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In Acts 5:4 Peter says "...thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."

Is there a name for when one says a true fact is false in order to emphasize a more important truth?

It is true Ananias lied unto men, but what was more important is that he lied to God.

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  • It sounds a lot like hyperbole to me.
    – Lambie
    Commented Oct 19 at 17:05
  • It may be some form of hyperbole. I just wondered if there was a specific term for saying something true was false to make the point or add the emphasis in that way.
    – Joey
    Commented Oct 20 at 3:49
  • Google told me Acts 5:4 in NIV, anyway, says "...You have not lied just to human beings but to God". That's a hugely different meaning which seems to me to demand an explanation for your version…
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Commented Oct 22 at 21:33
  • @RobbieGoodwin In this case, the KJV (quoted by the OP) follows the Greek wording closely: οὐκ ἐψεύσω ἀνθρώποις ἀλλὰ τῷ θεῷ. The NIV translators probably thought the wording was confusing (since, as pointed out, it is not true if taken over-literally), so they added the word "just" to clarify it.
    – DLosc
    Commented Oct 22 at 23:11
  • Thanks DLosc and then what? Are you saying NIV guys were right, or KJV was fine and NIV interfered without need?
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Commented Oct 22 at 23:21

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