“ ‘You shall not steal. “ ‘You shall not lie. “ ‘You shall not deceive one another.
Parallel Translations
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“ ‘You shall not steal. “ ‘You shall not lie. “ ‘You shall not deceive one another.
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Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
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Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.
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Contradictions (2)
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Commandments (3)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Leviticus 19:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.
- Psalms 101:7 He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes.
- Ephesians 4:25 Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.
- Colossians 3:9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,
- Zechariah 5:3-4 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side. I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
- Romans 3:4 May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “that you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.”
- Leviticus 6:2-3 “If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against Yahweh, and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbor, or has found that which was lost, and lied about it, and swearing to a lie—in any of these things that a man sins in his actions—
- Deuteronomy 5:19 “You shall not steal.
- Jeremiah 9:3-5 “They bend their tongue, as their bow, for falsehood. They have grown strong in the land, but not for truth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don’t know me,” says Yahweh. “Everyone beware of his neighbor, and don’t trust in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go around like a slanderer. Friends deceive each other, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies. They weary themselves commiting iniquity.
- Zechariah 8:16-17 These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates, and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.
- Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
- Exodus 22:1 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
- Exodus 22:7 “If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double.
- Exodus 22:10-12 “If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it; the oath of Yahweh shall be between them both, he has not put his hand on his neighbor’s goods; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. But if it is stolen from him, the one who stole shall make restitution to its owner.
- Psalms 116:11 I said in my haste, “All people are liars.”
- Jeremiah 6:13 “For from their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness. From the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.
- Jeremiah 7:9-11 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered,’ that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it,” says Yahweh.
- Acts 5:3-4 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land? While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:8-10 No, but you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and that against your brothers. Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.
- Ephesians 4:28 Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
- 1 Timothy 1:10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine,
- Revelation 21:8 But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
- 1 Kings 13:18 He said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by Yahweh’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” He lied to him.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain In that which is committed to your credit.
In that which is committed to your credit.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lev 19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely,…
Lev 19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
Ver. 11. Ye shall not steal] {See Trapp on "Eph 4:28"} {See Trapp on "Eph 4:25"} {See Trapp on "Exo 20:15"} {See Trapp on "Lev 6:3"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Or, one against another, to the defrauding of him…
Or, one against another, to the defrauding of him of any of his goods, to which kind of lying the words foregoing and following seem here to restrain it, though it be true that all sorts of lying are unlawful.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We are taught here,
We are taught here,
I. To be honest and true in all our dealings, Lev 19:11. God, who has appointed every man's property by his providence, forbids by his law the invading of that appointment, either by downright theft, You shall not steal, or by fraudulent dealing, "You shall not cheat, or deal falsely." Whatever we have in the world, we must see to it that it be honestly come by, for we cannot be truly rich, nor long rich, with that which is not. The God of truth, who requires truth in the heart (Psa 51:6), requires it also in the tongue: Neither lie one to another, either in bargaining or common converse. This is one of the laws of Christianity (Col 3:9): Lie not one to another. Those that do not speak truth do not deserve to be told truth; those that sin by lying justly suffer by it; therefore we are forbidden to lie one to another; for, if we lie to others, we teach them to lie to us.
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II. To maintain a very reverent regard to the sacred name of God (Lev 19:12), and not to call him to be witness either, 1. To a lie: You shall not swear falsely. It is bad to tell a lie, but it is much worse to swear it. Or, 2. To a trifle, and every impertinence: Neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God, by alienating it to any other purpose than that for which it is to be religiously used.
III. Neither to take nor keep any one's right from him, Lev 19:13. We must not take that which is none of our own, either by fraud or robbery; nor detain that which belongs to another, particularly the wages of the hireling, let it not abide with thee all night. Let the day-labourer have his wages as soon as he has done his day's work, if he desire it. It is a great sin to deny the payment of it, nay, to defer it, to his damage, a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance, Jam 5:4.
