59 Bible Verses about Deception

Then he began to curse and to swear with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed.

And Jacob said to his father, "I [am] Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please get up, sit up and eat from my wild game so that you may bless me."

Please say you are my sister so that it will go well for me on your account. {Then I will live} on account of you."

And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She [is] my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

When the men of the place asked concerning his wife, he said, "She [is] my sister," for he was afraid to say, "my wife," thinking "the men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for {she was beautiful}."

You destroy speakers of lies. {A man of bloodshed} and deceit Yahweh abhors.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in [the] flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!

But you, O God, you will bring them down to [the] pit of corruption. [The] men of bloodshed and deceit will not live half their days, but I will trust you.

He who saves lives [is] a witness of truth, but he who utters lies [is] a betrayer.

Like a maniac who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death, so [is] a man who deceives his neighbor, but says "Am I not joking?"

and they acted on their part with cunning: they went and prepared provisions, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and old wineskins [that were] torn and mended.

And he sent them to Bethlehem [and] said, "Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found [him], report to me so that I also may come [and] worship him."

But the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die.

and Ehud came to him [while] he [was] sitting alone in his cool upper room. And Ehud said, "I have a {message from God} for you." So he got up from his seat.

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill, and the king came to see him. Amnon said to the king, "Please let Tamar my sister come, and let her bake two cakes before my eyes that I may eat from her hand."

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever he is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.

Do not be deceived! "Bad company corrupts good morals."

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these [things] the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

Now we ask you, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to him, that you not be easily shaken from your composure, nor be troubled either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter {alleged to be from us}, to the effect that the day of the Lord has arrived. Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

Charm [is] deceit and beauty [is] vain; [but] a woman who fears Yahweh shall be praised.

The thoughts of the righteous are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.

The wounds of a friend mean well, but the kisses of an enemy are profane.

The wisdom of the clever is understanding his ways, but the folly of fools is deceit.

The heart [is] deceitful more than anything else, and it [is] disastrous. Who can understand it? I, Yahweh, examine [the] {mind}, test [the] {heart}, and give to each one according to his way, according to the fruit of his deeds.

For if anyone thinks he is something [although he] is nothing, he is deceiving himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in someone else.

But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, because if anyone is a hearer of the message and not a doer, this one is like someone staring at {his own face} in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what sort of [person] he was. read more.
But the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues [to do it], not being a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts, this one will be blessed {in what he does}. If anyone thinks he is religious, [although he] does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion [is] worthless.

If we say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Because you are saying, "I am rich, and have become rich, and I have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked,

Please say you are my sister so that it will go well for me on your account. {Then I will live} on account of you."

And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She [is] my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

The remnant of Israel shall not do wickedness; they shall not speak deception, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall frighten [them]."

Do not be a witness without cause against your neighbor nor deceive with your lips.

Bread gained by deceit is sweet for the man, but afterward, his mouth will be filled [with] gravel.

For if anyone thinks he is something [although he] is nothing, he is deceiving himself.

Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, had come to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel [was] with him. When Hushai the Arkite the friend of David came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, "[Long] live the king, [long] live the king!" Absalom said to Hushai, "This [is] your loyal love with your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?" read more.
Then Hushai said to Absalom, "No, rather, whom Yahweh and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, to him I will be, and with him I will remain. {Furthermore}, for whom have I served? [Is] it not in the presence of his son that I have served before your father? {So shall I serve you}!"

So David got up and fled on that day from the presence of Saul, and he came to Achish the king of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, "[Is] not this David the king of the land? [Is] it not for this [one] that they sang in the dances, saying, 'Saul killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands?'" {David took these words seriously} and {felt severely threatened by} Achish the king of Gath. read more.
So he changed his behavior {before them} and pretended to be mad {in their presence}. He made scratches on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see a madman! Why did you bring him to me? Do I lack madmen that you have brought this one to act like a madman before me? Should this one enter my household?"

Then Absalom went to the king and said, "Look, here [are] your servant's shearers; please let the king and his servants go with your servant. The king said to Absalom, "No my son, not all of us shall go, so that we not be a burden to you." And he urged him, but he [was] not willing to go, but he blessed him. So Absalom said, "But [will you] not let Amnon my brother go with us?" And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you?" read more.
But Absalom pressed him, so he sent Amnon with him and all of the sons of the king. Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "Please watch. At the moment the heart of Amnon [is] {tipsy} with wine, then I shall say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' and you shall kill him! Don't be afraid. [Is] it not I myself who has commanded you? Be courageous and be {valiant!}

[He] feeds [on] ashes; a {deceived mind} misleads him. And he cannot save {himself}, and he cannot say, "Is [this] not an illusion in my right hand?"

