Everyday Sayings From the Bible

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An Astonishing Number Of Everyday Expressions Come From The Bible

Of course you know the well known ones An Eye for an Eye and Turn the Other Cheek but did you know that Sign of the times or Twinkling of an eye or Drop in the Bucket and many other apparently modern phrases also originate from the Bible?

This isn't surprising because until recent times the Bible was likely to be the only book to be found in the average home so generations of authors were knowingly or unknowingly were taught by or inspired by the world's greatest book. The King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is an acknowledged literary masterpiece. We have also had a great deal of the Bible read aloud to us , in church, at school and elsewhere.

But what surprised me when researching my lens The Bible in Facts and Figures was how many not-overtly religious phrases and expressions originate from the Bible see below for a never-ending list.


If you are looking for a Saying from The Bible well you've come to right place : Seek and Ye Shall Find!

Common Sayings from the Bible 

  • Nothing but skin and bones

    Job 19:19-20 All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me. I am nothing but skin and bones Job 19:19-20
  • I escaped by the skin of my teeth

    All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me. I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.
    Job 19:19-20
  • There's a time and a place for everything

    There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
    Eccl 3:1
  • Going the extra mile

    If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
    Matthew 5:41
  • United we stand, "divided we fall"

    Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand".
    Matthew 12:25
  • Scapegoat

    Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat. Leviticus 16:9-10

Apparently Modern Expressions from the Bible 

Expressions that you might have thought came from Shakespeare or more recent authors
  1. Twinkling of an eye

    We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 1 Corinthians 15
  2. A man after his own heart

    But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart 1 Samuel 13:14
  3. Drop in the bucket

    Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket Drop in the bucket

Even More Sayings from the Bible 

  • A little bird told me

    Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. Matthew 16:23
  • stumbling block

    Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.
    Matthew 16:23
  • Gentle answer turns away wrath

    A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
    Proverbs 15:1 1

    Defuse someone's anger with a considered answer, almost always the best policy
  • Time to be born and a time to die

    here is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- 2* A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

    This is also quoted in the film Blade Runner
  • Rise and shine

    "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
    Isaiah 60:1
  • Spare the rod, spoil the child

    He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. Prov 13:24

    (Note this is sometimes misread to mean that you cannot harm a child by beating him no matter how hard and has actually led to deaths)
  • A leopard cannot change its spots

    Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil Jeremiah 13:23
  • Pride comes before a fall

    Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
  • Every day is miserable for the depressed, but a lighthearted man has a continual feast

    All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

    Proverbs 15:15
  • By the sweat of your brow

    In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return
    Gen 3:19
  • Out of the mouths of babes

    Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger Psalm 8:2

More Biblical Study Lenses 

Where'd That Come From? 

Have you ever wondered where phrases like "the skin of my teeth" or "two heads are better than one" came from? Well, they are actually straight out of the Bible. Many common phrases in the English language have direct or close relations to verses in the Bible. Steven McCalip's book Where'd That Come From? describes each phrase's original context and usage in an educational and exciting way

Where'd That Come From?

Steven McCalip has compiled over five hundred of these phrases in Where'd That Come From? - Everyday Expressions Found in the Bible. Each expression is highlighted in the Scripture where it's found, and each expression's meaning (when not obvious) is discussed, along with additional biblical insights.

Highlights include:

* Over five hundred widely-used biblical expressions
* Biblical phrases used in movie and TV titles
* Biblical terms found in song titles

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 12/21/2009) Buy Now

Popular Sayings That Come From The Bible 

  • Eat Drink and Be Merry

    And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry

    Luke 12:19
  • The blind leading the blind

    Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch

    Matthew 15:14
  • Straight and narrow

    Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

    Matthew 7:14
  • It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God

    Matt. 19:24

    This one must have made the Pious Rich squirm throughout the ages!
  • No man is a prophet in his own town

    Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house." He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them. He marveled because of their unbelief.

    Mark 6:1-6
  • Head on a Platter

    This refers to the unfortunate John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou forthwith give me on a platter the head of John the Baptist

    Mark 6:25
  • Tearing Your Hair Out

    This news made me so angry that I ripped my clothes and tore hair from my head and beard. Then I just sat in shock

    Ezra 9:3

Reference Books on the Bible 

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 12/21/2009) Buy Now

The Apologetics Study Bible: Understand Why You Believe

Amazon Price: $26.39 (as of 12/21/2009) Buy Now

Bible Quotes 

Biblical Quotes

From the Old to the New Testament, Bible quotes appeal to persons of all faiths. Many Bible quotes have become so common that most people no longer associate them with the Bible. Whether in old or modern English, Biblical quotes offer easily understood words of wisdom.

Versions of the Bible 

The most popular Bible versions (there have been many more)

1. KJV - King James Bible (1611)
2. RSV - Revised Standard Version (1952)
3. NEB - New English Bible (1970)
4. GNB - Good News Bible (Today's English Version) (1976)
5. NIV - New International Version (1978)
6. NRSV - New Revised Standard Version (1990)
7. The Message (1993) By Eugene Peterson
8. CEV - Contemporary English Version (1995)
8a. New American Standard Bible
9. NIRV - New International Reader's Version (1996)
10. ESV - English Standard Version (2001)

The Book: A History of the Bible

Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/21/2009) Buy Now

Dangerous or Misinterpreted Biblical Expressions 

Both of the following have been misinterpreted by over the zealous:-

You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. Because he loves me, says the LORD, I will rescue him
Psalm 91:11-16, NIV

This does not mean that you can enter the Lion's Den at the Zoo (you will have read about such cases in the papers)

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child
Prov 23:13: "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

This too does not mean that you cannot harm a child however much you beat him

The World's Most Dangerous Book

Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 12/21/2009) Buy Now

More Sayings from the Bible 

  1. He sold his birthright for a mess of pottage

    Genesis 25:31-34
  2. A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult

    Proverbs 12:16
  3. Pride comes before a fall

    Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

    Proverbs 16:18
  4. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

    John 8:32
  5. Let he who has never sinned cast the first stone.

    John 8:7

    One of the most beautiful quotes in the Bible and one we should all remember!
  6. Apple of his Eye

    In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye

    Appears twice

    Deuteronomy 32:10

    Zechariah 2:8
  7. Can the Leopard Change his Spots

    Jeremiah 13:23
  8. East of Eden

    So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

    Genesis 4:16
  9. A man after his own heart

    But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command.

    1 Samuel 13:14
  10. Filthy Lucre

    Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous (phrase occurs in two other verses)

    1 Timothy 3:3
  11. Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we will die

    Isaiah 22:13
  12. I'll pin him to the wall

    The next day an evil [a] spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall" But David eluded him twice

    1Sam 18:10-11
  13. Stranger in a strange land
    And Moses was content to dwell with the man and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land

    Exodus 2: 21-22
  14. Flesh Pots

    Flesh Pots in the Bible literally means "pots of meat" it is today used as a simile for "luxurious living"

    And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

    EXOD 16:3
  15. Quo Vadis

    Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."

    Quo vadis? is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?"

    john 13:36
  16. Envy and wrath shorten the life

    Envy and wrath shorten the life, and carefulness bringeth age before the time.
    Ecclesiasticus 30:24
  17. Seek and Ye Shall Find

    Matthew 7:7
  18. A law unto himself
    Cannot locate this at present

Bet You Didn't Know That Came from The Bible! 

  1. At my wit's end

    They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end.

    Psalm 107:27
  2. Listen to advice and accept correction, then in the end you will be wise.

    Proverbs 19:20
  3. You Don't Know the Half of It

    When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon.
    Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard

    1 Kings 10: 7
  4. Nothing new under the sun

    What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun

    ECC 1:9
  5. Writing On the Wall

    In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote

    Daniel 5:5
  6. Knees Knocking Together

    Then the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together

    Daniel 5:6
  7. United We Stand, Divided We Fall

    And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: Matthew 12:25

Inspirational Sayings from The Bible 

Motivational Expersions from the Bible

Once again this concentrates on sayings that you may not realize originate from the bible
  1. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding.

    Proverbs, 4. 7
  2. Wisdom is better than rubies.

    Proverbs, 8. 11.
  3. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

    Proverbs, 17. 22
  4. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.
    Proverbs, 22. 1
  5. Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from it.

    Proverbs, 22. 6

Sayings People Incorrectly Think Came from The Bible 

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

Apparently of Hebrew origins but not from The Bible

The Sayings Often Used in Sermons 

The ones people know come from the Bible

I've decided that I've got to include the known phrases as well for completeness, see the list below:-
  1. A thorn in the flesh

    To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. St Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7
  2. A voice crying in the Wilderness

    The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

    Isaiah 40:3 also Matthew 4:1-11
  3. Turn the Other Cheek

    If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also!

    This is one of the statements from Jesus which was a revolutionary change from previous religions and existing cultures

    Matthew 5:39 and Luke 6:29
  4. No man can serve two masters

    No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon

    Matthew 6:24
  5. Reap What You Sow

    Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows
    Galatians 6:7
  6. Thou Shalt Love thy Neighbor as Thyself

    Matthew 22:39 and in many other passages
  7. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

    Matthew 7:3
  8. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me

    Philippians 4:13
  9. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

    Matthew 19:6

What's Your Favorite Biblical Expression? 

Which one didn't you guess came from the Bible?

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Saying still to Add 

Quo Vadis
Rain on the Just and the Unjust
I am Alpha and Omega
Armageddon
The Root of all evil
Cast the first stone
Filthy Lucre
Fight the Good Fight
The weaker Vessel
A thorn in the flesh
Fallen from Grace
Cast the First Stone
Through a Glass Darkly
Beat their Swords into Plowshares
Get Thee Behind me Satan
Can the Leopard Change his Spots

Turn the Other Cheek
Set thine house in order
Be fruitful and multiply
A mess of pottage
east of Eden
The Mark of Cain
As old as Methuselah
Sold his Birthright
The fat of the land
Stranger in a strange land
A land flowing with Milk and Honey
flesh Pots
An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth
Be sure your sin will find you out
The Apple of his eye
Out of the strong came the sweetness
How are the mighty fallen
The price of wisdom is above rubies
let us eat and drink for tomorrow we will die
A voice crying in the Wilderness

they have sown the wind they shall reap the whirlwind
no peace for the wicked
a law unto himself

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