IV. To be particularly tender of the credit and safety of those that cannot help themselves, Lev 19:14. 1. The credit of the deaf: Thou shalt not curse the deaf; that is, not only those that are naturally deaf, that cannot hear at all, but also those that are absent, and at present out of hearing of the curse, and so cannot show their resentment, return the affront, nor right themselves, and those that are patient, that seem as if they heard not, and are not willing to take notice of it, as David, Psa 38:13. Do not injure any because they are unwilling, or unable, to avenge themselves, for God sees and hears, though they do not. 2. The safety of the blind we must likewise be tender of, and not put a stumbling-block before them; for this is to add affliction to the afflicted, and to make God's providence a servant to our malice. This prohibition implies a precept to help the blind, and remove stumbling-blocks out of their way. The Jewish writers, thinking it impossible that any should be so barbarous as to put a stumbling-block in the way of the blind, understood it figuratively, that it forbids giving bad counsel to those that are simple and easily imposed upon, by which they may be led to do something to their own prejudice. We ought to take heed of doing any thing which may occasion our weak brother to fall, Rom 14:13; Co1 8:9. It is added, as a preservative from these sins, but fear thou God. "Thou dost not fear the deaf and blind, they cannot right themselves; but remember it is the glory of God to help the helpless, and he will plead their cause." Note, The fear of God will restrain us from doing that which will not expose us to men's resentments.
V. Judges and all in authority are here commanded to give verdict and judgment without partiality (Lev 19:15); whether they were constituted judges by commission or made so in a particular case by the consent of both parties, as referees or arbitrators, they must do no wrong to either side, but, to the utmost of their skill, must go according to the rules of equity, having respect purely to the merits of the cause, and not to the characters of the person. Justice must never be perverted, either, 1. In pity to the poor: Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, Exo 23:3. Whatever may be given to a poor man as an alms, yet let nothing be awarded him as his right but what he is legally entitled to, nor let his poverty excuse him from any just punishment for a fault. Or, 2. In veneration or fear of the mighty, in whose favour judges would be most frequently biased. The Jews say, "Judges were obliged by this law to be so impartial as not to let one of the contending parties sit while the other stood, nor permit one to say what he pleased and bid the other be short; see Jam 2:1-4.
VI. We are all forbidden to do any thing injurious to our neighbour's good name (Lev 19:16), either, 1. In common conversation: Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer. It is as bad an office as a man can put himself into to be the publisher of every man's faults, divulging what was secret, aggravating crimes, and making the worst of every thing that was amiss, with design to blast and ruin men's reputation, and to sow discord among neighbours. The word used for a tale-bearer signifies a pedlar, or petty chapman, the interlopers of trade; for tale-bearers pick up ill-natured stories at one house and utter them at another, and commonly barter slanders by way of exchange. See this sin condemned, Pro 11:13; Pro 20:19; Jer 9:4, Jer 9:5; Eze 22:9. Or, 2, In witness-bearing: Neither shalt thou stand as a witness against the blood of thy neighbour, if his blood be innocent, nor join in confederacy with such bloody men as those described," Pro 1:11, Pro 1:12. The Jewish doctors put this further sense upon it: "Thou shalt not stand by and see thy brother in danger, but thou shalt come in to his relief and succour, though it be with the peril of thy own life or limb;" they add, "He that can by his testimony clear one that is accused is obliged by this law to do it;" see Pro 24:11, Pro 24:12.
VII. We are commanded to rebuke our neighbour in love (Lev 19:17): Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour. 1. Rather rebuke him than hate him for an injury done to thyself. If we apprehend that our neighbour has any way wronged us, we must not conceive a secret grudge against him, and estrange ourselves from him, speaking to him neither bad nor good, as the manner of some is, who have the art of concealing their displeasure till they have an opportunity of a full revenge (Sa2 13:22); but we must rather give vent to our resentments with the meekness of wisdom, endeavour to convince our brother of the injury, reason the case fairly with him, and so put an end to the disgust conceived: this is the rule our Saviour gives in this case, Luk 17:3. 2. Therefore rebuke him for his sin against God, because thou lovest him; endeavour to bring him to repentance, that his sin may be pardoned, and he may turn from it, and it may not be suffered to lie upon him. Note, Friendly reproof is a duty we owe to one another, and we ought both to give it and take it in love. Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be a kindness, Psa 141:5. Faithful and useful are those wounds of a friend, Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6. It is here strictly commanded, "Thou shalt in any wise do it, and not omit it under any pretence." Consider, (1.) The guilt we incur by not reproving: it is construed here into a hating of our brother. We are ready to argue thus, "Such a one is a friend I love, therefore I will not make him uneasy by telling him of his faults;" but we should rather say, "therefore I will do him the kindness to tell him of them." Love covers sin from others, but not from the sinner himself. (2.) The mischief we do by not reproving: we suffer sin upon him. Must we help the ass of an enemy that has fallen under his burden, and shall we not help the soul of a friend? Exo 23:5. And by suffering sin upon him we are in danger of bearing sin for him, as the margin reads it. If we reprove not the unfruitful works of darkness, we have fellowship with them, and become accessaries ex post facto - after the fact, Eph 5:11. It is thy brother, thy neighbour, that is concerned; and he was a Cain that said, Am I my brother's keeper?
