Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (Exodus 20:16)1
Justice
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which YHWH2 thy God giveth thee. (Deuteronomy 16:19-20)
Most of what takes place in America’s courts comes under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Commandment. This includes equal justice for the rich and the poor, the great and the small, the widow and the orphan, and any visiting foreigner. Amos 5 sums up this concept:
Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so YHWH, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment [justice, NASB] in the gate: it may be that YHWH God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:14-15)
The Ninth Commandment is all about justice because when false testimony is not curtailed, justice is all but impossible. King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 21:3 “to do justice and judgment [righteousness and justice, NASB] is more acceptable to YHWH than sacrifice.” The book of Isaiah opens with Yahweh3 informing the house of Judah that He had no regard for their sacrifices because, among other things, they had no regard for His justice.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness” demands equity in our courts of law. However, because Yahweh’s laws do not govern today’s courts, justice is seldom found therein.
Ninth Commandment Summation
The Ninth Commandment also requires what is just and proper in our personal relationships, particularly verbally. The Apostle Paul sums up this Commandment in his epistle to the Ephesians:
Let no corrupt communication [harmful words, TEV] proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4:29)
Paul instructed us in both the negative and positive aspects of the Ninth Commandment. We should not speak untruths but instead build up one another.
Righteous Lying
In the previous installment, I pointed out that lying (Leviticus 19:11) is a violation of the Ninth Commandment – but not all lying. There are lies – serious, bold, intentional prevarications – that do not violate the Ninth or any other commandment.
Most Christians4 believe a lie is a lie no matter how one attempts to dress it up, but this is not always true. The Bible differentiates between lies that are Ninth Commandment infractions and those that are not.
Yahweh describes Ninth Commandment transgressions as bearing false witness against your neighbor. In other words, the Ninth Commandment forbids doing your neighbor harm in what you say or write. The Hebrew word translated “false” in the Ninth Commandment is sheqer and is defined in the Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon:
a lie, a deception, a disappointment, a falsehood a) a deception (what deceives or disappoints or betrays one) b) deceit, fraud, wrong; fraudulently, wrongfully (as adverb) c) falsehood (injurious in testimony); testify falsehood, false oath, swear falsely d) falsity (of false or self-deceived prophets) e) a lie, a falsehood (in general); a false tongue.5
The Ninth Commandment describes verbal or printed evil done to another. In the previous definition, note particularly the words “betrays one.” Ephesians 4:29 condemns evil and harmful words, but not all falsehoods are evil and harmful, and not all falsehoods betray someone. Some, in fact, accomplish precisely the opposite by protecting someone instead of harming or betraying him.
The Bible provides many examples of people lying to protect their own lives or the life of someone else. These people were not condemned, and, in some instances, they were even commended and blessed by Yahweh.
Abraham and Isaac
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. (Genesis 12:11-13)
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. (Genesis 20:2)
And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. (Genesis 26:6-7)
That Abraham and Isaac required their wives to lie is usually portrayed, at best, as a lack of faith and, at worst, as sinful cowardice. But their lies were actually meant to protect their wives from a society that had no compunction about murdering men and kidnapping and raping women. Although most of modern Christianity demeans Abraham and Isaac for their actions, Yahweh did not. Instead, His judgment fell upon both Pharaoh and King Ahimelech, even though their actions were influenced by Abraham’s and Isaac’s deceit.
Pastor John Weaver provides additional insight on these two incidents:
In Bible times and in Bible lands, there was a custom known as fatriarchy. …if a woman’s parents were dead, it meant that if someone wanted to marry that woman, he had to negotiate with her brother. And when Abram told Sarai to tell them he was her brother, Abram knew that he could still protect his wife because he could prevent any marriage from taking place because anyone who wanted Sarai had to deal with him. Pharaoh was a wicked man and … he simply took Sarai, against custom, against the laws of hospitality; and therefore, God plagued his house…. Abram used deceit in dealing with a tyrant in order to save his life, and also save the life of his wife…. You do not owe the truth to one who’s going to abuse the truth. If you give the truth to someone who’s going to abuse it, then you become a partaker and accomplice in that individual’s sin.6
Shiphrah and Puah
And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him…. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. (Exodus 1:15-19)
When Shiphrah and Puah lied to Pharaoh they did not bear false witness against anyone. Because their lie protected their own lives and the lives of others, it was not a Ninth Commandment infraction.
Because many Christians do not distinguish between lies, they have no alternative but to claim that Shiphrah and Puah were sinful and, because we have no record of them repenting, that they should have been condemned to the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). If this were true, why did Yahweh bless them?
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives…. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses [established households for them, NASB].
Amram and Jochebed
Not only was Moses eulogized for his faith in Hebrews 11, but so were his parents Amram and Jochebed, who deceived Pharaoh:
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. (Hebrews 11:23)
Amram and Jochebed were extolled for deceiving Pharaoh when they defied his orders and protected and preserved Moses. Instead of rebuking them for their deception, Yahweh enshrined them in His faith hall of fame. Surely, He must have disdained the other parents of the day who, unlike Amram and Jochebed, sacrificed their children to Pharaoh.
