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gı̄l (מרמה, mirmaÌ„h; δοÌλος, doÌlos): “Guile†is twice the translation of mirmaÌ„h, “fraud,†“deceit†(, “Keep ... thy lips from speaking guileâ€; , “deceit and guile,†the Revised Version (British and American) “oppression (margin “fraudâ€) and guileâ€); once of ‛ormaÌ„h, “craftiness,†“guile†(); once of remı̄yaÌ„h, “deception,†“fraud†(, “in whose spirit there is no guileâ€); in the New Testament of dolos, “bait,†hence, generally, “fraud,†“guile,†“deceitâ€; Septuagint for mirmaÌ„h (, English Versions of the Bible “deceitâ€) and for remı̄yaÌ„h (, English Versions of the Bible “deceitfullyâ€; ; , “Being crafty, I caught you with guileâ€; ; ; ; , quoted from ; , “In their mouth was found no guile,†the Revised Version (British and American) after corrected text, “no lieâ€).
Paul's words in 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 (; , etc.; The Wisdom of Solomon 1:5 “A holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit†(dolos), the Revised Version (British and American) “A holy spiritâ€). “Guile†does not appear in Apocrypha; dolos is frequently rendered “deceit.â€
The Revised Version (British and American) has “guile†for “subtilty†(; ); “cover itself with guile†for “is covered by deceit†(); “with guile†for “deceitfully†(); “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 ; ); “guileless†for “harmless†().