Lie

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

A — 1: Ψεῦδος (Strong'S #5579 — Noun Neuter — pseudos — psyoo'-dos )

"a falsehood, lie" (see also under LIAR), is translated "lie" in  John 8:44 (lit., "the lie");   Romans 1:25 , where it stands by metonymy for an idol, as, e.g., in  Isaiah 44:20;  Jeremiah 10:14;  13:25;  Amos 2:4 (plural);   2—Thessalonians 2:11 , with special reference to the lie of  2—Thessalonians 2:4 , that man is God (cp.  Genesis 3:5 );  1—John 2:21,27;  Revelation 21:27;  22:15; in  Ephesians 4:25 , AV "lying," RV, "falsehood," the practice; in  Revelation 14:5 , RV, "lie." (some mss. have dolos, "guile," AV);  2—Thessalonians 2:9 , where "lying wonders" is, lit., "wonders of falsehood," i.e., wonders calculated to deceive (cp.  Revelation 13:13-15 ), the purpose being to deceive people into the acknowledgement of the spurious claim to deity on the part of the Man of Sin.

 Romans 1:25  1—John 2:21,22  2—Thessalonians 2:11

A — 2: Ψεῦσμα (Strong'S #5582 — Noun Neuter — pseusma — psyoos'-mah )

"a falsehood," or "an acted lie,"  Romans 3:7 , where "my lie" is not idolatry, but either the universal false attitude of man toward God or that with which his detractors charged the Apostle; the former seems to be the meaning.

B — 1: Ψευδολόγος (Strong'S #5573 — Adjective — pseudologos — psyoo-dol-og'-os )

denotes "speaking falsely" (pseudes, "false," logos, "a word") in  1—Timothy 4:2 , where the adjective is translated "that speak lies," RV (AV, "speaking lies") and is applied to "demons," the actual utterances being by their human agents.

B — 2: Ἀψευδής (Strong'S #893 — Adjective — apseudes — aps-yoo-dace' )

denotes "free from falsehood" (a, negative, pseudes, "false"), truthful,  Titus 1:2 , of God, "who cannot lie."

C — 1: Ψεύδομαι (Strong'S #5574 — Verb — pseudo — psyoo'-dom-ahee )

"to deceive by lies" (always in the Middle Voice in the NT), is used (a) absolutely, in  Matthew 5:11 , "falsely," lit., "lying" (AV, marg.);  Romans 9:1;  2—Corinthians 11:31;  Galatians 1:20;  Colossians 3:9 (where the verb is followed by the preposition eis, "to");   1—Timothy 2:7;  Hebrews 6:18;  James 3:14 (where it is followed by the preposition kata, "against");   1—John 1:6;  Revelation 3:9; (b) transitively, with a direct object (without a preposition following),  Acts 5:3 (with the accusative case), "to lie to (the Holy Ghost)," RV marg., "deceive;"   Acts 5:4 (with the dative case) "thou hast (not) lied (unto men, but unto God)."

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

A. Verb.

Shâkab ( שָׁכַב , Strong'S #7901), “to lie down, lie, have sexual intercourse with.” This word also occurs in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Ethiopic, post-biblical Aramaic, and post-biblical Hebrew. Biblical Hebrew attests it about 160 times and in all periods.

Basically this verb signifies a person’s lying down—though in Job 30:17 and Eccl. 2:23 it refers to something other than a human being. Shâkab is used of the state of reclining as opposed to sitting: “And every thing that she lieth upon in her [menstruation] shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon …” (Lev. 15:20). This general sense appears in several nuances. First, there is the meaning “to lie down to rest.” Elisha “came thither, and he turned into the chamber [which the Shunammite had prepared for his use], and lay there” (2 Kings 4:11). Job remarks that his gnawing pains “take no rest” (Job 30:17; cf. Eccl. 2:23).

Shâkab can also be used of lying down on a bed, for example, when one is sick. Jonadab told Amnon: “Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself [pretend to be] sick …” (2 Sam. 13:5). The word can be used as an equivalent of the phrase “to go to bed”: “But before they [Lot’s visitors] lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round …” (Gen. 19:4—the first occurrence of the verb). Shâkab also signifies “lying down asleep.” The Lord told Jacob: “… The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed” (Gen. 28:13).

In Exod. 22:26-27 the verb denotes the act of sleeping more than the lying down: “If thou at all take thy neighbor’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down … [In what else] shall he sleep?”

Shâkab can also be used to mean “lodge” and thus refers to sleeping and eating. Israel’s spies lodged with Rahab: “And they went, and came into a harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there” (Josh. 2:1; cf. 2 Kings 4:11).

This verb can mean “to lie down” in a figurative sense of to be humbled or to be robbed of power. The trees of Lebanon are personified and say concerning the king of Babylon: “Since thou art laid down, no feller [tree cutter] is come up against us” (Isa. 14:8).

Used reflexively, shâkab means “to humble oneself, to submit oneself”: “We lie down in our shame …” (Jer. 3:25).

Another special nuance is “to put something on its side”: “Who can number the clouds in wisdom? Or who can [tip] the bottles of heaven, when the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?” (Job 38:37-38).

A second emphasis of shâkab is “to die,” to lie down in death. Jacob instructed his sons as follows: “But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place” (Gen. 47:30). This phrase (“lie down with one’s fathers”) does not necessarily refer to being buried or to dying an honorable death (cf. 1 Kings 22:40) but is a synonym for a human’s dying. (It is never used of animals or inanimate things.) The idea is that when one dies he no longer stands upright. Therefore, to “lie with one’s fathers” parallels the concept of “lying down” in death. Shâkab , as 1 Kings 22:40 suggests, can refer to the state of being dead (“so Ahab slept with his fathers”), since v. 37 already reports that he had died and was buried in Samaria. The verb used by itself may mean “to die,” or “to lie dead”; cf. “At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay [dead]: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead” (Judg. 5:27).

A third major use of shâkab is “to have sexual relations with.” The first occurrence of this use is in Gen. 19:32, where Lot’s daughters say: “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.” Even when a physical “lying down” is not necessarily in view, the word is used of having sexual relations: “Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death” (Exod. 22:19). The word is also used of homosexual activities (Lev. 18:22).

B. Nouns.

Mishkâb ( מִשְׁכָּב , Strong'S #4904), “place to lie; couch; bed; act of lying.” This noun appears 46 times in the Old Testament. In Gen. 49:4 mishkâb is used to mean a “place to lie” or “bed”: “… because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed.…” The word refers to the “act of lying” in Num. 31:17: “… kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.” Shekabah means “layer of dew.” In one of its 9 appearances, sekabah refers to a “layer of dew”: “… and in the morning the dew lay round about the host” (Exod. 16:13). Shekobet refers to “copulation.” This noun occurs rarely (4 times), as in Lev. 18:20: “Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor’s wife, to defile thyself with her.”

King James Dictionary

LIE, water impregnated with alkaline salt, is written lye, to distinguish it from lie, a falsehood.

LIE, n.

1. A criminal falsehood a falsehood uttered for the purpose of deception an intentional violation of truth. Fiction, or a false statement or representation, not intended to deceive, mislead or injure, as in fables, parables and the like, is not a lie.

It is willful deceit that makes a lie. A man may act a lie, as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction, when a traveler inquires of him his road.

2. A fiction in a ludicrous sense. 3. False doctrine.  1 John 2 . 4. An idolatrous picture of God, or a false god.  Romans 1 . 5. That which deceives and disappoints confidence.

 Micah 1 .

To give the lie, to charge with falsehood. A man's actions may give the lie to his words.

LIE,

1. To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive, or with an immoral design.

Thou hast not lied to men, but to God.  Acts 5 .

2. To exhibit a false representation to say or do that which deceives another, when he has a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation.

LIE, pret. lay pp. lain, lien, obs. The Gr. word usually signifies to speak, which is to utter or throw out sounds. Hence to lie down is to throw one's self down, and probably lie and lay are of one family, as are jacio and jacceo, in Latin.

1. To be in a horizontal position, or nearly so, and to rest on any thing lengthwise, and not on the end. Thus a person lies on a bed, and a fallen tree on the ground. A cask stands on its end, but lies on its side. 2. To rest in an inclining posture to lean as, to lie on or against a column. 3. To rest to press on. 4. To be reposited in the grave.

All the kings of the earth, even all of them, lie in glory.

 Isaiah 14 .

5. To rest on a bed or couch to be prostrate as, to lie sick.

My little daughter lieth at the point of death.  Mark 5 .

6. To be situated. New Haven lies in the forty second degree of north latitude. Ireland lies west of England.

Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.

7. To be to rest to abide to remain often followed by some word denoting a particular condition as, to lie waste to lie fallow to lie open to lie hid to lie pining or grieving to lie under one's displeasure to lie at the mercy of a creditor, or at the mercy of the waves. 8. To consist.

He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising of the huntsman.

9. To be sustainable in law to be capable of being maintained. An action lies against the tenant for waste.

An appeal lies in this case.

To lie at, to tease or importune. Little used.

To lie at the heart, to be fixed as an object of affection or anxious desire.

1. To lie by, to be reposited, or remaining with. He has the manuscript lying by him. 2. To rest to intermit labor. We lay by during the heat of the day.

To lie in the way, to be an obstacle or impediment. Remove the objections that lie in the way of an amicable adjustment.

To lie hard or heavy, to press to oppress to burden.

To lie on hand, to be or remain in possession to remain unsold or undisposed of.