Moses
In Exodus 3, Yahweh instructed Moses to lie to Pharaoh as part of the strategy to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage:
And God said moreover unto Moses…. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, … I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land … unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. …and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, YHWH God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to YHWH our God. (Exodus 3:15-18)
Was it Yahweh’s plan that Israel sacrifice to Him in the wilderness and then return after three days? Or was His plan that Israel leave Egypt and never return? The narrative proves it was the latter. Yahweh Himself commanded Moses and the elders to lie to Pharaoh in order to eventually deliver them from Egypt’s bondage.
Rahab
And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee…. And the woman … said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass … when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax…. (Joshua 2:2-6)
Rahab saved the two Israelite spies by hiding them and then lying to the King of Jericho. Hebrews 11 and James 2 identify her actions as acts of faith.
R.J. Rushdoony responded to those who attempt to condemn Rahab for lying:
…it is very strange theology which will admit that God approved of the faith and the act of Rahab, but that the lie on which the whole rescue rests is somehow bad.7
Jael
…Barak pursued after the chariots … and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left. Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite…. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not…. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him…. Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground…. So he died. (Judges 4:16-21)
Yahweh did not condemn Jael for this act of treachery, but instead recorded Deborah’s and Barak’s tribute to her in His Word:
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women…. (Judges 5:24)
Samuel
Yahweh instructed Samuel to deceive King Saul with a half-truth:
And YHWH said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me. And YHWH said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to YHWH. (1 Samuel 16:1-2)
Michal
Saul’s daughter Michal lied to her father’s henchmen to save the life of her husband, and she lied again to her father to save her own life:
And the evil spirit from YHWH was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin…. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin … and David fled, and escaped that night. Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house … to slay him in the morning…. So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.… And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed…. And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee? (1 Samuel 19:9-17)
Jonathan
Saul’s son Jonathan also deceived his father to protect David:
And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse…. And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked … Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there…. (1 Samuel 20:27-29)
This lie was at David’s request:
And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. (1 Samuel 20:5-6)
David
David lied to Ahimelech to protect his own life.
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech … said unto him, Why art thou alone…? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee…. (1 Samuel 21:1-2)
If it had not been for Doeg the Edomite’s treachery, David’s lie would also have protected Ahimelech.
David often lied to King Achish regarding his secret raids against the Philistines and their allies:
…David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites…. And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive … and returned, and came to Achish. And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. (1 Samuel 27:8-10)
In 1 Kings 15:5, we are told that “David did that which was right in the eyes of YHWH, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” Obviously, David’s lies to Saul, Ahimelech, and Achish were not considered violations of the Ninth Commandment.
Hushai
Hushai lied to David’s son Absalom to protect a vulnerable David:
And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place…. (2 Samuel 17:7-9)
David’s and Hushai’s lies provide biblical precedent for lying with immunity during times of war.
An Unnamed Prophet
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets … said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. So the prophet departed, and waited for [Ahab] the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle…. (1 Kings 20:35-39)
Not only did Yahweh inspire His prophets to lie to tyrannical rulers, He inspired the false prophets to lie in order to deceive the wicked:
And YHWH said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? …Now therefore, behold, YHWH hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets…. (1 Kings 22:20-23)
And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I YHWH have deceived that prophet…. (Ezekiel 14:9)
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11)
Jehu
And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them…. Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal … for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. …and all the worshippers of Baal came…. And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of YHWH, but the worshippers of Baal only…. And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword…. (2 Kings 10:18-25)
In this instance, Jehu’s lie was not to save life but to destroy it, in obedience to Yahweh’s command in Deuteronomy 17:1-7. Did Yahweh condemn Jehu for breaking the Ninth Commandment, or did He honor him for his obedience to the Second Commandment’s required judgment?
Jeremiah
In obedience to King Zedekiah’s instructions, to protect the King and himself, Jeremiah lied to the princes of Judah:
Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee … and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there. Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded.... (Jeremiah 38:24-27)
The Wise Men
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men … sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also…. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. (Matthew 2:7-12)
Yahweh directed the wise men to deceive Herod in order to keep him from destroying the Christ child.
In none of the previous instances is there a hint that Yahweh was displeased with or considered any of these men or women sinners for having lied. Yahweh not only condones such violations, He commands it:
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (1 Timothy 5:8)
What good is providing food, clothing, and shelter, if you are not also prepared to protect your family and your provisions from murderers, rapists, and thieves? The head of every Christian household needs to be prepared to protect the physical welfare of his family and his possessions with whatever means or force is required,8 including deception. Anyone unwilling to do so is worse than an infidel in Yahweh’s sight.
