A righteous man hateth lying,.... Or, "a word of falsehood" (y); as being contrary to honour, truth, and conscience. He hates it in himself and others; he hates all sorts of lies, lies in common conversation, religious lies, doctrinal ones, false doctrines, lies spoken in hypocrisy; such as the followers of antichrist spread, being given up unto them that they might be damned, 1 Timothy 4:2; these are an abomination to God and all good men, Revelation 21:27;

but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame; or, "causes" or "spreads a stink" (z): all wicked men are loathsome and abominable, being very corrupt in principle and practice; all over defiled with sin, and covered with wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores, from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet; and especially liars, who are often brought to shame and confusion in this life, and will hereafter come to everlasting shame and contempt. Or, "makes himself to stink" (a); in the nostrils of all good men, and so brought to shame: or "digs"; a metaphor, as Cartwright thinks, from those that dig in the earth, where such as are covered with shame would gladly put their heads.

(y) "verbum falsitatis", Montanus, Michaelis; "verbum fuci", Schulteus. (z) "foetere facit", Vatablus, Mercerus; "foetere faciet", Montanus; "foetere fecit foetorem", Gussetius, p. 114. "foetorem spargit", Schultens. (a) "Se ipse foetere facit", Coccei Lexic. Colossians 77. "foetidum se reddit", Piscator.

Two proverbs of the character of the righteous and of the effect of righteousness:

A deceitful thing the righteous hateth;

But the godless disgraceth and putteth to shame.

With דּבּר in the sphere of an intelligible generality (as here of falsehood, or Psalm 41:9 of worthlessness) a concrete event is in view, as with דּברי in the following plur. a general fact is separated into its individual instances and circumstances (vid., at Psalm 65:4); for דבר means not only the word in which the soul reveals itself, but also any fact in which an inner principle or a general fact or a whole comes forth to view. The righteous hateth all that bears in it the character of a falsehood (punctuate דּבר־שׁקר with Gaja, cf. Proverbs 12:19), but the godless ... Should we now, with Bertheau, Hitzig, and others, translate "acteth basely and shamefully"? It is true that both Hiphs. may be regarded as transitive, but this expression gives not right contrast to 5a, and is pointless. We have seen at Proverbs 10:5 that הבישׁ, like השׂכּיל, has also a causative signification: to put to shame, i.e., bring shame upon others, and that Proverbs 19:26, where מבישׁ וּמחפּיר are connected, this causative signification lies nearer than the intrinsically transitive. Thus it will also here be meant, that while the righteous hateth all that is false or that is tainted by falsehood, the godless on the contrary loves to disgrace and to put to shame. But it is a question whether יבאישׁ is to be derived from בּאשׁ equals בּושׁ, and thus is of the same meaning as יבישׁ; הבאישׁ, Isaiah 30:5, which there signifies pudefactum esse, is pointed הבאישׁ, and is thus derived from a יבשׁ equals בּושׁ, vid., 2 Samuel 19:6. But הבאישׁ occurs also as Hiph. of בּאשׁ, and means transitively to make of an evil savour, Genesis 34:30, cf. Exodus 5:21, as well as intransitively to come into evil savour, 1 Samuel 27:12. In this sense of putidum faciens, bringing into evil savour, יבאישׁ occurs here as at Proverbs 19:26, suitably along with יחפיר; Proverbs 19:26 is the putidum facere by evil report (slander), into which the foolish son brings his parents, here by his own evil report, thus to be thought of as brought about by means of slander. The old translators here fall into error; Luther renders both Hiphils reflexively; only the Venet. (after Kimchi) is right: ὀζώσει (from an ὀζοῦν as trans. to ὀζεῖν) καὶ ἀτιμώσει, he makes to be of ill odour and dishonours.

A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.

5. loathsome . shame-better, causeth shame and reproach (compare Pr 19:26), by slander, &c., which the righteous hates.

13:1 There is great hope of those that reverence their parents. There is little hope of any who will not hear those that deal faithfully with them. 2. By our words we must be justified or condemned, Mt 12:37. 3. He that thinks before he speaks, that suppresses evil if he have thought it, keeps his soul from a great deal both of guilt and grief. Many a one is ruined by an ungoverned tongue. 4. The slothful desire the gains the diligent get, but hate the pains the diligent take; therefore they have nothing. This is especially true as to the soul. 5. Where sin reigns, the man is loathsome. If his conscience were awake, he would abhor himself, and repent in dust and ashes.