Deuteronomy 5:20 forbids you from lying about another person in a way that harms them, especially when you speak as a witness. It is one of the Ten Commandments, the short set of commands Moses passes on to Israel as the LORD’s own words. God speaks it to the whole assembly of Israel at Mount Horeb, and Moses recounts it to a new generation before they enter the promised land.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Deuteronomy 5:20 (WEB)
What Deuteronomy 5:20 Means
The command opens with “You shall not,” a plain prohibition with no room for negotiation. The phrase “give false testimony” describes speaking as a witness, whether in a courtroom, before elders at the city gate, or in any setting where someone’s word is trusted to establish the truth. “Against your neighbor” narrows the concern: the damage falls on a real person who lives beside you, whose reputation, property or freedom can be lost through a lie.
What the verse does not do is list every kind of dishonesty. It addresses the particularly destructive act of bearing false witness against someone. Other passages in Scripture speak more broadly about truthfulness in daily speech, so this command should be read as a firm line drawn around one especially harmful betrayal of trust, not as a complete account of honesty.
The Context of Deuteronomy 5:20
The book of Deuteronomy is presented as a series of addresses Moses gives to Israel on the plains of Moab, just before they cross the Jordan. Tradition attributes the book to Moses, and it reviews the law and the covenant so that the people will remember who God is and how they are to live. Its first audience was the generation that had grown up in the wilderness, and this chapter recalls the events at Sinai forty years earlier.
The verses just before and after show that the commandments were spoken directly by God, out of fire, cloud and thick darkness, and then written on stone tablets. The surrounding commands about murder, adultery, theft and covetousness show that false testimony belongs in the same family of offenses against a neighbor’s life, marriage, property and peace. Read this way, the verse is not a stand-alone rule about courtroom procedure but part of a shared moral fabric that protects the community.
Key Phrases in Deuteronomy 5:20
Proverbs 19:9
A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.
(WEB)
This proverb pairs the warning against false witness with a sober picture of its outcome. It shows that the law’s concern for truth was not abstract but tied to the real fate of people who suffer from lies, and it encourages you to take the command seriously in daily speech.
Ephesians 4:25
Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.
(WEB)
Paul builds on the same principle for the church, urging believers to put away falsehood and speak truthfully with one another. The verse shows how the commandment’s care for the neighbor carries forward into life among fellow members of the body of Christ.
A Short Prayer From Deuteronomy 5:20
Lord, you are the God of truth, and you care deeply about the people I speak about and to. Guard my tongue from lies, whether they are large and deliberate or small and convenient. When I am tempted to shade the facts to protect myself or to hurt someone I resent, remind me that you hear every word and that my neighbor’s good name is precious to you. Give me the courage to tell the truth with kindness. Amen.