Then Reuben returned to the pit and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. And he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, "The boy {is gone}! Now I, {what can I do}?" Then they took the robe of Joseph and slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. read more.
Then they sent the robe with long sleeves and they brought [it] to their father and said, "We found this; please examine [it]. [Is] it the robe of your son or not?" And he recognized it and said, "The robe of my son! A wild animal has devoured him! Joseph [is] surely torn to pieces!" And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he refused to be consoled. And he said, "No, I shall go down to my son, to Sheol, mourning." And his father wept for him.

Then the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor speaking deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who [is] uncircumcised, for that [is] a disgrace for us. Only on this [condition] will we give consent to you; if you will become like us--every male among you to be circumcised. read more.
Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take for ourselves your daughters, and we will live with you and become one family. But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughters and we will go." And their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem, the son of Hamor. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, for he wanted the daughter of Jacob. Now he [was] the most honored of his father's house. Then Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the men of their city, saying, "These men [are] at peace with us. Let them dwell in the land and let them trade in it. Now, behold, the land is {broad enough for them}. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give our daughters to them. Only on this [condition] will they give consent to us, to live with us [and] to become one family--when every male among us [is] circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals [be] ours? Only let us give consent to them so they will live among us." And all those who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and Shechem. Every male was circumcised, all those who went out of the gate of his city. And it happened [that] on the third day, while they were in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, each took his sword and came against the unsuspecting city and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and they took Dinah from the house of Shechem and went out. The [other] sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their cattle and their donkeys, and whatever [was] in the field. They captured and plundered all that [was] in the houses--all their wealth, their little ones, and their women. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me, making me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites! I [am] few in number! If they gather against me and attack me, I will be destroyed--I and my household!" But they said, "Shall he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill, and the king came to see him. Amnon said to the king, "Please let Tamar my sister come, and let her bake two cakes before my eyes that I may eat from her hand." So David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, "Please go to the house of Amnon your brother and prepare food for him." Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother. Now he [was] lying down, and she took the dough and kneaded [it] and made cakes before his eyes, and she baked the cakes. read more.
Then she took the pan and poured it out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, "Let all [the] men go out from me." So all [the] men went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food [to] the private room that I may eat from your hand." So Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them to Amnon her brother in the private room. When she brought them near to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister!" Then Tamar said to him, "No, my brother! Do not force me, for such a thing has not been done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! As for me, where should I take my disgrace? You will be as one of the fools in Israel. So please, speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you." But he [was] not willing to listen to her voice. He [was] stronger than she, and he forced her and lay with her.

Rebekah said to Jacob her son, "Look, I heard your father speaking to Esau your brother saying, 'Bring wild game to me and prepare tasty food so I can eat [it] and bless you before Yahweh before my death.' So now, my son, listen to my voice, to what I command you. read more.
Go to the flock and take two good young goats from it for me, and I will prepare them [as] tasty food for your father, just as he likes. Then you must take it to your father and he will eat [it] so that he may bless you before his death." Then Jacob said to his mother, "Behold, Esau my brother [is] a hairy man, but I [am] a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes [as] a mocker, and he will bring upon me a curse and not a blessing." Then his mother said to him, "Your curse be upon me, my son, only listen to my voice--go and get [them] for me." So he went and took [them], and brought [them] to his mother, and his mother prepared tasty food as his father liked. Then Rebekah took [some of] her older son Esau's best garments that [were] with her in the house, and she put [them] on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the young goats over his hands and over the smooth [part of] his neck. And she put the tasty food and the bread that she had made into the hand of Jacob, her son. And he went to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I [am]. Who [are] you, my son?" And Jacob said to his father, "I [am] Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please get up, sit up and eat from my wild game so that you may bless me." Then Isaac said to his son, "{How} did you find [it] so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because Yahweh your God {caused me to find it}." Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please, come near and let me feel you, my son. {Are you really} my son Esau or not?" And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father. And he felt him and said, "The voice [is] the voice of Jacob, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau." And he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau his brother. And he blessed him.

But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai, and they acted on their part with cunning: they went and prepared provisions, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and old wineskins [that were] torn and mended. The sandals on their feet [were] patched and old, their clothes [were] old, and their food was dry and crumbled. read more.
And they went to Joshua at the camp [at] Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far land; so then {make a covenant with us}." And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you [are] living among us; how can we {make a covenant} with you?" They said to Joshua, "We [are] your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who [are] you, and from where do you come?" And they said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far land because of the name of Yahweh your God; we have heard of his reputation, of all that he did in Egypt, and of all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who [were] beyond the Jordan--to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who [was] in Ashtaroth. So our elders said to us and all the inhabitants of our land, 'Take in your hand provisions for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, "We [are] your servants; so then {make a covenant with us}." ' This [is] our bread; [it was] hot [when] we took it from our houses as provisions on the day we set out to come to you. But now, look, it is dry and crumbled. These [are] the wineskins that we filled new, but look, they have burst; and these [are] our clothes and sandals that have worn out from the very long journey." So the leaders took from their provisions, but {they did not ask direction from Yahweh}. And Joshua made peace with them, and {he made a covenant with them} to allow them to live happily, and the leaders of the congregation swore [an oath] to them.