VIII. We are here required to put off all malice, and to put on brotherly love, Lev 19:18. 1. We must be ill-affected to none: Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge; to the same purport with that Lev 19:17, Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; for malice is murder begun. If our brother has done us an injury, we must not return it upon him, that is avenging; we must not upon every occasion upbraid him with it, that is bearing a grudge; but we must both forgive it and forget it, for thus we are forgiven of God. It is a most ill-natured thing, and the bane of friendship, to retain the resentment of affronts and injuries, and to let that word devour for ever. 2. We must be well-affected to all: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. We often wrong ourselves, but we soon forgive ourselves those wrongs, and they do not at all lessen our love to ourselves; and in like manner we should love our neighbour. Our Saviour has made this the second great commandment of the law (Mat 22:39), and the apostle shows how it is the summary of all the laws of the second table, Rom 13:9, Rom 13:10; Gal 5:14. We must love our neighbour as truly as we love ourselves, and without dissimulation; we must evidence our love to our neighbour in the same way as that by which we evidence our love to ourselves, preventing his hurt, and procuring his good, to the utmost of our power. We must do to our neighbour as we would be done to ourselves (Mat 7:12), putting our souls into his soul's stead, Job 16:4, Job 16:5. Nay, we must in many cases deny ourselves for the good of our neighbour, as Paul, Co1 9:19, etc. Herein the gospel goes beyond even that excellent precept of the law; for Christ, by laying down his life for us, has taught us even to lay down our lives for the brethren, in some cases (Jo1 3:16), and so to love our neighbour better than ourselves.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Ye shall not steal,.... Which is the eighth command;…
Ye shall not steal,.... Which is the eighth command; See Gill on Exo 20:15; though Jarchi thinks something different from that law is here intended; that this is a caution against stealing of money, that in the decalogue against stealing of souls, or men. And it may be observed, that one is expressed in the singular number, the other in the plural, as here, and takes in more; not the actual thief only, but he that sees and is silent, who, as Aben Ezra observes, is even as the thief; and perhaps this follows upon the preceding laws, to suggest, that he that deprives the poor of the corner of the field, and of the gleaning Of the harvest and vintage, is as if he robbed; and the last mentioned writer seems to make the force of this depend on that: and Maimonides (w) on the above law observes, that he that put a basket under a vine, in the time of gathering grapes, robbed the poor:
neither deal falsely; in any respect defrauding and over reaching in trade and commerce, particularly not being faithful to a trust committed to them; so Aben Ezra restrains it to what is deposited with a man to keep, which he denies he ever had; and he observes, that he that knows it, and does not bear witness of it, is as he that deals falsely; and such an one, according to a former law, having sworn falsely, and, when convicted, was obliged to restore the principal, and add a fifth part, and bring a trespass offering to make atonement for his sin likewise, Lev 6:2,
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neither lie one to another; in common speech and conversation, in trade and business, and particularly by demanding money of a man who never had anything of him, as Aben Ezra; and who owes him nothing, and yet affirms, with a lie, that he is indebted to him, and insists on payment.
