And a man shall mock his brother, and they will not speak the truth: for they have taught their tongue to speak lies: they have laboured to commit iniquity.
שִׁבְתְּךָ֖ בְּת֣וֹךְ מִרְמָ֑ה בְּמִרְמָ֛ה מֵאֲנ֥וּ דַֽעַת־אוֹתִ֖י נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
False and resistant. Do you understand? Not the sins inherent to their being. Notice how he charges them differently, highlighting transgressions against their neighbor: they failed to speak the truth and were unwilling to repent, perpetually asserting that their wickedness is immutable. They trained their tongues to deceive. No sin is more detestable than one where there is a disparity between what is portrayed and what is declared.
Every individual should be cautious of his neighbor and refrain from placing blind trust in every brother, for every brother will falter, and every friend will act deceitfully; even every husband may mock his brother, and truth will not be spoken among them. Their tongues have become accustomed to uttering falsehoods and they have grown weary of acting unjustly, never ceasing in their disobedience. Your dwelling is surrounded by deceit, a place of treachery, as they have turned away from recognizing Me, declares the Lord.
This scenario unfolds in times of hardship and distress, when faithfulness is scarce and neither brother nor neighbor can be relied upon, while a man's own household may turn into his adversary—fulfilling the Gospel's declaration that ‘the father will betray the son, and the son his father; and they will be divided, father against son and son against father.’ The phrase indicating that their tongues have become accustomed to lies reveals that the act of lying has become second nature to them, and they are fervently engaged in wrongdoing. When the statement, ‘Your dwelling is surrounded by deceit,’ is made, it directly addresses the prophet, highlighting that he resides among a treacherous people; or as translated by the LXX, ‘Deceit for deceit,’ signifying their continual piling of transgressions, showing no shame for their past wrongs while compounding new ones. In this manner, they endeavor to disregard the commands of the Lord.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS