John Calvin Commentary Exodus 20:16

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." — Exodus 20:16 (ASV)

God here makes a provision for every person’s character and good name, lest anyone should be undeservedly weighed down by slander and false accusations. The same synecdoche exists here, which I have pointed out in the previous Commandments, for God includes many things under a single principle. With reference to the words, since עד, gned, properly means a witness, it may be literally translated, “You shall not answer as a false witness against your neighbor,” but then the particle as must be supplied. The Hebrews poorly translate it in the vocative case: “You shall not speak, O false witness,” etc.

¹⁶⁵ Although God seems only to prescribe that no one, for the purpose of injuring the innocent, should go into court and publicly testify against them, it is plain that the faithful are prohibited from all false accusations—not only those circulated in the streets, but also those stirred up in private houses and secret corners. For it would be absurd, when God has already shown that people's fortunes are cared for by Him, that He should neglect their reputation, which is much more precious. In whatever way, therefore, we injure our neighbors by unjustly defaming them, we are considered false witnesses before God.

We must now pass on from the prohibitive to the affirmative precept. It will not be enough for us to restrain our tongues from speaking evil unless we are also kind and equitable towards our neighbors, candid interpreters of their acts and words, and do not allow them, as far as it is in our power, to be burdened with false reproaches.

Besides, God does not only forbid us to invent accusations against the innocent, but also to spread reproaches and sinister reports out of malevolence or hatred. Such a person may perhaps deserve their bad reputation, and we may truly bring such or such an accusation against them; but if the reproach is an outburst of our anger, or the accusation proceeds from ill-will, it will be futile for us to claim in our defense that we have said nothing but what is true. For when Solomon says that love covereth many sins; whereas hatred brings reproaches to light¹⁶⁶ (Proverbs 10:12), he signifies, as a faithful interpreter of this precept, that we are only free from falsehood when our neighbors' reputation suffers no damage from us. If the indulgence of evil-speaking violates charity, it is opposed to the Law of God.

In short, we must conclude that by these words a restraint is laid on all virulence of language that tends to bring disgrace on others, on all petulance by which their good name suffers injury, and on all detractions that flow from malice, envy, rivalry, or any other improper feeling. We must also go further and not be suspicious or too curious in observing the defects of others, for such eager inquisitiveness betrays malevolence, or at any rate an evil disposition. For if love is not suspicious, anyone who condemns their neighbor either falsely, or upon trivial suspicions, or who regards them lightly, is undoubtedly a transgressor of this Commandment.

Consequently, we must close our ears against false and evil speaking, since one who eagerly listens to sinister reports about their neighbor is just as injurious as one who exercises their tongue in maligning them. Let each person estimate the necessity of this instruction by their own disposition. For scarcely one in a hundred will be found who is as kind in protecting the character of others as they themselves desire to be pardoned for obvious faults. Indeed, slander is often praised under the pretext of zeal and conscientiousness. Hence it happens that this vice insinuates itself even among the saints, creeping in under the name of virtue.

Moreover, talkativeness causes us to think it a light transgression to inflict a deadly and disgraceful wound on our neighbor, to whom, nevertheless, their good name is of more importance than their life. In summary, we should demonstrate our charity as much by candor and by refraining from slander as by performing other duties.

¹⁶⁵ Addition in Fr., “Or revenons a la substance.”., “Or revenons a la substance.”

¹⁶⁶ “Hatred stirreth up strifes; but love covereth all sins.” — A..V. The latter clause, in . The latter clause, in C.’.’s quotation, is probably rather intended to be the necessary converse of the latter part of the proverb than a paraphrastic rendering of the first, which it does not appear that the words will bear. quotation, is probably rather intended to be the necessary converse of the latter part of the proverb than a paraphrastic rendering of the first, which it does not appear that the words will bear.