16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. Exodus 20:16

Giving false witness against someone is a lie, but it’s more than telling a lie. It’s fabricating something against someone.

If I told you I went to the store but went to the club meeting instead, that’s a lie. If I told you I saw Joe inviting a woman who wasn’t his wife into his home while his wife was away – when I personally was at work all day – that’s fabricating something against someone. That’s a serious offense in God’s eyes. It’s deliberately making up a story to make it seem like Joe suspicious. If your spouse now tells Joe’s wife what you said you saw, then it gets messy.

More than 45 years ago I heard a song about Wesley that is biblically sound:

Don’t believe anything you hear
And only half of what your eyes behold
And if you can’t say something good about someone
Don’t say nothing at all.

While it sounds corny and like a cliche, it works.