Timeless Wisdom: Common Sayings from the Bible

Ask your friends: In which book of the Bible can each of the famous sayings below be found?

Do you sometimes quote the Bible without being aware of it? The English language is salted, as are other languages, with scores of biblical phrases and proverbs. Listed below are 120 of them.

To be sure, "Cleanliness is next to godliness" is not of biblical origin, nor is "God helps those who help themselves." That particular one is from Poor Richard's Almanac, produced by the early American political figure Benjamin Franklin.

Here are oft-used English phrases with the scripture reference from which they come. These sayings were originally written in the period from more than a thousand years BC to the First Century AD.

  1. "A fool and his money are soon parted" -- Proverbs 21:20
  2. "A law unto themselves" -- Romans 2:14
  3. "A little bird told me" -- Ecclesiastes 10:20
  4. "A house divided against itself cannot stand" -- Matthew 12:25, Luke 11:17 (quoted by Abraham link in an 1858 speech on the eve of the American Civil War)
  5. "A man after his own heart" -- 1 Samuel 13:14
  6. "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town" -- Matthew 13:57
  7. "A soft answer turns away wrath" -- Proverbs 15:1
  8. "A still, small voice" -- 1 Kings 19:1
  9. "A time to every purpose under heaven" -- Ecclesiastes 3:1
  10. "A voice crying in the wilderness" -- John 1:23
  11. "All things to all men" -- 1 Corinthians 9:22
  12. "All things work together for good" -- Romans 8:28
  13. "Am I my brother's keeper?" -- Genesis 4:9
  14. "An eye for an eye" -- Exodus 21:24
  15. "Apple of my eye" -- Deuteronomy 2:10, Zechariah 2:8, indicating something or someone cherished or loved dearly
  16. "As old as the hills" -- Job 15:7
  17. "At my wit's end" -- Psalm 107:27
  18. "At the eleventh hour" -- from older English translations of Matthew 20:6
  19. "Be fruitful and multiply" -- Genesis 1:28
  20. "Be sure your sin will find you out" -- Numbers 32:23
  21. "Beat swords into plowshares" -- Isaiah 2:4
  22. "Bite the dust" -- Psalm 72:9
  23. "Blind leading the blind" Matthew 15:14, Luke 6:39
  24. "By the skin of our teeth" Job 19:20, meaning to narrowly escape danger or trouble
  25. "Can a leopard change his spots?" Jeremiah 13:23
  26. "Do not be unequally yoked." -- 2 Corinthians 6:14
  27. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The "golden rule" refers to the same verse. -- Matthew 7:12
  28. "Don't cast your pearls before swine" -- Matthew 7:6
  29. "Don't let the sun go down on your anger" -- Ephesians 4:26
  30. "Doubting Thomas" -- based 0John 20:24-29
  31. "Drop in the bucket" -- Isaiah 40:15m meaning a very small amount in comparison to a larger whole
  32. "Dust of the earth" -- Genesis 13:16
  33. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" -- Ecclesiastes 8:15, often used to encourage enjoyment of life's pleasures
  34. "Everything is possible for one who believes" -- Mark 9:23
  35. "Eye for an eye" -- Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21 Matthew 5:38
  36. "Fall from grace" -- Galatians 5:4
  37. "False prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing" -- Matthew 24:24, Mark 13:22
  38. "Feet of clay" -- Daniel 2:33
  39. "Fell on rocky ground" -- Matthew 13:5
  40. "Fight the good faith" -- 1 Timothy 6:12
  41. "For everything, there is a season" -- Ecclesiastes 3:1
  42. "Forbidden fruit" -- based on Genesis 2:16-17
  43. "From strength to strength" -- Psalm 84:7
  44. "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's" -- Matthew22:21
  45. "Go the second mile" -- Matthew 5:41
  46. "Golden calf" -- Exodus 32
  47. "Good Samaritan" -- Luke 10:25-37, referring to someone who helps others selflessly
  48. "Hammer swords into plowshares" -- Isaiah 2:4
  49. "He gave up the ghost" -- older transwlations of Luke 23:46
  50. "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone" -- John 8:7
  51. "Handwriting on the wall" -- Daniel 5:5
  52. "How are the mighty fallen" -- 1 Samuel 1:19-27
  53. "Labor of love" -- 1 Thessalonians 1:3
  54. "Lamb to the slaughter" -- Isaiah 53:7
  55. "Land of milk and honey" -- Exodus 3:8
  56. "Lay up treasures in Heaven" -- Matthew 6:20
  57. "Let my people go" -- Exodus 5:1
  58. "Let not your heart be troubled" -- John 14:1
  59. "Let the dead bury the dead" - Matthew 8:22
  60. "Let there be light" -- Genesis 1:3
