40 Bible Verses about Pretence

At that time, Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill. Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please get up and disguise yourself so that they will not know that you [are] the wife of Jeroboam, and go [to] Shiloh. Look, Ahijah the prophet is there, and he spoke concerning me [before I became] king over this people. You must take ten loaves of bread in your hand and cakes and a jar of honey, and you must go to him. He shall tell you what will happen to the boy."read more.
The wife of Jeroboam did so. She got up, went [to] Shiloh, and came [to] the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah was not able to see, for {his eyes were fixed} because of his old age. Then Yahweh said to Ahijah, "Look, the wife of Jeroboam [is] coming to seek a word from you about her son, for he [is] ill. {Thus and so} you shall say to her. When she comes, she [will be] disguising herself." It happened at the moment Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps coming through the doorway, he said, "Come [in], wife of Jeroboam. Why [are] you making yourself unrecognizable? I have been sent a hard [message] for you:

Now Rebekah [was] listening as Isaac spoke to Esau his son, and [when] Esau went to the field to hunt wild game to bring [back], 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.'read more.
So now, my son, listen to my voice, to what I command you. 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."

Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older [was] Leah, and the name of the younger [was] Rachel. Now the eyes of Leah [were] dull, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. And Jacob loved Rachel and said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."read more.
Then Laban said, "Better [that] I give her to you than I give her to another man. Stay with me." And Jacob worked for Rachel seven years, but they were as a few days in his eyes because he loved her. And Jacob said to Laban, "Give [me] my wife, that I may go in to her, for {my time} is completed." So Laban gathered all the men of the place and prepared a feast. And it happened [that] in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and he went in to her. And Laban gave Zilpah his female servant to her, to Leah his daughter [as] a female servant. And it happened [that] in the morning, behold, it [was] Leah! And he said to Laban, "What [is] this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Now why did you deceive me?"

And it was told to Tamar, saying, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." So she removed the clothes of her widowhood and covered [herself] with the veil and disguised herself. And she sat at the entrance to Eynayim, which [is] on the way to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah was grown but she had not been given to him as a wife. And Judah saw her and reckoned her to [be] a prostitute, for she had covered her face.read more.
And he turned aside to her at the roadside and said, "Please come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she [was] his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give to me that you may come in to me?"

Joab the son of Zeruiah realized that the mind of the king [was] on Absalom. So Joab sent to Tekoa and took from there a wise woman, and he said to her, "Please pretend to mourn and put on garments of mourning. You should not anoint yourself [with] oil, and you must act like this woman who has been mourning over the dead for {a long time}. Then you must go to the king and speak to him according to this word." [Thus] Joab put the words in her mouth.

And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them. And he spoke with them harshly and said to them, "From where have you come?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food."

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.

It happened afterwards that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name [was] Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her. And Amnon {was so frustrated that he felt ill} because of Tamar his sister, because she [was] a virgin, and it [was] too difficult in Amnon's eyes to do anything with her. Now Amnon had a friend whose name [was] Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David. (Now Jonadab [was] a very crafty man.)read more.
And he said to him, "Why [are] you so sullen {every morning}, O son of the king? Will you not tell me?" And Amnon said to him, "I [am] in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom." Then Jonadab said to him, "Lie down on your bed and appear ill. If your father comes to see you, you shall say to him, 'Please let Tamar my sister come and give me food to eat, and let her prepare the food before my eyes, in order that I may see it and eat from her hand.'" 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. 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 Jehu assembled all of the people and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will worship him greatly. So then, summon to me all of the prophets of Baal and all of his servants and his priests; no man should fail to come, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come shall not live!" Now Jehu was acting with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

There is one who acts rich but {has nothing}; another who pretends to be poor but [has] wealth.

Your dwelling [is] in the midst of deceit, upon deceit they refuse to know me," {declares} Yahweh. Therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Look, I [am] about to refine them, and I will test them, for what else can I do, because of the {presence} of the daughter of my people? Their tongue [is] a murderous arrow, it speaks deceit. With his mouth he speaks peace with his neighbor, but in his inner parts he sets up his ambush.read more.
Because of these [things] shall I not punish them?" {declares} Yahweh, "On a nation that [is] like this shall I not take revenge?

Then the Pharisees went {and consulted} so that they could entrap him with a statement. 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}. Therefore tell us what you think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"read more.
But [because he] knew their maliciousness, Jesus said, "Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? Show me the coin for the tax!" So they brought him a denarius. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription [is] this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" And [when they] heard [this], they were astonished, and they left him [and] went away.

And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement. And [when they] came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and {you do not care what anyone thinks}, {because you do not regard the opinion of people} but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" But [because he] knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at [it]!"read more.
So they brought [one]. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription [is] this?" And they said to him, "Caesar's." And Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" And they were utterly amazed at him.