And the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite and {a left-handed man}. And the {Israelites} sent a tribute to Eglon king of Moab {through him}. Ehud made for himself a short, {two-edged} sword (a cubit in length), and he fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. Then he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon [was] a very fat man. read more.
When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. But he turned back from the sculptured stones that [were] near Gilgal, and he said, "I have {a secret message} for you, O king." And he said, "Silence!" So all those standing in his presence went out, and Ehud came to him [while] he [was] sitting alone in his cool upper room. And Ehud said, "I have a {message from God} for you." So he got up from his seat. Then Ehud reached with his left hand for the sword on his right thigh, and he thrust it into his stomach. And the handle also went [in] after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not draw back the sword from his stomach; and it went protruding out the back. And Ehud went out the vestibule, and he closed the doors of the upper room and locked [them] behind him. After he left, his servants returned. When they saw [that] the doors of the upper room [were] locked, {they thought}, "Surely he [is] {relieving himself} in the cool inner room." And they waited so long they became embarrassed because he did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened [the doors], and there their lord was lying on the ground dead. And Ehud escaped while they delayed. He passed by the sculptured stones and escaped to Seirah. And when he arrived he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the {Israelites} went down from the hill country with him leading them. And he said to them, "Follow after me! Yahweh has given Moab your enemies into your hand." So they went down after him, and they captured the fords of the Jordan toward Moab; and they did not allow anyone to cross over. And they struck Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, {all strong and able men}; no one escaped. And Moab was subdued on that day under the hand of Israel. And the land rested eighty years.

After this he fell in love [with] a woman in the wadi of Sorek, and her name [was] Delilah. And the rulers of [the] Philistines came up to her and said, "Entice him and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we can overpower him, so that we may bind him up in order to subdue him; each of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver. So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and with what can you be tied up to subdue you?" read more.
Samson said to her, "If you tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried up, I will become weak like everyone else." So the rulers of [the] Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that were not dried up, and she tied him up with them. The ambush [was] sitting [in wait] for her in an inner room. And she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you Samson!" And he snapped the bowstrings just as flax fiber snaps when it comes close to fire. And [the secret of] his strength remained unknown. Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you can be bound." He said to her, "If they tie me tightly with new ropes that have not been used, I will become weak and be like everyone else." So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them, and she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!" (The ambush [was] sitting in an inner room.) But he snapped them from his arms like thread. And Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told lies to me. Tell me how you can be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave seven locks of my head with warp-threads." She fastened [it] with the pin and said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!" And Samson woke up from his sleep and tore loose the loom pin of the web and the warp-threads. And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me how your strength is [so] great." And because she nagged him day after day with her words, and pestered him, {his soul grew impatient to the point of death}. So {he confided everything to her}, and he said to her, "A razor {has never touched} my head, for I [am] a {Nazirite of God} {from birth}. If I am shaved my strength will leave me, and I will become weak, like everyone else. Delilah realized that {he had confided in her}, so she sent and called the rulers of [the] Philistines, saying, "Come up one more time, for {he has confided in me}." And the rulers of [the] Philistines came up, and they brought the money {with them}. And she put him to sleep on her lap; then she called the men and shaved off seven locks of his head. Then she began to subdue him, and his strength went away from him. And she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!" And he woke up from his sleep and said, "I will go out just like every other time and shake myself free," but he did not know that Yahweh had left him.

If anyone thinks he is religious, [although he] does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion [is] worthless.

For he flatters himself in his eyes, hating to detect his iniquity.

But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,

If we say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Then he said, "I [am] also a prophet like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, 'Let him return with you to your house that he may eat food and drink water.'" He lied to him.

My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed; like a streambed of wadis they flow away,

It happened at the end of four years [that] Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to Yahweh in Hebron,

And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and {you do not care what anyone thinks}, {because you do not regard the opinion of people}.

But Gehazi the servant of Elisha, the man of God, thought, "Look, my master has refrained from taking what this Aramean Naaman brought from his hand. {As Yahweh lives}, I will certainly run after him, and I will accept something from him."

And behold, a certain legal expert stood up to test him, saying, "Teacher, what must I do so that I will inherit eternal life?"

When the men of the place asked concerning his wife, he said, "She [is] my sister," for he was afraid to say, "my wife," thinking "the men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for {she was beautiful}."

Now after two days it was the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how, [after] arresting him by stealth, they could kill [him].

Your tongue plans destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceit.

Now a certain man {named} Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

But the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die.

And he sent them to Bethlehem [and] said, "Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found [him], report to me so that I also may come [and] worship him."