(18)Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel used to say: on three things does the world stand: On justice, on truth and on peace, as it is said: “execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates” (Zechariah 8:16).

(7) Keep far from a false charge...

(11) You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another.

(12) And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Now that I’ve lost the ability, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?” (13) Then יהוה said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’ (14) Is anything too wondrous for יהוה ? I will return to you at the same season next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” (15) Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was frightened. Came the reply, “You did laugh.”

(1) Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar, (2) Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. (3) But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are to die because of the woman that you have taken, for she is a married woman.” (4) Now Abimelech had not approached her. He said, “O lord, will You slay people even though innocent? (5) He himself said to me, ‘She is my sister’! And she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ When I did this, my heart was blameless and my hands were clean.”

(1) And GOD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and set out; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have decided on one of his sons to be king.” (2) Samuel replied, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” GOD answered, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to GOD.’ (3) Invite Jesse to the sacrificial feast, and then I will make known to you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I point out to you.” (4) Samuel did what GOD commanded. When he came to Bethlehem, the elders of the city went out in alarm to meet him and said, “Do you come on a peaceful errand?”

(1) There was a lull of three years, with no war between Aram and Israel. (2) In the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah came to visit the king of Israel. (3) The king of Israel said to his courtiers, “You know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and yet we do nothing to recover it from the hands of the king of Aram.” (4) And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you come with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “I will do what you do; my troops shall be your troops, my horses shall be your horses.” (5) But Jehoshaphat said further to the king of Israel, “Please, first inquire of GOD.” (6) So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, “Shall I march upon Ramoth-gilead for battle, or shall I not?” “March,” they said, “and the Sovereign will deliver it into Your Majesty’s hands.” (7) Then Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there another prophet of GOD here through whom we can inquire?” (8) And the king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is one more through whom we can inquire of GOD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only misfortune—Micaiah son of Imlah.” But King Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t say that, Your Majesty.” (9) So the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.” (10) The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were seated on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, on the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. (11) Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had provided himself with iron horns; and he said, “Thus said GOD: With these you shall gore the Arameans till you make an end of them.” (12) And all the other prophets were prophesying similarly, “March upon Ramoth-gilead and triumph! GOD will deliver it into Your Majesty’s hands.” (13) The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him: “Look, the words of the prophets are with one accord favorable to the king. Let your word be like that of the rest of them; speak a favorable word.” (14) “As GOD lives,” Micaiah answered, “I will speak only what GOD tells me.” (15) When he came before the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we march upon Ramoth-gilead for battle, or shall we not?” He answered him, “March and triumph! GOD will deliver [it] into Your Majesty’s hands.” (16) The king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of GOD?” (17) Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd; and GOD said, ‘These have no master; let everyone return home in safety.’” (18) “Didn’t I tell you,” said the king of Israel to Jehoshaphat, “that he would not prophesy good fortune for me, but only misfortune?” (19) But [Micaiah] said, “I call upon you to hear the word of GOD! I saw GOD seated upon a throne, with all the host of heaven standing in attendance to the right and to the left. (20) GOD asked, ‘Who will entice Ahab so that he will march and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said thus and another said thus, (21) until a certain spirit came forward and stood before GOD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘How?’ GOD asked him. (22) And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then [God] said, ‘You will entice and you will prevail. Go out and do it.’ (23) So GOD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; for GOD has decreed disaster upon you.” (24) Thereupon Zedekiah son of Chenaanah stepped up and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and demanded, “Which way did the spirit of GOD pass from me to speak with you?” (25) And Micaiah replied, “You’ll find out on the day when you try to hide in the innermost room.” (26) Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and turn him over to Amon, the city’s governor, and to Prince Joash, (27) and say, ‘The king’s orders are: Put this fellow in prison, and let his fare be scant bread and scant water until I come home safe.’” (28) To which Micaiah retorted, “If you ever come home safe, GOD has not spoken through me.” He said further, “Listen, all you peoples!” (29) So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah marched upon Ramoth-gilead.

He who deals deceitfullyshall not live in my house;he who speaks untruthshall not stand before my eyes.

(12) Truth springs up from the earth; justice looks down from heaven.

(19) Truthful speech abides forever, A lying tongue for but a moment.

(12) A ruler who listens to lies, All his ministers will be wicked.

§ Concerning the lack of truth, Rava says: Initially I would say that there is no truth anywhere in the world. There was a certain one of the Sages, and Rav Tavut is his name, and some say Rav Tavyomei is his name, who was so honest that if they were to give him the entire world, he would not deviate from the truth in his statement. He said to me: One time I happened to come to a certain place, and Truth is its name, and its residents would not deviate from the truth in their statements, and no person from there would die prematurely. I married a woman from among them, and I had two sons from her.One day his wife was sitting and washing the hair on her head. Her neighbor came and knocked on the door. He thought: It is not proper conduct to tell the neighbor that his wife is bathing. He said to her: She is not here. Since he deviated from the truth his two sons died. The people residing in that place came before him and said to him: What is the meaning of this? He said to them: This was the nature of the incident, and told them what happened. They said to him: Please leave our place and do not provoke premature death upon these people.

