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 25:18

“A man who bears false witness against his neighbor”: Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation reverse the Hebrew line order, placing the comparison in the second line. For “false witness” see 6.19, where the same Hebrew expression is used. To “bear false witness” means to lie as a court witness against a “neighbor”, which has the sense here of “companion” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “friend” (Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version). See Exo 20.16, the ninth commandment, for a similar expression.

“Is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow”: Lying as a witness is compared with weapons of war, things that injure and kill people. “A war club” renders a term that means “that which shatters.” It is a weapon usually fashioned from a heavy stick or tree branch. The words “sword” and “arrow” are the names of other weapons. In translation it may be necessary to make clear the nature of the comparison, which Good News Translation calls “deadly as.” We may translate this saying, for example, “If you tell lies about someone, it is like attacking them with a war club, a sword, or with sharp arrows.”

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 .