What Does the Bible Say About Lying? Honesty, Silence and the Hard Cases

Scripture's position on lying is clear but slightly more specific than "do not tell lies". Start with the wording of the commandment.

The ninth commandment is narrower than people assume

Exodus 20:16: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."

Note the phrasing — this is courtroom language about giving false testimony. Its concern is not inaccuracy in general but using untrue words to harm a specific person.

That placement matters: in scripture, lying is filed under damaged relationships, not under careless speech.

Why it is treated so seriously

In the list at Proverbs 6:16-19, a lying tongue appears once and a false witness who speaks lies appears again — two of the seven items.

John 8:44 puts it hardest: Jesus says the devil "is a liar, and the father of it". Lying is not a minor fault in scripture; it is traced back to a source.

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.Ephesians 4:25 (KJV)

The reason given is worth noticing

Ephesians 4:25 does not say "because lying is wrong". It says "for we are members one of another."

The logic: if parts of a body send each other false information, the whole body reacts wrongly. Lying is prohibited because it makes shared life impossible.

Does silence count as lying?

Scripture does not require you to say everything you know. Proverbs 11:13 praises the person "of a faithful spirit" who "concealeth the matter", and 10:19 notes that "in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin".

The distinction is intent: withholding to protect someone else and misleading to protect yourself are not the same act.

The hard cases

Scripture does record people who lied and were not condemned for it: Rahab misled the searchers (Josh 2:4-6), the Hebrew midwives misled Pharaoh (Ex 1:19), and both were afterwards blessed.

Honestly stated: scripture offers no theory about these cases. It does not say "so lying is sometimes permitted", and it does not go back and rebuke them. Hebrews 11:31 lists Rahab among the faithful.

What the cases share is worth noticing: each is a powerless person facing a power that intends to kill. Treating them as a licence for ordinary dishonesty turns an extreme into a rule.

The most practical verse

Colossians 3:9 ties it to identity: "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds."

Not "you should not lie" but "lying is a coat you already took off".

A concrete self-check: last time I shaded the facts, who was I protecting? If the answer is always yourself, the question is no longer about nuance.

Read the back half of Ephesians 4 in the BiblePro app — verses 25 to 32 form one passage about living together. And do look for a local church to read alongside others.