The meaning of the ninth commandment is typically flattened from "You shall not bear false witness"—which is an issue that pertains to the courts and their ability prosecute evil among the nation—to a general piece of advice that all people should tell the truth. But flattening it like that causes us to miss some of the power that this commandment has for shaping a whole nation of people into a society that values truth, life, equality, and goodness for all people within it.