Deuteronomy 19:14-21: a reflection

14You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit, in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess. 15One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. 16If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days; 18and the judges shall make diligent inquisition; and behold, if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother, 19then you shall do to him as he had thought to do to his brother. So you shall remove the evil from among you. 20Those who remain shall hear, and fear, and will never again commit any such evil among you. 21Your eyes shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Among the laws given to protect justice is one dealing with the false witness. If someone rises up to accuse another falsely, the matter is to be carefully investigated; and if the witness is found to have lied, then, the law says, you shall do to him as he had thought to do to his brother. The false accuser was to receive the very harm he sought to bring on the innocent. God took with great seriousness the sin of lying about others to damage them.

Notice the weight God places on bearing false witness. To lie about another, to accuse falsely, to bear false witness against a neighbor, is not a small matter in God's eyes; it is a grave wrong that the law dealt with severely. Words have power to harm; a false accusation can destroy a reputation, a livelihood, even a life. And God, who is a God of truth, takes seriously the sin of using false words to damage others.

That searches how we speak of others. It is easy to bear false witness in smaller ways: to repeat a rumor we do not know to be true, to shade the facts against someone we dislike, to accuse or insinuate falsely, to damage another's reputation with words. But God takes the false word against a neighbor seriously, for it does real harm. Guard your tongue against false witness of every kind: against slander, false accusation, the spreading of what may not be true, the shading of facts to harm another. Speak the truth about others, and refuse to damage them with false or careless words. A false word against a neighbor is a grave wrong in God's sight; deal in truth, and do not bear false witness against anyone.

Lord, your law dealt severely with the false witness, who was to receive the very harm he sought to bring on the innocent; you take with great seriousness the sin of lying about others to damage them. Search how I speak of others. It is easy for me to bear false witness in smaller ways: to repeat a rumor I do not know to be true, to shade the facts against someone I dislike, to accuse or insinuate falsely, to damage another's reputation with words. But you take the false word against a neighbor seriously, for it does real harm; a false accusation can destroy a reputation, a livelihood, even a life. Guard my tongue against false witness of every kind: against slander, false accusation, the spreading of what may not be true, the shading of facts to harm another. Help me speak the truth about others, and refuse to damage them with false or careless words. A false word against a neighbor is a grave wrong in your sight; help me deal in truth, and never bear false witness against anyone.