“Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.”
My Notes
What Does Proverbs 12:22 Mean?
"Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight." The same abomination/delight contrast from Proverbs 11:20 appears here, applied specifically to truthfulness. God's emotional response to lying is abomination — revulsion, rejection. His response to honest dealing is delight — pleasure, favor, joy.
The word "truly" (emunah) means faithfully, reliably, with integrity — it's the same root as "amen" and "faithfulness." Dealing truly isn't just not lying; it's being reliable, consistent, and trustworthy in all your communications. It's a way of being, not just a speech habit.
The proverb applies to speech specifically — "lips" — but the principle extends to all communication. Lying lips include not just spoken falsehood but misleading implications, half-truths, strategic omissions, and any use of language designed to create a false impression.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does knowing God delights in honest dealing change your motivation for truthfulness?
- 2.Where are you most tempted to create false impressions rather than dealing truly?
- 3.What does 'dealing truly' look like beyond simply not lying?
- 4.Which is harder for you — telling direct lies or managing truth through strategic omission?
Devotional
God hates lying. That's not a theological abstraction — it's a statement about His emotional response. Lying lips are abominable to Him. They provoke revulsion. And honest dealing produces His delight. Not just approval — delight.
The word for "truly" is the root of "amen" — faithful, reliable, solid. Dealing truly means your words can bear weight. People can build on what you say. Your yes means yes and your no means no. You don't need to decode your language or watch for hidden meanings. You deal truly.
In a culture where everyone spins, positions, and strategically manages information, dealing truly is radical. It means saying what you mean, meaning what you say, and letting the consequences fall where they fall. It means not creating false impressions through careful omission. It means not using truth as a weapon while hiding behind its defense.
God delights in this. Not just permits it or prefers it — delights. The person who deals truly brings God genuine pleasure. Your honest words make God happy. That should change how you think about the boring, ordinary moments of telling the truth when lying would be easier.
Every time you deal truly — in a conversation, in an email, in a relationship — God's response is delight. Every lie provokes His abomination. Which response are you generating?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Lying lips are abomination to the Lord,.... Such that speak lies in common talk; and that deliver out doctrinal lies,…
We are here taught, 1. To hate lying, and to keep at the utmost distance from it, because it is an abomination to the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture