The Ninth Commandment states: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.” (Ex. 20:16) The Westminster Larger Catechism defines this prohibition as such:

The duties required in the ninth commandment are: the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for, and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging their gifts and graces; defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report, and unwillingness to admit an evil report concerning them; discouraging talebearers, flatterers, and slanderers; love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; keeping of lawful promises; studying and practicing whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.

In the Law of Moses, false testimony was no trivial offence. It was treated as a profound evil, and the punishment matched the intended harm. If a man lied to bring another to ruin, the penalty he sought became his own.

Deuteronomy 19:16-21 states: “If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing… the judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness… then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

It’s no small thing to charge a man with a crime he isn’t guilty of. As such, if a false accuser sought the death penalty, he would receive it instead. The principle was clear: “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” The goal was justice, deterrence, and the purification of society from such evil.

But this prohibition goes beyond courtroom perjury. It condemns every form of defamation, distortion, and deceit that harms a person’s name. It is not only about lying under oath, but about smearing a man in the court of public opinion. We often call it “slander.”

Scripture treats slander as no small matter. As with many of the Ten Commandments, violating one often entails violating others. Slander is no exception—it is a compound transgression:

It rejects God’s Law, a violation of the First Commandment. It bears false testimony, a violation of the Ninth. It robs a man of his reputation, a violation of the Eighth. And it is often fueled by envy of a man’s good standing, a violation of the Tenth.

In a sense, slander also violates the Sixth Commandment. Though not physical murder, it is murder within the heart (Matt. 5:21-22). Slander is a weapon forged by hatred and resentment. As Paul reminds us, “Love…rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6). Love does no harm to its neighbour, the Apostle said, and therefore, love cannot slander. 

As such, only hate-fuelled malice can deliberately twist a man’s words, actions, or character so as to ruin him. To do so is to mirror the enemy, not the Lord. This is because Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44); but God is the God of truth, who “cannot lie” (Deut. 32:4; Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18). Jesus is “the Truth” (John 14:6), and those who follow Him must walk in the truth (1 John 1:6–7; 2 John 1:4).

And yet today, how many of us are quicker to shame the slandered than the slanderer?

Our culture rightly condemns the common thief. He is to be shamed, punished, and made to restore what he has stolen. But in a world that values material goods more than honour, a man who steals a bike may face more outrage than one who ruins another’s reputation.

A man’s name is more precious than gold. And as such, he who steals the former is a worse thief than he who steals the latter. Unlike stolen goods, which can often be recovered or restored, a tarnished reputation is much harder to recover. The nature of slander is that the theft of a man’s reputation occurs in more than one place—in the minds of the listeners. From there, it can grow like a cancer and spread like a disease.

A lifetime of integrity can be undone in a moment by a single false allegation. But in order for that false allegation to take root, listening ears must be ready to receive the ill report. Nobody utters slander to a brick wall. Without an open ear, evil speech ceases.

Just as the receiver of stolen goods shares the guilt of the thief, so the one who believes slander shares in its sin. As Charles Spurgeon put it, “If there were no listening ears, there would be no talebearing tongues. While you are a buyer of ill wares, the demand will create the supply.”

To falsely accuse is to play the part of Satan, “the accuser of the brethren.” But God’s people are not called to entertain lies, but to “purge the evil from their midst.” That includes both slanderous speech and the appetite for it. If we are to be people who love truth, we must silence falsehoods, expose evil, refuse to listen to slander, and honour the reputations of others as we would our own.

So, let us be people who walk in truth, speak in love, and protect the good names of others as sacred things. What this means is that we do not believe a charge of sin without sufficient evidence, and we do not receive the evidence unless it has gone through the necessary and orderly processes as stipulated in Scripture (see Matt. 18:15-20). 

Until then, let us close our mouths to speaking slander, and our ears from hearing it. And whenever you meet someone eager to sully the name of another, consider the possibility that there just may be more to the story than you’re aware.