witness

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “witness” in English is translated as “truly have seen” in Highland Popoluca, as “telling the truth regarding something” (Eastern Highland Otomi), as “know something” in Lalana Chinantec, as “verily know something to be the truth” in San Mateo del Mar Huave, as “we ourselves saw this,” in Desano, as “tell the truth about something” in Eastern Highland Otomi, as “know something is true because of seeing it” in Teutila Cuicatec. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 19:5

“A false witness will not go unpunished”: For “A false witness” see 6.19. “Will not go unpunished”, as in 6.29, means “he will not be acquitted in court” or “he will surely be punished.” See Good News Translation.

“And he who utters lies will not escape”: This line has essentially the same meaning as the previous line. “Utters lies” is literally “breathes lies.” The negative “will not escape” is parallel with “will not go unpunished” in line 1, and may need to be expressed, for example, “will not go free,” “will not be released,” or positively “will be condemned.” Contemporary English Version combines “will not go unpunished” and “will not escape” by saying “Dishonest witnesses and liars won’t escape punishment.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .