Definition and Meaning:
Guile refers to deceitful cunning, duplicity, or craftiness. In the biblical context, it is often associated with deception and the intent to mislead others. The term is used to describe actions or words that are insincere or fraudulent, often with the purpose of achieving a hidden agenda.

Biblical References:
The concept of guile is addressed in various passages throughout the Bible, highlighting its negative connotations and the moral imperative to avoid deceit.

1. Old Testament:
· In the Psalms, guile is associated with wickedness and is contrasted with righteousness. Psalm 34:13 advises, "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech."
· Proverbs frequently warns against deceitful practices. Proverbs 12:20 states, "Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil, but the counselors of peace have joy."

2. New Testament:
· Jesus Christ, in His teachings, emphasized the importance of sincerity and truthfulness. In John 1:47 , Jesus commends Nathanael, saying, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit."
· The Apostle Peter instructs believers to rid themselves of guile. In 1 Peter 2:1 , he writes, "Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander."
· The Apostle Paul also speaks against deceit, urging believers to speak the truth. In 2 Corinthians 4:2 , he declares, "Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God."

Theological Significance:
Guile is seen as antithetical to the character of God, who is described as truthful and faithful. The absence of guile is a mark of integrity and purity, qualities that are highly esteemed in the biblical narrative. The call to live without guile is a call to reflect the nature of God, who desires truth in the inward being (Psalm 51:6).

Moral and Ethical Implications:
The Bible consistently encourages believers to live lives marked by honesty and transparency. Guile is viewed as a barrier to genuine relationships and community, as it undermines trust and fosters division. The exhortation to avoid guile is part of the broader biblical ethic that values truth, integrity, and love for one's neighbor.

Practical Application:
Believers are encouraged to examine their hearts and actions for any trace of deceit. This involves a commitment to truthfulness in speech and conduct, as well as a reliance on the Holy Spirit to cultivate sincerity and integrity. The pursuit of a guileless life is part of the sanctification process, aligning one's character with the example set by Christ.1. (n.) Craft; deceitful cunning; artifice; duplicity; wile; deceit; treachery.

2. (n.) To disguise or conceal; to deceive or delude.

GUILE

gil (mirmah; dolos): "Guile" is twice the translation of mirmah, "fraud," "deceit" (Psalm 34:13, "Keep. thy lips from speaking guile"; Psalm 55:11, "deceit and guile," the Revised Version (British and American) "oppression (margin "fraud") and guile"); once of `ormah, "craftiness," "guile" (Exodus 21:14); once of remiyah, "deception," "fraud" (Psalm 32:2, "in whose spirit there is no guile"); in the New Testament of dolos, "bait," hence, generally, "fraud," "guile," "deceit"; Septuagint for mirmah (Isaiah 53:9, English Versions of the Bible "deceit") and for remiyah (Job 13:7, English Versions of the Bible "deceitfully"; John 1:47 2 Corinthians 12:16, "Being crafty, I caught you with guile"; 1 Thessalonians 2:3 1 Peter 2:1; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 Peter 3:10, quoted from Psalm 34:13 Revelation 14:5, "In their mouth was found no guile," the Revised Version (British and American) after corrected text, "no lie").

Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 12:16 have sometimes been quoted in justification of "guile" in religious work, etc.; but he is not describing his actual procedure; but that which the Corinthians might have attributed to him; the lips of the Christian must be kept free from all guile (Psalm 34:13 1 Peter 2:1, etc.; The Wisdom of Solomon 1:5 "A holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit" (dolos), the Revised Version (British and American) "A holy spirit"). "Guile" does not appear in Apocrypha; dolos is frequently rendered "deceit."

The Revised Version (British and American) has "guile" for "subtilty" (Genesis 27:35 Acts 13:10); "cover itself with guile" for "is covered by deceit" (Proverbs 26:26); "with guile" for "deceitfully" (Genesis 34:13); "spiritual milk which is without guile" for "sincere milk of the word," the English Revised Version, margin "reasonable," the American Revised Version, margin, Greek "belonging to the reason" (compare Romans 12:1 1 Peter 2:2); "guileless" for "harmless" (Hebrews 7:26).

W. L. Walker

1388. dolos -- a bait, fig. craft, deceit
... craft, deceit. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: dolos Phonetic Spelling:
(dol'-os) Short Definition: deceit, guile, treachery Definition: deceit ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1388.htm - 7k

539. apate -- deceit
... Cognate: 539 -- a false impression, made to deceive or cheat -- ie deceit motivated
by guile and treachery (trickery, fraud). See 538 (). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/539.htm - 6k

4860. mashshaon -- guile, dissimulation
... 4859, 4860. mashshaon. 4861 . guile, dissimulation. Transliteration: mashshaon
Phonetic Spelling: (mash-shaw-ohn') Short Definition: guile. ...
/hebrew/4860.htm - 6k

4820. mirmah -- deceit, treachery
... treachery (2). craft, deceitful false, feigned, guile, treachery. From ramah
in the sense of deceiving; fraud -- craft, deceit(-ful ...
/hebrew/4820.htm - 6k

6195. ormah -- craftiness, prudence
... guile, prudence, subtilty, wilily, wisdom. Feminine of orem; trickery; or (in a
good sense) discretion -- guile, prudence, subtilty, wilily, wisdom. ...
/hebrew/6195.htm - 6k

