I replied to the king, “O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors ¹  lies desolate and its gates destroyed ²  by fire?”

Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. ¹  But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away.

No one is concerned about justice; ¹  no one sets forth his case truthfully. They depend on false words ²  and tell lies; they conceive of oppression ³  and give birth to sin.

We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up ¹  oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ² 

I see ¹  one destruction after another taking place, so that the whole land lies in ruins. I see our ²  tents suddenly destroyed, their ³  curtains torn down in a mere instant. ⁴ 

The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. ¹  And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! ² 

Everyone must be on his guard around his friends. He must not even trust any of his relatives. ¹  For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ²  And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

Their tongues are like deadly arrows. ¹  They are always telling lies. ²  Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths. But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them. ³ 

You, Pashhur, and all your household ¹  will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’” ² 

The Lord says, ¹  “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ ² 

Do not listen to them, ¹  because their prophecies are lies. ²  Listening to them will only cause you ³  to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile. ⁴ 

This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life.

These two kings, their minds ¹  filled with evil intentions, will trade ²  lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time.

(12:1) ¹  Ephraim has surrounded me with lies; the house of Israel has surrounded me ²  with deceit. But Judah still roams about with ³  God; he remains faithful to the Holy One.

Ephraim continually feeds on the wind; he chases the east wind all day; he multiplies lies and violence. They make treaties ¹  with Assyria, and send olive oil as tribute ²  to Egypt.

Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ¹  into the fabric on the loom ²  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.”

So I reflected on all this, ¹  attempting to clear ²  it all up. I concluded that ³  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated ⁴  – no one knows what lies ahead. ⁵ 

The Lord says, ¹  “These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows. Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ²  They have become powerful in the land, but they have not done so by honest means. ³  Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ⁴  and do not pay attention to me. ⁵ 

Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ¹  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ²  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ³  and the delusions of their own mind.

“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ²  ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.