Martus is commonly translated as witness, record, or martyr (4), which Christians commonly use when referring to someone who is killed for their testimony of faith. Pseudes is commonly translated as liar or false, meaning untrue, erroneous, deceitful, or wicked (3). In the New Testament, the Greek word pseudomartys (2) that is used is a compound word containing pseudes and martus. Like the common definition, the phrase “false witness” in both the Old and New Testaments refers to someone who lies or tells falsehoods. The ninth commandment reads like this: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

What does God say about bearing false witness? In other words, it is the act of telling a falsehood about something or someone to others in a legal context. However, it is more specifically referred to giving false testimony as a witness (1). The phrase bearing false witness is commonly described as lying. What does the bearing false witness mean? For this reason a Bible lesson and life application study of the ninth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness,” is necessary. However, in the process, lying or not telling the truth based on the situation has been promoted as sometimes being right. Sadly, this rhyme has been cast aside and great effort had been made to stop anyone from saying anything that might offend someone. Many of us were taught in elementary school the rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” It was taught to us to teach us to ignore people who say mean things to us that their words cannot physically hurt us.

False witness