing.
עֵ֣ד  a  witness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵד  
Sense: witness.
שָׁ֑קֶר  FALSE 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁקֶר  
Sense: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood.
וּמְשַׁלֵּ֥חַ  and  one  who  sows 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
מְ֝דָנִ֗ים  discord 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מָדֹון  
Sense: strife, contention.
אַחִֽים  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation