through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron;
... to answer, respond; to act a part upon the stage; hence to assume a counterfeit character; to pretend, feign, Luke 20:20 .... The form used here means a response, answer; histrionic personification, acting, hypocrisy, simulation, Matthew 23:28; Mark 12:15, et al (417).