Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Exodus 20:16 ¶ "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 20:16 ¶ "You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbor (any person). [Ex 23:1; Prov 19:9; 24:28] |
Bible Question: is it always bad to lie? there are some extreme cases where lieing can save people's lives. If I lie for good cause (not only for myself but for others as well), would I still be considered as sinning? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Ayano, "Is it ever right for the Christian to lie?" "Yes- but I need to qualify what I mean. On the one hand, Scripture forbids lying (Exodus 20:16). Lying is viewed as a sin (Psalm 59:12) and is an abomination to God (Proverbs 12:22). God never lies (Numbers 23:19). Righteous men hate lying (Proverbs 13:5)." "On the other hand, there are Scriptures which indicate that under certain circumstances, lying is not condemned. For example, though the Hebrew midwives were commanded by the Egyptian Pharaoh to let newborn baby boys die, the midwives disobeyed the Pharaoh and lied to him when questioned about it (Exodus 1:15-19). To the Hebrew midwives, lifesaving was higher on the ethical scale than truthtelling. God not only did not condemn the midwives for lying, He was kind to them for their merciful act (see verse 20)." [Taken from "The Complete Book of Bible Answers", by Ron Rhodes, 1997 Harvest House Publishers, page 297] --Makarios |