What Does Exodus 20:16 Mean in the King James?
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew word for witness is tied to a root associated with repeating or affirming, so false testimony turns a claim into harm aimed at a neighbor.
THE MEANING
What you say about another person can shape how they are seen; this verse treats false testimony as harm done to a neighbor, not as harmless talk. The neighbor remains a person beyond the story told about them.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A false account about someone is harmless when they are not in the room.
THE ROOT
עֵד
ʿēd
GROWS FROM
עוּד
ʿ-w-d
To return or repeat; by extension, to testify or affirm.
English “witness” can sound like a neutral role, but this word is associated with giving or affirming testimony. The verse puts the truth of the account at the center: an asserted claim becomes harm when it is false and aimed at a neighbor.
ALSO GROWS
ʿûd: To repeat, return, or testify.
עוּד
The witness word is associated with repeating or affirming an account, bringing the truth of what is said into focus.
hēʿîd: To testify or call as a witness.
הֵעִיד
This related verb makes witness an active act of testimony, not merely a role someone holds.
שֶׁקֶר
sheqer
GROWS FROM
שקר
š-q-r
To deal falsely or deceive; falsehood.
The verse names the testimony itself as falsehood. The same root describes both the false claim and the act of dealing falsely, linking speech to the deception it carries.
ALSO GROWS
šiqqēr: To lie or deal falsely.
שִׁקֵּר
The verbal form links false testimony to the act of deception.
sheqarim: Falsehoods or lies.
שְׁקָרִים
The plural form shows the root extending from a false claim to lies in the broader sense.
THE PATTERN
Truthful testimony protects the neighbor, while false speech makes the neighbor its target.
A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,THE THREAD
A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.Proverbs uses the same Hebrew word for “witness” and the same root for “falsehood” found in Exodus 20:16. It makes the contrast explicit: testimony’s force depends on whether the account holds to truth.
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