You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- KJV Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
- NKJV ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- NASB ‘You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- NLT “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. The ninth commandment protects truth and a neighbor's reputation.
Overview
God forbids lying, especially testimony that harms a neighbor in court or community. Truthfulness reflects the character of God, who cannot lie. This points to Christ, the truth, and calls his people to speak truth in love (John 14:6, Ephesians 4:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Exod 20:16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Exod 23:1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- Prov 19:9A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.
- Prov 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
- Deut 19:16–21If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,
- 1 Kgs 21:13And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Prov 6:19a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 5:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.