Great quantities of wine lie on hand, or have lain long on hand.

To lie on the hands, to remain unoccupied or unemployed to be tedious. Men are sometimes at a loss to know how to employ the time that lies on their hands.

To lie on the head, to be imputed.

What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head.

To lie in wait, to wait for in concealment to lie in ambush to watch for an opportunity to attack or seize.

To lie in one, to be in the power of to belong to.

As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

 Romans 41 .

To lie down, to lay the body on the ground or other level place also, to go to rest.

To lie in, to be in childbed to bring forth young.

To lie under, to be subject to to suffer to be oppressed by.

To lie on or upon, to be a matter of obligation or duty. It lies on the plaintiff to maintain his action.

1. To lie with, to lodge or sleep with also, to have carnal knowledge of. 2. To belong to. It lies with you to make amends.

To lie over, to remain unpaid, after the time when payment is due as a note in bank.

To lie to, to be stationary, as a ship.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Deceitful actions as well as deceitful words are wrong and are condemned by God. People can act lies as well as speak them ( Genesis 27:8-23;  Jeremiah 23:32;  Acts 5:1-4;  Ephesians 4:25;  1 John 2:4;  1 John 4:20). They are considered guilty even when they tell only half the truth, if their purpose is to hide the full truth ( Genesis 20:1-3;  Genesis 20:9-13). Likewise people are guilty when they twist the truth to make it acceptable to others ( Jeremiah 8:8-9;  Jeremiah 14:13-15). If they make false accusations against the innocent, they are guilty of lying and are assured of God’s severe punishment ( Deuteronomy 19:15-19;  1 Kings 21:8-19).

People tell lies to deceive others, but at the same time they lead themselves astray ( Amos 2:4). They reject the way of truth and therefore open the way for falsehood to control their thoughts and actions ( John 8:44-47;  Romans 1:25-32;  2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; see Truth ). They seek safety through their lies, but the safety proves to be deceptive ( Isaiah 28:15;  Isaiah 28:17;  Ezekiel 13:8; cf.  Hebrews 6:18).

Although lying is a natural result of sinful human nature ( Colossians 3:9), there is no excuse for it in the lives of God’s people. The Spirit within them is the Spirit of truth, and he can enable them to overcome the sinful tendencies of the old nature ( John 14:17;  Galatians 5:16;  Galatians 5:24-25;  1 John 2:21). God consistently tells his people that they are not to lie ( Exodus 20:16;  Leviticus 19:11;  Ephesians 4:25). A hatred of lying is one indication that they are God’s people ( Zephaniah 3:13;  Revelation 14:5). Those who habitually lie are giving an indication that they have never known God’s salvation and the new life that comes with it. They will not escape God’s punishment ( Proverbs 19:5;  Revelation 21:8;  Revelation 21:27).

A further reason for Christians to avoid lying is that they are God’s children. God does not lie ( Numbers 23:19;  Titus 1:2;  Hebrews 6:18) and his children are to grow to be like him ( Colossians 3:9-10). By contrast, Satan is the father of lies, and his children naturally reflect his nature ( John 8:44).

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( adj.) To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves; the paper does not lie smooth on the wall.

(2): ( adj.) To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port.

(3): ( n.) A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive.

(4): ( adj.) To lodge; to sleep.

(5): ( n.) See Lye.

(6): ( adj.) To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; - with in.

(7): ( adj.) To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.

(8): ( n.) The position or way in which anything lies; the lay, as of land or country.

(9): ( adj.) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.

(10): ( n.) A fiction; a fable; an untruth.

(11): ( n.) Anything which misleads or disappoints.

(12): ( v. i.) To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive; to say or do that which is intended to deceive another, when he a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation.

(13): ( adj.) To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; - often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 John 8:44 1 Timothy 1:9,10 Revelation 21:27 22:15 Genesis 12:12,13 20:2 Exodus 1:15-19 1 Samuel 19:14 1 Samuel 20:6Ananias

Charles Buck Theological Dictionary

See LYING.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(prop. כָּזָב , Ψεῦδος ), an intentional violation of truth. In Scripture we find the word used to designate all the ways in which mankind denies or alters truth in word or deed, as also evil in general. In general the good is in it designated as the truth, evil as its opposite, or lie, and consequently the devil (being the contrary to God) as the father of lies, and liars or impious persons as children of the devil. Hence the Scriptures most expressly condemn lies ( John 8:44;  1 Timothy 1:9-10;  Revelation 21:27;  Revelation 22:15). When, in  Romans 3:4, it is said that all men are liars, it is synonymous with saying that all are bad. The Bible nowhere admits of permitted, praiseworthy, or pious lies, yet it recommends not to Proclaim the truth when its proclamation might prove injurious. Hence Christ commands ( Matthew 7:6) not to present the truth of the Gospel to those who are unworthy when he recommends, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine." In  John 16:12 we see that he could not tell his disciples all that he would have wished to tell them on account of their weakness. He did not answer the inquiries of Pilate ( John 19:9), nor of Caiaphas ( Matthew 26:63). But we nowhere find that either in levity, or to do others good, or to glorify God, Christ ever spoke an untruth. Peter, on the contrary, denied both Christ by word in the moment of danger ( Matthew 26:69 sq.;  Mark 14:66 sq.;  Luke 22:56 sq.;  John 18:17 sq.) and the evangelical truth by his actions ( Galatians 2:12;  Galatians 2:14).