  61. "Letter of the law" -- 2 Corinthians 3:6
  62. "Love covers a multitude of sins" -- 1 Peter 4:8
  63. "Love thy neighbor" -- Leviticus19:18
  64. "Many are called, but few are chosen" -- Matthew 22:14
  65. "Man shall not live by bread alone" -- Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4
  66. "More blessed to give than to receive" -- Acts 20:35
  67. "My brother's keeper" -- Genesis 4:9
  68. "My cup runneth over" -- Psalm 23:5
  69. "No man can serve two masters" -- Matthew 6:24
  70. "No peace for the wicked" -- Isaiah 48:22, Isaiah 57:21
  71. "No rest for the wicked" -- Isaiah 48:22
  72. "Noting new under the sun" -- Ecclesiastes 1:9
  73. "One dead fly makes the perfumer's ointment give off a rancid stench" -- Ecclesiastes 10:1
  74. "Out of the mouths of babes" -- Psalm 8:2
  75. "Peace offering -- Deuteronomy 2:26
  76. "Powers that be" -- Romans 13:1
  77. "Pride goes before a fall" -- Proverbs 16:19, cautioning against arrogance leading to failure
  78. "Put the words in her mouth" -- 2 Samuel 14:3
  79. "Put your house in order" -- 2 Kings 20:1, Isaiah 38:1
  80. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning" -- based on Matthew 16:2
  81. "Rise up and shine" -- Isaiah 60:1
  82. "Salt of the earth" -- Matthew 5:13, referring to people who are considered good, dependable, and honest.
  83. "Scapegoat" -- Leviticus 16:8
  84. "See eye to eye" -- Isaiah 52:8
  85. "Signs of the times" -- Matthew 16:3
  86. "Soft answer turns away wrath" -- Proverbs 15:1
  87. "Sow the wind; reap the whirlwind" -- Hosea 8:7
  88. "Spare the rod, spoil the child" -- Proverbs 13:243
  89. "Stood by the stuff" (a reference to troops that guarded supplies) -- 1 Samuel 25:13, 30:24)
  90. "Suffer fools gladly" -- 2 Corinthians 11:19
  91. "Sweat of your brow" -- Genesis 3:19
  92. "The blind leading the blind" -- Matthew 15:14
  93. "The bread of life" -- John 6:35
  94. "The ends of the earth" -- Isaiah 45:2, Acts 1:8
  95. "The love of money is the root of all evil" (frequently misquoted as "money is the root of all evil") -- 1 Timothy 6:10
  96. "The meek shall inherit the earth" -- Matthew 5:5
  97. "The patience of Job" -- Jasmes 5:1
  98. "The root of the trouble" -- Job 19:28
  99. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" -- Matthew 26:41
  100. "The straight and narrow" -- Mattrhew 7:14
  101. "The truth shall make you free" -- John 8:32 (engraved on the wall of the original CIA headquarters building in Washington, DC)
  102. "The writing is on the wall" -- Daniel 5, referring to a premonition or a sign of imminent danger or failure
  103. "Thorn in the flesh" -- 2 Corinthians 12:7
  104. "To everything, there is a season" Ecclesiastes 3:1
  105. "Turn the other cheek" -- Matthew 5:39, advising patience and non-retaliation when faced with insult or injury.
  106. "Twinkling of an eye" -- 1 Corinthians 15:52
  107. "Two are better than one" -- Ecclesiastes 4:9
  108. "Vanity of vanities" - Ecclesiastes 1:2
  109. "Wages of sin" -- Romans 6:23
  110. "Wars and rumors of wars" -- Matthew 24:26, Mark 13:7
  111. "Weighed in the balances and found wanting" -- Daniel 5:5
  112. "What God has joined together, let no one separate" -- Marak 10:9
  113. "What is truth?" -- John 18:38
  114. "Where there is a will, there is a way" -- Proverbs 16:9
  115. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" -- Proverbs 29:18
  116. "White as snow" -- Isaiah 1:18
  117. "Woe is me" -- Isahah 6:5
  118. "Wolf in sheep's clothing" -- Matthew 7:15
  119. "You reap what you sow" -- Galatians 6:7
  120. "You will know them by their fruits" -- Matthew 7:20

Can you think of other things that could or should be on this page? If so, drop me an email, and I'll add them.

    -- compiled by Howard Culbertson,

What is the Bible?

The Bible is a collection of sacred texts or documents. It is composed of two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

In summary, this historical and literary work called the Bible is considered by believers to be inspired by God. They consider it to be their guide for faith and practice. It is a complex work with themes of faith, love, forgiveness, redemption, and the relationship between humanity and the divine. It has transformed the lives of individuals and influenced cultures, literature, law, and moral philosophies for centuries.

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