Truth-Telling that’s Equivalent to False Witnessing
Telling the truth when you know doing so will jeopardize someone’s life amounts to dealing falsely with your neighbor and is therefore a form of bearing false witness. There are evil ways to lie and righteous ways to lie, just as there are righteous ways to speak the truth and unrighteous ways to speak the truth. Rushdoony elaborated:
The ninth commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Ex. 20:16), has been widely misinterpreted to mean that “Thou shalt at all times and under all circumstances tell the truth to all men who may ask anything of you.9
The Commandment is very clear: we are not to bear false witness against our neighbor, but this does not mean that our neighbor or our enemy is ever entitled to the truth from us, or any word from us, about matters of no concern to them, or of private nature to us. No enemy or criminal has any right to knowledge from us which can be used to do us evil…. No one who is seeking to do us evil, to violate the law in reference to us or to another, is entitled to the truth. More than that, it can with scriptural grounds be called an evil to tell the truth to evil men and enable them thereby to expedite their evil…. To see men planning theft or murder, and then to answer truthfully concerning the whereabouts of the man, woman, or property they mean to kill, rape, or steal, is to be party to their offense. Such truth-telling is then participation in the crime. In terms of this, Rahab, had she told the truth, would have been an accessory to the death of two men.10
If we are not permitted by this law to injure “our neighbour’s good name,” how much less are we permitted to aid evil men to steal his property, rape his women-folk, and kill him as well? Truth-telling under such circumstances is not a virtue but moral cowardice.11
King Hezekiah was harshly judged for what amounted to telling the truth to the King of Babylon’s emissaries:
At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah [king of Judah]…. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, …What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of YHWH. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith YHWH. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. (2 Kings 20:12-18)
In Proverbs 11:12, Solomon declared, “A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of faithful spirit conceals a matter.” Sometimes concealment requires that we lie to the wicked.
Proverbs 12:22 declares that “lying lips are abomination to YHWH….” If Yahweh does not differentiate between liars and their motives, we are forced to conclude that Abraham, Isaac, Shiphrah, Puah, Amram, Jochebed, Moses, Rahab, Samuel, Michal, Jonathan, David, Jehu, and Jeremiah – some of whom are cited in Hebrews 11 – were all abominable to Him. In 1 Timothy 1:8-10, liars are listed right along with murderers, whoremongers, sodomites, and everything else contrary to sound doctrine. Consequently, if Yahweh does not discriminate between self-serving lies and lies that preserve life, we are forced to conclude that Abraham, Isaac, and the rest were worthy of the same eternal judgment as unrepentant murderers, whoremongers, and sodomites. It is absurd to think that Yahweh would judge those who prevent murder in the same manner He does those who commit murder.
Like those who attempt to employ the Sixth Commandment “Thou shalt not kill” to oppose capital punishment and self-defense, people who do not distinguish between righteous and unrighteous lying fall under the Apostle Paul’s description of people who use Yahweh’s laws unlawfully (1 Timothy 1:8).
Ninth Commandment Judgment
If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before YHWH, before the priests and the judges … and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deuteronomy 19:16-21)
A false witness must pay whatever judgment his lie would have precipitated upon his victim. Judgment for Ninth Commandment violations can require either capital or non-capital verdicts, depending upon the severity of the alleged crime.
If the instances of lying cited earlier were a crime, what would be their just and comparable judgment? No one lost an eye, a tooth, a limb, or a life. Instead, some of those losses were prevented. Would Yahweh have us execute a person who saves someone’s life by his prevarication? Of course not. This alone demonstrates that a person can lie with immunity to the wicked in order to save his own life or the life of another person.
On the other hand, men with wicked intentions must inevitably pay for violating the Ninth Commandment, if not at the hands of righteous judges in this life, then ultimately at the hands of Yahweh in eternity:
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. (Proverbs 19:5)
End Notes
1. All Scripture is quoted from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Portions of Scripture have been omitted for brevity’s sake. If you have any questions regarding a passage, please open your Bible and study the text to ensure it has been properly used.
2. Where the Tetragrammaton – the four Hebrew characters transliterated “YHWH” and representing the personal name of God – has been incorrectly rendered the LORD or GOD in Scripture, I have taken the liberty to correct this error by inserting YHWH where appropriate. For a more thorough explanation concerning the use of the names of God, “The Third Commandment” may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
3. Yahweh is the personal Hebrew name of the God of the Bible. “The Third Commandment,” a more thorough explanation concerning the use of the names of God, may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
4. Not everyone claiming to be a Christian has been properly instructed in the biblical plan of salvation. Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:36-41, 22:1-16; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:11-13; and 1 Peter 3:21 should be studied in order to understand what is required to be covered by the blood of Yeshua and forgiven of your sins. For a more thorough explanation concerning baptism and its relationship to salvation, “Baptism by the Scriptures” and “Fifty Objections to Baptism Answered” may be read online, or the book Baptism: All You Wanted to Know and More may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for free.
5. Sheqer, The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979) p. 1055.
6. John Weaver, “How Do We Deal with Tyrannical Powers?,” from the audio series The Biblical Doctrine of War.
7. Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law (The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1973) p. 545.
*In keeping with 2 Corinthians 9:7, this ministry is supported by freewill offerings. We are admonished in Matthew 10:8 that “freely ye have received, freely give.” Therefore, we will be pleased to provide you with whatever you need for whatever you can send.
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