![thou shalt not bear false witness thou shalt not bear false witness](http://bibleencyclopedia.com/kjvsmall/KJV_Exodus_20-16.jpg)
Life provides a wide field for lying by reason of faint-heartedness, vainglory, or gain, which last converges with stealing. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another (Ephesians 4:25). The Apostle Paul writes that God punishes the liar: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). The disposition of a liar, writes the wise Sirach, is dishonorable, and his shame is ever with him (Ecclesiasticus 20:26). Indeed, lies and slander are tantamount to murder, for it is possible to kill not only the physical body, but also the spiritual body. In another place the Solomon writes: Therefore beware of murmuring, which is unprofitable and refrain your tongue from backbiting: for there is no word so secret, that shall go for nought: and the mouth that belieth slayeth the soul (Wisdom of Solomon 1:11). King Solomon also bears witness to such a truth: Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight (Proverbs 12:22). A lie is a foul blot in a man, yet it is continually in the mouth of the untaught, we read in the Old Testament book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus 20:24). The word of God often speaks of the pernicious habit of lying. In his Epistle to the Colossians we read: Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds (Colossians 3:9). The Apostle Paul teaches that a liar works on behalf of the devil. Christ calls the devil, the father of lies: When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it, says Christ (John 8:44). A lie is contrary to Truth, which proceeds from God. A lie is a distortion or concealment of the truth.
![thou shalt not bear false witness thou shalt not bear false witness](http://www.dailycatholic.org/12mast/cms41.jpg)
We must be sure what a lie is before speaking about the Eighth Commandment, in which the Lord forbids us to slander our neighbors.