Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. The Book of the Covenant continues with laws governing speech and witness. False reports and malicious testimony corrupt justice at its source — the testimony on which decisions rest. Proverbs 6:16–19 lists a false witness who pours out lies among the seven things God detests. The prohibition is specific to the legal context — a witness who lies destroys the innocent — but its principle extends to every form of false speech about another person. Ephesians 4:25 says put away falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. The social fabric of the covenant community depends on truthfulness in every form of public speech.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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