DEUT1303 (Continued from [[LEV520]] Leviticus 19:16 talebearer BLOCH 76) Modern law recognizes the principle of confidentiality in relationships between clergymen and parishioners and attorneys and their clients. The law occasionally imposes secrecy and individuals who have access too sensitive information. Secrecy may also be self-imposed by contractual commitment. However, in most instances a breach of confidence constitutes an ethical rather than a legal violation. Judaism condemns breaches of confidence on several grounds. A person who agrees to a request for secrecy but never intends to honor his agreement brands himself a liar as soon as he proceeds to make a disclosure. According to the Bible: "Lying lips are an abomination of the Lord" (Proverbs 12:22). A person who was originally sincere in his acceptance of a pledge of secrecy but later changes his mind may not be a liar in the strict sense of the word, but he is guilty of unethical conduct. A breach of promise is a violation of the spirit of the biblical injunction: "That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe and do" [this verse]. The Talmud holds that a breach of promise is as serious an offense as idolatry (Sanhedrin 92a).