Deceit (1388) (dolos which is derived from dello meaning to bait) literally refers to a fishhook, trap, or trick all of which are various forms of deception. Dolos is a deliberate attempt to mislead, trick, snare or "bait" (baiting the trap in attempt to "catch" the unwary victim) other people by telling lies. It is a desire to gain advantage or preserve position by deceiving others. A modern term in advertising is called "bait and switch" where the unwary consumer is lured in by what looks like an price too good to be true! Dolos is used 36 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ge 27:35; 34:13; Exod. 21:14; Lev. 19:16; Deut. 27:24; 2 Ki. 9:23; Job 13:7, 16; 15:35; 31:5; Ps. 10:7; 24:4; 32:2; 34:13; 35:20; 36:3; 52:2; 55:11; Prov. 10:10; 12:5, 20; 16:28; 26:23f, 26; Isa. 9:5; 53:9; Jer. 5:27; 9:6; Ezek. 35:5; Dan. 8:25; 11:23; Mic. 6:11; Zeph. 1:9) and 9 times in the NT... Matthew 26:4 and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth, and kill Him. Mark 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, Mark 14:1 Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread was two days off; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth, and kill Him; John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Acts 13:10 and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Romans 1:29 (note) being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 2 Corinthians 12:16 But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I took you in by deceit. 1 Thessalonians 2:3 (note) For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; 1 Peter 2:1 (note) Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 1 Peter 3:10 (note) For, "Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. The related verb dolioo (1387) is used in Romans 3:13 where Paul indicts all mankind writing that THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS. Larry Richards explains that dolos... picks up the metaphor from hunting and fishing. Deceit is an attempt to trap or to trick and thus involves treachery...Deception sometimes comes from within, as our desires impel us to deceive. But more often in the NT, deceit is error urged by external evil powers or by those locked into the world's way of thinking. (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency) Barclay writes that... We best get the meaning of this from the corresponding verb (doloun). Doloun has two characteristic usages. It is used of debasing precious metals and of adulterating wines. Dolos is deceit; it describes the quality of the man who has a tortuous and a twisted mind, who cannot act in a straightforward way, who stoops to devious and underhand methods to get his own way, who never does anything except with some kind of ulterior motive. It describes the crafty cunning of the plotting intriguer who is found in every community and every society." (Daily Study Bible - Romans 1 Commentary - Online) In another writing Barclay explains that dolos can be translated "guile" and that "It comes from a word which means bait; it is used for trickery and deceit. It is used for instance of a mousetrap. When the Greeks were besieging Troy and could not gain entry, they sent the Trojans the present of a great wooden horse, as if it was a token of good will. The Trojans opened their gates and took it in. But the horse was filled with Greeks who in the night broke out and dealt death and devastation to Troy. That exactly is dolos. It is crafty, cunning, deceitful, clever treachery. Dolos is the trickery of the man who is out to deceive others to attain his own ends, the vice of the man whose motives are never pure. (Daily Study Bible - Mark Commentary Online) DECEIT (Naves) Is a lie, Ps 119:118. The tongue an instrument of, Ro 3:13. Comes from the heart, Mark 7:22. Characteristic of the heart, Jer 17:9. God abhors, Ps 5:6. Forbidden, Pr. 24:28; 1Pe 3:10. Christ was perfectly free from, Is 53:9, with 1Pet. 2:22. Saints free from, Ps 24:4; Zeph 3:13; Re 14:5; purpose against, Job 27:4; avoid, Job 31:5; shun those addicted to, Ps 101:7; pray for deliverance from those who use, Ps 43:1; 120:2; delivered from those who use, Ps 72:14; should beware of those who teach, Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:8; should lay aside, in seeking truth, 1Pe 2:1. Ministers should lay aside, 2Co 4:2; 1Th. 2:3. The wicked are full of, Ro 1:29; devise, Ps. 35:20; 38:12; Pr. 12:5; utter, Psa. 10:7; 36:3; work, Pr. 11:18; increase in, 2Ti 3:13; use, to each other, Je 9:5; use, to themselves, Je 37:9; Obad. 3, 7; delight in, Pr 20:17. False teachers are workers of, 2Co 11:13; preach, Je 14:14; 23:26; impose on others by, Ro 16:18; Eph. 4:14; reveling in deceit, 2Pe 2:13. Hypocrites devise, Job 15:35. Hypocrites practice, Ho 11:12. False witnesses use, Pr. 12:17. A characteristic of antichrist, 2Jn 7. Characteristic of the apostasy, 2Th. 2:10. Evil of: hinders knowledge of God, Je 9:6. Keeps from turning to God, Je 8:5. Leads to pride and oppression, Je 5:27, 28; to lying, Pr 14:25. Often accompanied by fraud and injustice, Ps 10:7; 43:1. Hatred often concealed by, Pr 26:24, 25, 26. The folly of fools is, Pr. 14:8. The kisses of an enemy are, Pr. 27:6. Blessedness of being free from, Ps 24:4, 5; 32:2. Punishment of, Ps 55:23; Je 9:7, 8, 9 DECEIT [ISBE] - de-set' (mirmah; dolos): The intentional misleading or beguiling of another; in Scripture represented as a companion of many other forms of wickedness, as cursing (Ps 10:7), hatred (Pr 26:24), theft, covetousness, adultery, murder (Mk 7:22; Ro1:29). The Revised Version (British and American) introduces the word in Pr 14:25; 2Th 2:10; but in such passages as Ps 55:11; Pr 20:17; 26:26; 1Th 2:3, renders a variety of words, more accurately than the King James Version, by "oppression," "falsehood," "guile," "error."