'Deceitful' in the Bible
“Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel];Their swords are weapons of violence and revenge.
You destroy those who tell lies;The Lord detests and rejects the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
For they do not speak peace,But they devise deceitful words [half-truths and lies] against those who are quiet in the land.
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
Judge and vindicate me, O God; plead my case against an ungodly nation.O rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man!
They turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;They were twisted like a warped bow [that will not respond to the archer’s aim].
Rescue my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,And from a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,You deceitful tongue?—
The wicked man earns deceptive wages,But he who sows righteousness and lives his life with integrity will have a true reward [that is both permanent and satisfying].
A truthful witness saves lives,But he who speaks lies is treacherous.
Differing weights are detestable and offensive to the Lord,And fraudulent scales are not good.
Do not desire his delicacies,For it is deceptive food [offered to you with questionable motives].
Faithful are the wounds of a friend [who corrects out of love and concern],But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful [because they serve his hidden agenda].
Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions from God”;And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right!Speak to us pleasant things and smooth words,Prophesy [deceitful] illusions [that we will enjoy].
Why has my pain been perpetualAnd my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?Will you indeed be to me like a deceptive brookWith water that is unreliable?
“The heart is deceitful above all thingsAnd it is extremely sick;Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?
Hear this, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their [own deceitful] tongues and say, ‘Thus says the Lord.’
“And all the inhabitants of Egypt will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord,Because they have been [only] a staff made of [fragile] reeds to the house of Israel.
They turn, but they do not turn upward to the Most High.They are like a poorly crafted bow [that misses the mark];Their princes shall fall by the swordBecause of the insolence of their tongue.This will be cause for their mockery and disdain in the land of Egypt.
Their heart is divided (faithless);Now they must bear their guilt and punishment.The Lord will break down [the horns of] their altars;He will destroy their idolatrous pillars.
“Can I [be guiltless and] justify deceptive scalesAnd a bag of dishonest weights?
“For the rich men of the city are full of violence [of every kind];Her inhabitants speak liesAnd their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
“The remnant of Israel will do no wrongNor speak lies,Nor will a deceitful tongueBe found in their mouths;For they will eat and lie downWith no one to make them tremble and feel afraid.”