Proverbs 30:10

Malicious speech against others ultimately brings guilt upon the one who speaks it.

To warn against slandering or falsely accusing a servant before his master, emphasizing the destructive consequences of malicious speech.

Proverbs 30:10 follows Agur’s prayer in Proverbs 30:7-9, where he asks God to keep falsehood and lies far from him. Verse 10 immediately applies that prayer to interpersonal speech: do not slander a servant to his master. The movement is deliberate. Agur does not leave truthfulness in the abstract. He presses it into a setting where false words can harm a vulnerable person. The verse also connects with earlier Proverbs 29 material about servants, correction, testimony, and fear of man. Proverbs 29:19 warned that a servant may not be corrected by words alone; Proverbs 29:21 warned about pampering a servant; Proverbs 30:10 now warns against maliciously accusing a servant before his master. The wisdom tradition therefore speaks both to accountability and protection.

In ancient Israel, servants could include household servants, laborers, bondservants, or attendants under the authority of a master. Their social and economic vulnerability made accusations before a master potentially devastating. A malicious report could result in discipline, loss of position, punishment, shame, or reduced livelihood. Proverbs 30:10 warns against exploiting this vulnerability through slander and suggests that the wronged servant’s curse may expose the accuser’s guilt.