So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
The man who deceives his neighbor and then says he was in sport is likened to a madman casting deadly weapons. The comparison sets the joking deceiver alongside one who hurls firebrands, arrows, and death without control of where they strike. To mislead another and then claim it was only humor belongs in that same reckless class.
Such deceptive speech can inflict grave harm, as real and wounding as that done by lethal weapons. Calling the deception sport does not render it harmless, nor does pleading a joke excuse it. Deception excused as sport or humor stands condemned, and the jester's plea leaves the guilt and the injury unremoved.
The man who deceives his neighbor and then says he was in sport is likened to a madman casting deadly weapons. The comparison sets the joking deceiver alongside one who hurls firebrands, arrows, and death without control of where they strike. To mislead another and then claim it was only humor belongs in that same reckless class.
Such deceptive speech can inflict grave harm, as real and wounding as that done by lethal weapons. Calling the deception sport does not render it harmless, nor does pleading a joke excuse it. Deception excused as sport or humor stands condemned, and the jester's plea leaves the guilt and the injury unremoved.