What does the Bible say about lying? Is it ever right to lie?

EthicsMulti-view · no verdict

Short answer

Scripture treats truthfulness as basic and lying as serious. The ninth commandment forbids false testimony against a neighbour (Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20). A lying tongue is listed among the things God hates (Proverbs 6:16; Proverbs 6:17). Christians are told to put off falsehood and speak truthfully, on the grounds that they belong to one another (Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9). Lying is traced to the devil, called a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), and God is described as unable to lie (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18).

Whether lying is ever permissible is genuinely debated, because Scripture also records deceptions that it appears to commend, and Christians have never fully agreed on how to read them. The views are below and none is endorsed here.

Question

What does the Bible say about lying? Is it ever right to lie?

Analysis

The clear teaching

Point	Where
False testimony is forbidden	Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20
A lying tongue is detestable	Proverbs 6:16; Proverbs 6:17; Proverbs 12:22
Believers are to speak truth to one another	Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9; Zechariah 8:16
God does not lie	Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18
Lying carries judgment	Revelation 21:8; Acts 5:3; Acts 5:4
Truth is to be spoken in love, not as a weapon	Ephesians 4:15

The cases that create the debate

Scripture records deception by people it does not condemn, and in two cases appears to reward:

The Hebrew midwives disobeyed Pharaoh's order to kill newborn boys and gave him a false explanation. The text says God was kind to them and gave them families, and connects it to their fear of God (Exodus 1:17; Exodus 1:19; Exodus 1:20; Exodus 1:21).
Rahab hid Israelite spies and told Jericho's soldiers they had left. She is later commended by name for faith and for her actions (Joshua 2:4; Joshua 2:5; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25).
The Egyptian midwives' case and Rahab's are the standard examples; others cited include Samuel being told to give a partial reason for a journey (1 Samuel 16:2) and David feigning madness (1 Samuel 21:13).

The main views

View	Position	Reasoning
No lie is ever permitted	Lying is always wrong, without exception. Where Scripture commends someone who lied, it commends their faith or courage, not the lie itself.	Augustine argued this at length; held by many in Catholic and Reformed traditions
A lie to an unjust demand is not a lie in the moral sense	Truth is owed to those with a right to it. An interrogator seeking an innocent life has forfeited that right, so misleading them does not break the commandment.	Common in Reformed casuistry and in much popular Christian ethics
It can be the lesser of two evils	Deception in such a case remains wrong in itself, but is the lesser wrong when set against complicity in murder, and stands in need of grace rather than justification.	Held by some, including in the Lutheran tradition

All three agree that the ordinary lies people actually tell, for convenience, reputation or gain, are excluded. The debate is confined to a narrow class of cases, and using it to excuse everyday dishonesty is not something any of the views support.

What counts as lying

Scripture's concern is broader than literal false statements. It names false witness in court (Exodus 20:16), slander (Leviticus 19:16; Proverbs 11:13), flattery (Psalms 12:2; Proverbs 29:5), broken oaths (Leviticus 19:12; Matthew 5:33), and false teaching (1 Timothy 4:1; 1 Timothy 4:2). Jesus' instruction on oaths, that a plain yes or no should be enough (Matthew 5:37), assumes that a person's ordinary speech is reliable without needing to be sworn.

Sources, trace every one

Every cited verse, in full. Tap any reference to open it in the reader.

Exodus 20:16bsb
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Deuteronomy 5:20bsb
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Proverbs 6:16bsb
There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
Proverbs 6:17bsb
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
Ephesians 4:25bsb
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
Colossians 3:9bsb
Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,
John 8:44bsb
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
Numbers 23:19bsb
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Titus 1:2bsb
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
Hebrews 6:18bsb
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
Proverbs 12:22bsb
Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.
Zechariah 8:16bsb
These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,
Revelation 21:8bsb
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
Acts 5:3bsb
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?
Acts 5:4bsb
Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”
Ephesians 4:15bsb
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.

On contested questions we show every major view, attributed and cited, and pick no winner. Answers are synthesized from primary sources, truth you can trace, not opinion.