Truth

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Ever wonder what that means and why there are three parts to this simple oath?  Let's take a look at it - broken down.

Do you swear to tell the 'truth' - that's pretty easy to understand. It means you won't lie.

Do you swear to tell the 'whole truth' - what this means is; it's considered lying if you don't tell the whole truth.  Leaving facts and details out of whatever you're saying in order to mislead or that might cause the listener to misunderstand is not being truthful.

Do you swear to tell 'nothing but the truth' - this means basically the same as above, but adds that; it's considered lying if you color your truthful statement with untrue facts that might cause the listener to be misled.

Fact is: If you do don't tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when you tell a listener something - "you are a liar".