Lies and Oppression

Isaiah 59:13b begins and ends with similar phrases: “speaking oppression” translates dabber-‘osheq , and the verse ends with the phrase “lying words” ( dibbre-shaqer ). In between, Isaiah uses an analogy of conception and birth to describe the plans of the wicked: They “conceive [their lies] and meditate from the heart.”

For Isaiah, as for the rest of the Hebrew Bible, lies aren’t wrong only because they don’t match reality. Lies are not evil only because they are evasive and cowardly. Lies are evil because they oppress. Justice turns back and abandons the city streets when and because truth stumbles (v. 14).

One of the most common contexts for the Hebrew word hamas , “violence,” is the courtroom, where false witness is literally a “witness of violence.” False witnesses might seek literally to harm their victims, but even if they don’t intend physical harm, their false testimony is an act of violent oppression against their victim’s reputation, social standing, trustworthiness. To lie is to kill.