(w) Mattanot Anayim, c. 4. sect. 16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. Ye shall not steal, &c.] See Clarke…
Verse 11. Ye shall not steal, &c.] See Clarke on Ex 20:15.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Lev 19:11 forbids injuries perpetrated by craft; Lev 19:13,…
Lev 19:11 forbids injuries perpetrated by craft; Lev 19:13, those perpetrated by violence or power, the conversion of might into right. In Lev 19:13 “defraud” should rather be, oppress.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Lie. "When no injury is done to another, it…
Lie. "When no injury is done to another, it is a great question whether a lie can ever be justified. The case would perhaps be easily decided, if we considered the commandments alone, and not the examples," of those holy men who seem to have sometimes thought it lawful. (St. Augustine, q. 68) But is it not better to allow that these were under an inculpable mistake, than to defend one fault, because it is not attended with the guilt of another, by hurting others? Even lies of jest and of excuse, are contrary to the gravity and open-dealing of a Christian; and God never speaks of lying without marks of disapprobation. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "you shall not deny, or refuse" to restore, what has been entrusted to you; (Grotius) "nor deal falsely, or extenuate yourselves," pretending that you cannot give alms. (Oleaster)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Ye shall not steal--A variety of social duties are…
Ye shall not steal--A variety of social duties are inculcated in this passage, chiefly in reference to common and little-thought-of vices to which mankind are exceedingly prone; such as committing petty frauds, or not scrupling to violate truth in transactions of business, ridiculing bodily infirmities, or circulating stories to the prejudice of others. In opposition to these bad habits, a spirit of humanity and brotherly kindness is strongly enforced.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. Not steal — Property, one of the great…
11. Not steal — Property, one of the great natural rights of man, is sacredly guarded by the eighth commandment. See Exo_20:15. “Here is a marvellous distinction of classes. That distinction is carefully preserved throughout the whole record of Scripture. At first sight, it is not only a marvelous, but an incredible thing that one man should be rich and another poor. Poverty is more than a merely incidental condition of life. There is a moral mystery about poverty, relating alike to the poor man and to the rich man. It may seem heartless to speak in this way, and it would be heartless but for the consistent record of time and testimony of experience. Here is a distinct recognition of the right of prosperity. We read of ‘thy field,’ and ‘thy vineyard,’ and ‘thy harvest.’ Yet though property is distinctly recognised, beneficence is also made matter of law. The Bible is the book of the poor. From no other book in the world could so many injunctions be culled as bearing upon the rich in relation to the claims of poverty.” — Joseph Parker.
Neither deal falsely — All fraud, which is not included in stealing, is forbidden. See Lev_6:2-4, notes.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11, 12. Precepts analogous to those in the Decalogue…
11, 12. Precepts analogous to those in the Decalogue and expressed in 2nd pers. plur. (except the last).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) Ye shall not steal.—This injunction, which forms the…
(11) Ye shall not steal.—This injunction, which forms the eighth commandment of the Decalogue (Exo_20:15), most probably has here a primary reference to the conduct of the owners of fields and vineyards. They are cautioned that by depriving the poor of his prescribed right to the corner of the fields, and to the gleanings of the harvest and vintage, they commit theft. Hence the Jewish canonists laid it down that he who puts a basket under a vine at the time of gathering grapes robs the poor.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Stealing, cheating, and lying are classed together as kindred…
Stealing, cheating, and lying are classed together as kindred sins. (see Lev_6:2, where an example is given of theft performed by means of lying; cf. Eph_4:25 Col_3:9)
Vers. 11, 13, 35, 36. Stealing is forbidden by the law of man, and by the Law of God.
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It is forbidden by the law of man in order to prevent injury being done to a citizen, and its sanction is fear of punishment. Remove the fear of punishment, and the goods of another will no longer be respected. It is forbidden by the Law of God because it is displeasing to God; because honesty and uprightness are in themselves right; because to defraud another is in itself wrong. Take away the fear of punishment, and there will remain as scrupulous a care not to trespass on the rights of another as before. The law of honesty, as inculcated by God, has a dominating power and influence in all conditions of life.
