Leviticus 19:11

Dealing Honestly

19:11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. ¹ 

Genesis 26:7

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ²  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ³  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁴  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

John 8:44

8:44 You people ⁵  are from ⁶  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ⁷  He ⁸  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁹  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ¹⁰  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹¹  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ¹² 

Acts 5:4

5:4 Before it was sold, ¹³  did it not ¹⁴  belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money ¹⁵  not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? ¹⁶  You have not lied to people ¹⁷  but to God!”

Ephesians 4:25

4:25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, ¹⁸  for we are members of one another.

Colossians 3:9

3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices

Revelation 22:15

22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers ¹⁹  and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood! ²⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “you shall not deal falsely a man with his fellow citizen.”

² sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

³ tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.

⁴ tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

⁵ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

⁶ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

⁷ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

⁸ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

⁹ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

¹⁰ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

¹¹ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

¹² tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

¹³ tn Grk “Remaining to you.”

¹⁴ tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).

¹⁵ tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.

¹⁷ tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.

¹⁸ sn A quotation from Zech 8:16.

¹⁹ tn On the term φάρμακοι (farmakoi) see L&N 53.101.

²⁰ tn Or “lying,” “deceit.”