One recites praise of the bride as she is, emphasizing her good qualities. And Beit Hillel say: One recites: A fair and attractive bride. Beit Shammai said to Beit Hillel: In a case where the bride was lame or blind, does one say with regard to her: A fair and attractive bride? But the Torah states: “Keep you from a false matter” (Exodus 23:7). Beit Hillel said to Beit Shammai: According to your statement, with regard to one who acquired an inferior acquisition from the market, should another praise it and enhance its value in his eyes or condemn it and diminish its value in his eyes? You must say that he should praise it and enhance its value in his eyes and refrain from causing him anguish. From here the Sages said: A person’s disposition should always be empathetic with mankind, and treat everyone courteously. In this case too, once the groom has married his bride, one praises her as being fair and attractive.

Rabbi Natan says: It is a mitzva to depart from the truth in order to preserve peace, as it is stated: “And Samuel said: How can I go, and Saul will hear and kill me” (I Samuel 16:2). God responded in the next verse that Samuel should say he went to sacrifice an offering, indicating that God commands one to lie in order to preserve peace. It was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: Great is peace, as even the Holy One, Blessed be He, departed from the truth for it. As, initially it is written that Sarah said of Abraham: “And my lord is old” (Genesis 18:12), and in the end it is written that God told Abraham that Sarah said: “And I am old” (Genesis 18:13). God adjusted Sarah’s words in order to spare Abraham hurt feelings that might lead Abraham and Sarah to quarrel.

(5) Rabbi Simon said: When the Holy One blessed be He came to create Adam the first man, the ministering angels divided into various factions and various groups. Some of them were saying: ‘Let him not be created,’ and some of them were saying: ‘Let him be created.’ That is what is written: “Kindness and truth met; righteousness and peace touched” (Psalms 85:11). Kindness said: ‘Let him be created, as he performs acts of kindness.’ Truth said: ‘Let him not be created, as he is all full of lies.’ Righteousness said: ‘Let him be created, as he performs acts of righteousness.’ Peace said: ‘Let him not be created, as he is all full of discord.’ What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He took Truth and cast it down to earth. That is what is written: “You cast truth earthward” (Daniel 8:12). The ministering angels said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, why are You demeaning Your very seal? Let Truth ascend from the earth.’ That is what is written: “Truth will spring from the earth” (Psalms 85:12). The Rabbis say in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina bar Idi, and Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiya said in the name of Rabbi Simon: Meod, this refers to Man [adam]. That is what is written: “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very [meod] good” (Genesis 1:31) – Man [adam] was good. Rav Huna, the rabbi of Tzippori, said: While the ministering angels were busy deliberating with one another and engaging with one another, the Holy One blessed be He created him. He said to them: ‘Why are you deliberating? Man has already been created.’

And Rabbi Zeira said: A person should not say to a child: I will give you something, and then not give it to him, because he thereby comes to teach him about lying, as it is stated: “They have taught their tongues to speak lies” (Jeremiah 9:4). One must not accustom a child to fail to honor commitments.

And Rabbi Ile’a further said in the name of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon: It is permitted for a person to depart from the truth in a matter that will bring peace, as it is stated: “Your father commanded before he died, saying: So you shall say to Joseph: Please pardon your brothers’ crime, etc.” (Genesis 50:16–17). Jacob never issued this command, but his sons falsely attributed this statement to him in order to preserve peace between them and Joseph.

MISHNA:One may take a vow to murderers, i.e., people suspected of killing others over monetary matters; or to robbers [ḥaramin]; or to tax collectors who wish to collect tax, that the produce in his possession is teruma although it is not teruma. One may also take a vow to them that the produce in his possession belongs to the house of the king, although it does not belong to the house of the king. One may take a false vow to save himself or his possessions, as a statement of this sort does not have the status of a vow. Beit Shammai say: One may vow in such a case, although he has no intention that his words be true, using every means of taking a vow or making a prohibition in order to mislead those people, except for by taking of an oath, due to its more stringent nature. And Beit Hillel say: One may mislead them even by taking an oath.Beit Shammai say: When negotiating with a robber, one should not initiate by taking a vow for him unless the robber does not believe his claim, in which case he may take a vow to reinforce his words. And Beit Hillel say: He may even initiate by taking a vow to him. Beit Shammai say: One may take a vow only about that which the robber compels him to take a vow but may not add to it. And Beit Hillel say: One may take a vow even about that which he does not compel him to take a vow. The mishna explains the previous statement: How so? If the extortionist said to him that he should say: Benefiting from me is konam for my wife if the vow is not true, and he said: Benefiting from me is konam for my wife and my children, Beit Shammai say: His wife is permitted to benefit from him, since the extortionist demanded that he take that vow, but his children, whom he added of his own accord, are prohibited from benefiting from their father. And Beit Hillel say: Both these and those are permitted to benefit from him.