7423. rmiyah -- deceit, treachery
... remissness, treachery From ramah; remissness, treachery -- deceit(- ful, -fully),
false, guile, idle, slack, slothful. see HEBREW ramah. 7422, 7423. ...
/hebrew/7423.htm - 5k

3868. luz -- to turn aside, depart
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to turn aside, depart NASB Word Usage depart
(1), devious (3), guile (1), vanish (1). depart, froward, perverseness. ...
/hebrew/3868.htm - 6k

7723. shav -- emptiness, vanity
... Or shav {shav}; from the same as show' in the sense of desolating; evil (as
destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry ...
/hebrew/7723.htm - 6k

Whether Guile is a Sin Pertaining to Craftiness?
... OF VICES OPPOSED TO PRUDENCE BY WAY OF RESEMBLANCE (EIGHT ARTICLES) Whether
guile is a sin pertaining to craftiness? Objection 1 ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether guile is a sin.htm

Maximus the Tyrant. Concerning the Occurrences Between the Empress ...
... and St. Ambrose. The Emperor Gratian was killed by Guile. Valentinian
and his Mother fled to Theodosius in Thessalonica. As the ...
/.../chapter xiii maximus the tyrant concerning.htm

Of the Things Mystically Prefigured in Esau and Jacob.
... Lest we should think this guile of Jacob's was fraudulent guile, instead of seeking
in it the mystery of a great thing, the Scripture has predicted in the ...
/.../augustine/city of god/chapter 37 of the things mystically.htm

Whether These vices Arise from Covetousness?
... vii, 6) that "Venus is full of guile and her girdle is many colored" and
that "he who is incontinent in desire acts with cunning." ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether these vices arise from.htm

Whether Hypocrisy is Contrary to the virtue of Truth?
... Objection 2: Further, all dissimulation seems to proceed from guile, wherefore
it is opposed to simplicity. Now guile is opposed ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether hypocrisy is contrary to.htm

"Every Man is a Liar," Owing to Himself Alone; but "Every Man is ...
... that are liars cannot remember her, but men of truth shall be found in her.' [1491]
Again in the Apocalypse: And in their mouth was found no guile, for they ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/anti-pelagian writings/30 every man is a.htm

Whether the Prohibitive Precepts Relating to the vices Opposed to ...
... that the Law should contain precepts forbidding the execution of craftiness, in
so far as this pertains to injustice, as when a man uses guile and fraud in ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the prohibitive precepts relating.htm

The Testament of Joseph Concerning Sobriety.
... me; in bonds, and He released me; amid slanders, and He pleaded my cause; amid bitter
words of the Egyptians, and He rescued me; amid envy and guile, and He ...
/.../xi the testament of joseph concerning.htm

On the Words of the Gospel, Luke ix. 57, Etc. , Where the Case of ...
... For if he saw himself to be a dissembler now, if he had known himself at this time
to be full of duplicity and guile, then he did not know with Whom he was ...
/.../sermons on selected lessons of the new testament/sermon l on the words.htm

(2) Whether There is in this World a Man Without Sin.
... hundred and forty and four thousand" saints, "which were not defiled with women;
for they continued virgins: and in their mouth was found no guile; for they ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 8 vii 2 whether there.htm

Guile (21 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. GUILE. gil (mirmah; dolos): "Guile" is twice the
translation of mirmah, "fraud," "deceit" (Psalm 34:13, "Keep. ...
/g/guile.htm - 15k

Subtilty (9 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) Cunning; skill; craft. 4. (n.) Slyness in design; artifice; guile; a cunning
design or artifice; a trick; subtlety. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ...
/s/subtilty.htm - 12k

Nathanael (6 Occurrences)
... Given or gift of God, one of our Lord's disciples, "of Cana in Galilee" (John
21:2). He was "an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile" (1:47, 48). ...
/n/nathanael.htm - 13k

Subtil (3 Occurrences)
... Version "subtle." Genesis 27:35, mirmah, "deceit," "fraud," "Thy brother came with
subtlety," the Revised Version (British and American) "with guile"; Psalm 105 ...
/s/subtil.htm - 10k

Subtlety (3 Occurrences)
... Version "subtle." Genesis 27:35, mirmah, "deceit," "fraud," "Thy brother came with
subtlety," the Revised Version (British and American) "with guile"; Psalm 105 ...
/s/subtlety.htm - 10k

Sincere (18 Occurrences)
... Four different words are rendered "sincere," "sincerely" "sincerity," in the New
Testament: adolos, "without guile," "unadulterated," "desire the sincere milk ...
/s/sincere.htm - 14k

Subtle (5 Occurrences)
... Version "subtle." Genesis 27:35, mirmah, "deceit," "fraud," "Thy brother came with
subtlety," the Revised Version (British and American) "with guile"; Psalm 105 ...
/s/subtle.htm - 11k

Sincerity (17 Occurrences)
... Four different words are rendered "sincere," "sincerely" "sincerity," in the New
Testament: adolos, "without guile," "unadulterated," "desire the sincere milk ...
/s/sincerity.htm - 14k

Deceit (160 Occurrences)
... 17; Proverbs 26:26 1 Thessalonians 2:3, renders a variety of words, more accurately
than the King James Version, by "oppression," "falsehood," "guile," "error ...
/d/deceit.htm - 35k

Villany (4 Occurrences)
... Acts 13:10 and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil,
thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways ...
/v/villany.htm - 9k

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