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Righteousness Is a Safeguard

Proverbs 13:5 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁵A righteous man hates falsehood,
but a wicked man acts shamefully and disgracefully.

A righteous man hates falsehood: Righteous; upright; just: (צֶדֶק tsedeq; ) refers to one who is in a righteous standing before God, who is characterized by righteous actions and morals in accordance with God’s moral standards. What does this mean? The person adheres to God’s standards, His moral code. He does what is required according to this moral standard. (Ps 7:9) He is honest, fair, and truthful in his actions, which are correct according to God’s standards. He is not deviant in any way (Lev. 19:36). He is able to make a moral judgment when deciding what is right and wrong without prejudice. – Gen. 18:23-24; Deut. 16:20; Prov. 3:33; Zeph. 2:3; James 3:18. Hate (שָׂנֵא sane) means to abhor, detest, loathe, to dislike intensely, to feel apathy for or hostility for someone or something. Falsehood: (דָּבָר dabar) The sense of a brief statement or word of falsehood. A misleading falsehood that causes a mistaken belief, deception, lies.

But a wicked man acts shamefully and disgracefully: A wicked (Heb. rasha) man is the unrighteous one who is evil, being guilty of willfully and purposely violating the standards of God. The Old Testament refers to the one who refuses to acknowledge or obey God. In the book of Proverbs explicitly, it refers to the foolish one who ignores or refuses to follow the divine teachings of God. It is a state or condition of evil that focuses on violating God’s laws or standards. (Prov. 3:33; 18:3) Shamefully, to act: (בָּאַשׁ baash) A sense of acting odiously to behave in an odious manner. A person who smells bad, that is, he stinks. He has a bad odor, so he is loathsome and difficult to be around. – Ex. 7:18, 21; 8:10; 16:20; Isa. 50:2. Disgrace; disgracefully: (חָפַר chaphar) This means to feel ashamed, to feel dishonor or guilt, to be disgraced. (Psa. 34:6; Isa. 1:29; 24:23; Jer. 15:29; 50:12; Mic. 3:7) Here, in this context, shamefully and disgracefully have a similar meaning. That is, both words refer to one who acts in such a way that is disapproved of, to bring dishonor and disgrace on himself, causing offense.

A righteous person develops godly qualities and always speaks the truth. He understands not only is lying against God’s law (Proverbs 6:16-19; Colossians 3:9) but it is something that He detests as well. (Prov. 12:22) The righteous person does not simply avoid lying because it violates God’s law; he actually hates lying. He knows from God’s Word that no matter how small or innocent a lie may appear to be, lies will destroy human relationships. Moreover, the one who lies will lose all credibility, and even if telling the truth, he will not be believed. On the other hand, the wicked acts shamefully, relishing in his dishonesty, and thus he brings dishonor and disgrace on himself, causing offense.