But Paul, in  Acts 23:5, made use of an implication to clear himself, or, at any rate, concealed part of the truth in order to create dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and thus save himself. Strict truthfulness requires that we should never alter the truth, either in words or actions, so as to deceive others, whether it be for pleasure, or to benefit others or ourselves, or even for the best cause. Yet, although there can, absolutely considered, be no injurious truth. it is not expedient to tell all truth to those who are not able to receive or comprehend it. Thus evil might result from telling everything to children, fools, mischief-makers, spies, etc. But this does not imply that we I may tell them that which is not true, only that we are to remain silent when we perceive that the truth would be useless, or might result in inflicting injury on ourselves or others. This, of course, does not apply to perjury, as this is positive lying, and indeed, by its calling on God, becomes diabolical lying, the Father of truth being invoked to confirm a lie, and the highest attribute of man, his consciousness of God, is made use of to deceive others, and to gain an advantage. (See Oath).

But there are varieties of untruthfulness which do not belong to the domain of ethics, but to aesthetics. Such are parables, jests in word or deed, tales and fables, the usual formulas of politeness, mimicry ( Ὑπόχρισις ), etc., which are not calculated to deceive. But the aesthetic untruthfulness or suppression of the truth can also be abused. In morals, however, all depends on the improvement of conscience, and a correct, firm consciousness of God's presence and knowledge. These cannot be obtained by mere commandments or moral formulas, but by strengthening the moral sense, fortifying the will — in fact, by awakening and strengthening the moral power. Morality is an inner life; those only call be called liars who willfully oppose the truth by word or deed, or by conscious untruthfulness seek to lead others into error or sin; in short, to injure them physically or spiritually. As regards so-called "necessary" lies, they also are condemned by the God of all truth; nor even in this world of imperfection, where there are so many ingenious illusions, is there any just occasion for their use. That truthfulness is a limited duty must necessarily be conceded, since the non-expression of the truth is in itself a limitation of it. The Bible mentions instances of lies in good men, but without approving them, as that of Abraham ( Genesis 12:12;  Genesis 20:2), Isaac (Genesis 26), Jacob (Genesis 27), the Hebrew midwives ( Exodus 1:15-19), Michal ( 1 Samuel 19:14 sq.), David (1 Samuel 20), etc. — Krehl, Neutest. Wosrterbuch.

There are various kinds of lies.

1. The pernicious lie, uttered for the hurt or disadvantage of our neighbor.

2. The officious lie, uttered for our own or our neighbor's advantage.

3. The ludicrous and jocose lie, uttered by way of jest, and only for mirth's sake in common converse.

4. Pious frauds, as they are improperly called, pretended inspirations, forged books, counterfeit miracles, are species of lies. 5. Lies of the conduct, for a lie may be told in gestures as well as in words; as when a tradesman shuts up his windows to induce his creditors to believe that he is abroad.

6. Lies of omission, as when an author wilfully omits what ought to be related; and may we not add,

7. That all equivocation and mental reservation come under the guilt of lying?

The evil and injustice of lying appear,

1. From its being a breach of the natural and universal right of mankind to truth in the intercourse of speech.

2. From its being a violation of God's sacred law ( Philippians 4:8;  Leviticus 19:11;  Colossians 3:9).

3. The faculty of speech was bestowed as an instrument of knowledge, not of deceit; to communicate our thoughts, not to hide them.

4. It is esteemed a reproach of so heinous and hateful a nature for a man to be called a liar that sometimes the life and blood of the slanderer have paid for it.

5. It has a tendency to dissolve all society, and to indispose the mind to religious impressions.

6. The punishment of it is very severe, the loss of credit, the hatred of those whom we have deceived, and an eternal separation from God in the world to come ( Revelation 21:8;  Revelation 22:15 :  Psalms 101:7).

See Grove's Moral Philos. volume 1, chapter 11; Paley's Moral Philos. volume 1, chapter 15; Doddridge's Lect. lect. 68; Watts's Sermons, volume 1, serm. 22; Evans's Serm. volume 2, serm. 13; South's Serm. volume 1, serm. 12; Dr. Lamont's Serm. volume 1, serm. 11 and 12. (See Truth).