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Truth Will Be Established Forever

Proverbs 12:19 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
¹⁹The lip of truth is established forever,
but only for the wink of an eye is a lying tongue.

The lip of truth is established forever: Here lip (שָׂפָה saphah) of truth (אֱמֶת emeth) again represents words spoken and, in this case, in order to communicate what is true, certain, and sure, so certain not to be false. The truthful lips here, what will be said by this kind of person, are established (כּוּן kun) forever in that they will be reliable forever. That is, this person can always be trusted in what he says; his words are dependable. This is in contrast with the person who has a lying tongue, meaning he can only be trusted but for a moment.

but only for the wink of an eye is a lying tongue: Here the figurative expression wink of an eye, that is, but for a moment, is contrasted with forever in line 1. The lying tongue belongs to one who continuously deceives others with his misleading utterly false information, which causes others to arrive at a mistaken belief. This is a person that could care less about the destruction of his lies in the wake of his deception. The distortion of the truth is this one’s means of making the world mold to his perception of things. He could never accept the moral values of right and wrong set out in Scripture because he has distorted the truth so much that his moral compass is unable to point toward truth.

Yes, truthful speech is obvious by reliability and endurance. Any human relationship is more stable and fulfilling when we are determined to speak the truth and act in harmony with it. Being known as a person of truth will bring us immediate rewards. These include such things as a clean conscience before God, a good reputation with others, and a much stronger relationship in marriage, as well as the family, our friends, and even our co-workers.

A person known to lie cannot even be trusted for a moment. He is doubted the moment the words leave his lips. Those who do not know him may believe his falsehoods for a mere moment, but untruth does not stand the test of time. Moreover, the God of truth has a timeline for those who live a life of lies, and he is not going to tolerate it forever. The Bible promises, “But as for … all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:8