Cheating is to stealing as equivocation is to lying. Both are equally immoral. Cheating and equivocating only differ morally from stealing and lying by being more mean and cowardly. The law of man cannot prevent cheating. It can indeed send inspectors to see that there are "just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just him; but that is not enough to prevent cheating. The only thing that will do this is the fear of the Lord and the consciousness that the unjust appropriation of anything, however small, is contrary to the will of God. Hence we may see the infinite importance for the well-being of a country that the moral teaching of children in public schools be rested upon a religious basis. The precept is reproduced in the New Testament: "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth". (Eph_4:28)
Lying is joined with stealing and cheating, not only because it may be used as a means of cheating, (Lev_6:2) but because it is a fraud in itself and a sin against uprightness and honesty. The essence of the sin consists in deceiving our neighbours. "Men, as men," says Bishop Taylor, "have a right to truth;" "for there is in mankind a universal contract implied in all their intercourses, and words being instituted to declare the mind, and for no other end, he that hears me speak hath a right in justice to be done him that, as far as I can, what I speak be true; for else he by words does not know your mind, and then as good and better not speak at all" ("Ductor Dubitantium," 3, 2, 5). There are certain classes of men who have not a right to truth, such as madmen, and sick persons under special circumstances; and in these cases it is justifiable to say to them what is best for them, whether true or not; and in case of declared war the right to truth ceases, and is known to cease, so that no immoral deception takes place when false news is spread or stratagems adopted. But in time of peace and in ordinary cases, "Thou shalt not deceive thy neighbour" is the rule of conduct. Whether this deception takes place by means of a lie, or of an equivocation, or era mental reservation makes no difference in the morality of the act. The defense of equivocation rests upon a confusion of two things totally different material truth and moral truthfulness. The statement that the sun uses or sinks is materially false, because it remains stationary. But the man who makes such a statement is morally truthful, if he makes it not intending to deceive his neighbour and knowing that he will not be deceived. A statement that the sun had not risen (in the morning) or gone down (in the evening), if made with the purpose of deceiving the person addressed, and with an ulterior object on the part of the speaker, although materially true, would imply moral untruthfulness on the part of the speaker, and therefore is a lie. Bishops Taylor and Sanderson were some of the first theologians who, recurring to the severer morality of Augustine and the early Fathers, cast away with scorn the puerile confusion between moral truthfulness and material truth on which the system of modern Roman casuistry in this department rests. "He that tells a lie," says Bishop Taylor, "and by his mental restriction says he tells a truth, tells two lies" ("Ductor Dubitantium," 3:28). On the other hand, the Church of Rome teaches that the person addressed may be deceived to any amount, provided that the deception is effected by a form of words which is true in some sense apprehended by the speaker, though untrue in the sense understood by the other party. Accordingly, it is taught by an authority that may not be gainsaid by any member of that communion, that if a man prefixes the words" I say that" to a sentence, he may with a good reason make any false statement that he pleases, because in his own mind he means only to declare that he is making use of the words following that prefix, not that he is asserting their truth, as the person that he addresses supposes him robe doing (S. Alfonso de" Liguori, "Theol. Moral.," 4:451). Contrast with this the injunctions of the apostle, "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another"; (Eph_4:25) "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds"; (Col_3:9) and the command of the prophet, "Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord"; (Zec_8:16, Zec_8:17) and the teaching of the early Church, "A man lies when he thinks something to be false and says it as though true, whether it be true or false. Mark the addition that I have made. Whether it be really true or false, yet, if a man thinks it false and assert it as true, he lies, for he is aiming to deceive His heart is double, not single; he does but bring out what he has there" (St. Augustine, "Serm." 133); and the teaching of the reformed Church, "Our result is that the party swearing after this manner both sinneth in his equivocal oath, and is notwithstanding that tacit equivocation bound in conscience unto the performance of his promise in that sense which the words yield of themselves, and are, without constraint, apt to beget upon the minds of others. Unless he act accordingly, he is not guiltless of perjury" (Sanderson, "Obligation of Oaths"). In the Book of the Revelation we read, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone". (Rev_21:8)
Vers. 11, 13, 15, 16, 35, 36. Integrity.
The Jews have always been considered a cunning and crafty race; they have been credited with a willingness to overreach in business dealings. Men would rather have transactions with others than with them, lest they should find themselves worsted in the bargain. This suspicion may be well founded; but if it be so, it ought to be remembered that it is the consequence of the long and cruel disadvantages under which they have suffered, and is not clue to anything in their own blood or to any defect in their venerable Law. From the beginning they have been as strictly charged to live honourable and upright lives before man as to engage regularly in the worship of God. They have been as much bound to integrity of conduct as to devoutness of spirit. In these few verses we find them called to
I INTEGRITY IN DAILY TRANSACTIONS HONESTY. "Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely" (verse 11). "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him" (verse 13; see verses 35, 36). Nothing could be more explicit than this, nothing more comprehensive in suggestion. No member of the Hebrew commonwealth could
(1) deliberately appropriate what he knew was not his own, or
(2) rob his neighbour in the act of trading, or
(3) deal falsely or unrighteously in any transaction or in any relation, without consciously breaking the Law and coming under the displeasure of Jehovah.
