Proverbs 24:28

Hebrew
אַל תְּהִ֣יplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigהָיָה

hebrew

The word הָיָה means “to exist” or “to be” or “to become” or “to come into being” and occurs 3561 times in the Old Testament.

This is the foundational verb of existence, identity, becoming and occurrence.

* It is used in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, represented by the English words Genesis 1:3Exodus 3:12Ruth 1:1Isaiah 2:2
עֵד חִנָּ֣ם בְּרֵעֶ֑ךָ וַ֝הֲפִתִּ֗יתָ בִּשְׂפָתֶֽיךָ
ESV
Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
NIV
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, or use your lips to deceive.
NLT
Don't testify against your neighbors without cause; don't lie about them.
LXX
μὴ ἴσθιplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigεἰμί

greek

εἰμί is the first person singular verb for “to be” (εἶναι [the infinitive form] = “to be”).

It an irregular verb, and, like English, changes significantly between person and tense. For example εἰμί is the word for am and ἦν is the word for was, e.g.
ψευδὴς μάρτυς ἐπὶ σὸν πολίτην μηδὲ πλατύνου σοῖς χείλεσιν
KJV
Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.

Proverbs 24:27 ← Proverbs 24:28 → Proverbs 24:29

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