And they watched [him] closely [and] sent spies who pretended they were upright, in order that they could catch him in a statement, so that they could hand him over to the authority and the jurisdiction of the governor. And they asked him, saying, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and do not {show partiality}, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted [for] us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"read more.
But seeing through their craftiness, he said to them, "Show me a denarius! Whose image and inscription does it have?" And they answered [and] said, "Caesar's." So he said to them, "Well then, give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" And they were not able to catch [him] in a statement in the sight of the people, and astonished at his answer, they became silent.

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 it happened that at the end of three days, after they made a covenant with them, they heard that {they were their neighbors} and living among them. And the {Israelites} set out and went to their cities on the third day (their cities [were] Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim). But the {Israelites} did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured {against their leaders}. But all the leaders of the congregation said, "We have sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel, and so we cannot touch them. This we will do to them: [we will] let them live so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath we swore to them." And the leaders said to them, "Let them live." So they became woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said to them. And Joshua summoned them and said, "Why have you deceived us saying, 'We [are] very far from you' when you [are] living among us?

So Saul said to his servants, "Search for me {a woman who is a medium} so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "Look [there is] a woman who [is] a medium in Endor." So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went {with two of his men}. And they came to the woman [by] night and he said, "Please consult a spirit for me through {the ritual pit}, and bring up for me [the one] whom I tell you." But the woman said to him, "Look, you know what Saul did, how he exterminated the mediums and the soothsayers from the land! Why [are] you setting a trap for my life to kill me?"read more.
Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, "{As Yahweh lives}, {you will not be punished} for this thing." So the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up Samuel for me." When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, "Why did you deceive me? You [are] Saul!"

Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up [to] Ramoth-Gilead. Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "[I will] disguise myself and go into the battle, but you wear your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and he went into the battle. The king of Aram commanded his thirty-two chariot commanders, saying, "You shall not fight with small or great, but only against the king of Israel, him alone!"read more.
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely he [is] the king of Israel," and they turned to fight against him, so Jehoshaphat called out.

Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you, wear your garments." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to war. Now the king of Aram had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying, "Do not fight with the small [or] the great, but only with the king of Israel."read more.
And it happened [that] when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, then they said, "It [is] the king of Israel!" And they turned against him to fight. Then Jehoshaphat cried out and Yahweh helped him. God drove them away from him. And it happened [that] when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from following him.

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 Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard him and to kill him in the morning, but Michal his wife told David, saying, "If {you do not save your life} tonight, [then] tomorrow you [will be] killed!" So Michal lowered David through the window, and he went and fled and escaped. Then Michal took the household god and put it on the bed and put a quilt of goat's hair at its head and covered [it] with the clothes.read more.
And Saul sent messengers to arrest David, but she said, "He [is] ill." So Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, so that I can kill him." When the messengers came, {to their surprise} the idol [was] on the bed [with] the quilt of goat's hair at the head. Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?" Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go, why should I kill you?'"

I will bless Yahweh at all times; his praise [shall be] in my mouth continually.

And [because they] were afraid lest somewhere we run aground against rough places, they threw down four anchors from the stern [and] prayed for day to come. And [when] the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship's boat into the sea, pretending as if they were going to lay out anchors from the bow,

It is better to be lowly and a servant {to someone} than self-glorifying and lacking food.

After all of this that Josiah had prepared [for] the temple, Neco the king of Egypt went up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went up to meet him. And he sent messengers to him, saying, "{What is there between us}, O king of Judah? [I am] not against you yourself this day, but against the house making war against me. And God has commanded me to make haste. Stop [opposing] God, who [is] with me that he will not destroy you." But Josiah did not turn his face from him, but he disguised himself to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and he went out to fight in the plain of Megiddo.

Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! In the [same] way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Watch out that no one deceives you! For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many.

So Jesus began to say to them, "Watch out that no one deceives you! Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am [he],' and they will deceive many.

And he said, Watch out that you are not deceived! For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am [he],' and 'The time is near!' Do not go after them!

Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, {but only} in pretense," {declares} Yahweh.

Hypocrites! Isaiah correctly prophesied about you saying, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me,

So he said to them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me.

And the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with its mouth, and with its lips it honors me, and its heart is far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught,

Then he found another man and said, "Strike me, please," so the man struck him sharply and wounded him. Then the prophet went and {waited} for the king along the road and disguised himself with a headband over his eyes. As the king [was] passing by, he called to the king and said, "Your servant went out in the thick of the battle, and suddenly a man turned and brought a man to me and said, 'Guard this man. If by any means he should be missed, it will be your life in his place, or you shall pay a talent of silver.'read more.
It happened that your servant {was busy here and there}, and he {disappeared}." Then the king said to him, "Your own judgment has been determined." He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he [was] from the prophets. He said to him, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Because you have let the man I devoted for destruction go from [your] hand, your life shall be in place of his life and your people in place of his people.'" Then the king of Israel went to his house, sullen and angry, and he came to Samaria.

Therefore, ridding yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

Remove from me [the] deceptive way, and graciously give me your law.

During {this time} [when] a crowd of many thousands had gathered together, so that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware for yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his footsteps, who did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth,

He made his grave with [the] wicked, and with [the] rich in his death, although he had done no violence, and [there was] no deceit in his mouth.

and all pride that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.