The words of the Law are clear and strong, going straight to the understanding and to the conscience. Every man amongst them must have known, as every one amongst us knows well, that dishonesty is sin in the sight of God.
II INTEGRITY IN OFFICIAL DUTY JUSTICE. (Verse 15) It is a pitiful thought that, in every nation, justice has been open to corruption; that men placed in honourable posts in order to do justice between man and man have either sold it to the highest bidder or surrendered and betrayed it from craven fear. God"s clear word condemns such rank injustice, and his high displeasure follows the perpetrator of it. He who undertakes to judge his fellows must do so in the fear of God, and if he swerves from his integrity in his public acts, he must lay his account with heaven if not with man.
III INTEGRITY IN WORD TRUTH. "Ye shall not lie one to another" (verse 11).
This, too, is a universal sin. Some nations may be more prone to it than others, The weak and the oppressed are too ready to take refuge in it; it is the resort of the feeble and the fearful But it is also used with shameful freedom and shocking unconcern, as an instrument of gain and power. God has revealed his holy hatred of it. "Ye shall not lie." "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord;" "the Lord hateth a lying tongue". (Pro_12:22 Pro_6:17) Under the gospel of Christ, we are earnestly warned against it. (Eph_4:25 Col_3:9) We are reminded that it is
(1) a wrong done to our fellow-men ("we are members," etc.), and
(2) closely associated with heather habits (the "old man," etc.); and we may remember that it is
(3) a habit most demoralizing to ourselves, as well as
(4) something which utterly separates us from our Lord, being so contrary to his Spirit and so grievous in his sight. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Ye shall not steal.
Lev_19:11
Ye shall not steal.
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Stealing discouraged
The illustrious Joseph Priestley tells us in his Memoir that he was influenced in his very earliest life by an act of his mother, who died when he was seven years old. He had returned from visiting his cousins, and had brought home a pin. Where did you get that pin from, Joseph? said his mother. I brought it from my cousins. Then, she said, it is not yours--take it back; and he was gently and lovingly, yet firmly, made to take it back. So great was the impression made on his mind that afterwards not the smallest detail of wrong could he ever think of without being influenced by the recollection of that simple admonition. Such is the influence upon the young life of all that it sees. It is the tabula rasa on which you write your words and thoughts in the deeds that are yet to come. (Dr. Richardson.)
Neither lie one to another.
Discredit gained by falsehood
When Aristotle was asked what a man could gain by telling a falsehood, he replied, Never to be credited when he tells the truth.
Truth-telling
I remember some years ago, when living in a country town in Kent, the superintendent of our Sunday School saying: We are to have an address this afternoon. Mr. Waters has asked to say a few words to us. True to hit promise he soon came into the chapel, and all eyes were on him. My dear teachers, you often think you labour in vain, but it is not so; I want to encourage you this afternoon. This last week I have met with two circumstances which have pleased me much. One day I was in my shop, when a stone came through the window. I went to the door; there were a good many boys in the road; I called out, Who broke my window? No answer. I then asked several of them, but all said, No, not me. Just then a little lad stepped up and said, I am very sorry, sir, but I did it. But how is it, my lad, that you own to it? Come in and tell me. Sir, I go to the Sunday School, and I cant tell a lie. Well done, John Rolfe, I have come here this afternoon to give you a shilling--not for breaking my window, no, no, but for speaking the truth, and practising what you hear. (Mrs. Spurgeon.)
Truth a handle to lying
A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it, else the hand would cut itself which sought to drive it home upon another. The worst lies, therefore, are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is true. (H. W. Beecher.)
Prolific lying
One sin entertained fetcheth in another; a lie especially, which being a tinkerly, blushful sin, is either denied by the liar, who is ashamed to be taken with it, or else covered by another and another lie, as we see in Jacob, who, being once over shoes will be over boots too but he will persuade his father that he is his very son Esau. (J. Trapp.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Do not swear by my name falsely
Do not swear by my name falsely
"Do not use my name to swear about something that is not true"
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translationWords
deceive
oath
profane
name
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 19:11 A society that did not respect the property…
19:11 A society that did not respect the property of others would quickly fall apart internally. To steal was prohibited (Exod 20:15), and those who would deceive or cheat were required to present a guilt offering (see Lev 6:2-7).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.