The Bible is written in poetry that name-checks
real things – grass, flowers, lost lambs. Much of it has passed into
our language. Quotes are from the
King James Version, unless otherwise specified. The KJV is a faithful
translation, and the next best thing to reading the Bible in the original
Hebrew or Greek.
a hissing and a byword Jer
25:18 Jer 25 Jer 25:17-19 “To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of
Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a
desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse.”
all things to all men Cor
9:22.'To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all
things to all men, that I might by all means save some.'
Am I my brother’s keeper? Gen
4:8-10 “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he
said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?”
an eye for an eye Matt
5:38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth.
apple of my eye Ps
17:8 Keep me as the apple of thy eye, hide me
under the shadow of thy wings.
as a lamb to the slaughter Isa 53:7 He
was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so he openeth not his mouth.
As you sow so shall you reap Gal vi. 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'
ashes to ashes, dust to dust Gen
iii 19 'Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.' And Pss. Dust and
ashes, afar v efer.
bad seed Jer
2:20-22 “Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then
art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?”
behemoth Job EXPAND
bottomless pit Rev 9:1 And
the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and
to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
bowels of compassion 1 John 3:17
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth
up his bowels of compassion from him, how
dwelleth the love of God in him? (In the ancient world, people thought
that emotions were located in different parts of the body, so it made
sense to say "my kidneys spoke to me in the middle of the night" as it does in the Psalms.)
bricks without straw Exd
5:7 Exd 5 Exd 5:6-8 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make
brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for
themselves.
broken reed Isa 36:6
Isa 36 Isa 36:5-7 “Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed,
on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and
pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.”
built
on sand Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand.
burnt offering Exd
29:18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the
LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
by the sweat of his brow Gen 3:19 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.
cast the first stone John
8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said
unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
change your spots Jer
13:23. “Can the Ethiopian change his
skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also
do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”
couldn’t tell their left hand from
their right Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that
great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and their left hand; and
[also] much cattle?
crowning glory Proverbs
16:30-32 “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be
found in the way of righteousness.” 1 Cor 11:14-16 “But if a
woman have long hair, it is a glory to her:
for her hair is given her for a covering.”
Day
One And God calleth to the light Day, and to the darkness He hath
called Night; and there is an evening, and there is a morning - Day One.
Gen 1:4-6, Young’s Literal Translation
despised and rejected Isa 53:3 He
is despised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow
we die/everything under the sun Eccl 8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath
no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that
shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him
under the sun. Luke 12:19 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.”
ends of the earth Ps 65 O
God of our salvation: who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth.
Exodus is the book of the
Bible describing the flight of the Israelites from Egypt.
fall on deaf ears Ps 58
the wicked “are like the adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to
the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.”
fat years, lean years Gen
41 tells of Pharaoh’s dream about thin and fat cattle, which Joseph interprets
as an omen of fat and lean years.
fear and trembling 2 Cor
7 And his inward
affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of
you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
Eph 6 Servants, be obedient
to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in
singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Phil 2 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling.
feet of clay Daniel
2:31-5 Daniel interprets the king’s dream of an idol “his feet part of
iron and part of clay.”
fell on stony ground/fell by the
wayside Matt 13 Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4. And when he sowed, some
seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5.
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and
forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6. And when
the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered
away.
fig leaf Gen 3:7 And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and
they sewed fig leaves together, and made
themselves aprons.
filthy lucre 1 Pe 5:2
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not
by constraint, but willingly; not for filthylucre, but of a
ready mind; (and elsewhere in Acts)
first fruits Exd
23:15-17 “And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy
labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which
is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the
field.”
flourish like a green bay tree Ps
37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green
bay tree. Book of Common Prayer:
“The ungodly man flourishes like a green bay tree."
fly in the ointment Eccl
10:1-2 “Dead flies cause the ointment of the
apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is
in reputation for wisdom and honour.”
forbidden fruit Gen
3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Genesis is the book
describing the creation of everything.
Get thee behind me, Satan Luke 4:8.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan.
gird up your loins ie do up
your belt, possibly hitching up your clothes so they don’t get in the way. Job
38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man. 1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird
up the loins of your mind, be sober.
give up the ghost Acts 12. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the
glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. Job 3:11
Why died I not from the womb? [why] did I [not] give up the ghost when I
came out of the belly?
Good Samaritan Luke
10:30/33. 'A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among
thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed,
leaving him half dead... But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where
he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,'
grind the faces of the poor Isa 3:15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the
poor?
heap coals of fire on the enemy’s
head Pro 25:22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
head, and the LORD shall reward thee. (It’s like rubbing salt into the wound.
You can do it by being very nice to your enemy and making him feel guilty, or
by being successful and making him jealous.)
heart of stone Job 41:24 His heart is ... as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
hide your light under a bushel Matt
5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a
candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
hold forth Phil
2:16 Xtns should go through the world “holding forth the word
of life.”
How are the mighty fallen! Sam
1:19. The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the
mighty fallen!
howling desert Deu 32:10
He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling
wilderness.
I wash my hands of it. Matt
27:24 Matt 27 Matt 27:23-25 When Pilate saw that he could
prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before
the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye
to it.
in all its glory Luke 12:27
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say
unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
in high places (89 references)
in the twinkling of an eye Cor
15:56. 'In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.' Used by Shakespeare in The Merchant Of Venice.
ivory tower Thy neck
is as a tower of ivory. Song of Songs 7:4
jealousy is as cruel as the grave Song of
Songs 8:5-7 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm:
for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals
thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Job’s
comforter Job's friends try to
cheer him up when he's lost everything by telling him to count his
blessings, look on the bright side, be positive etc.
jot/tittle Mat 5:18
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in
no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Yod is the smallest Hebrew letter.)
Keep to the straight and narrow/on
the straight and narrow Matt 7:14 Because strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it. (Strait also meaning narrow as in
strait-jacket. Shd really be on the strait and narrow, ie on the narrow and
narrow.)
kick against the pricks Acts 9:5 It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
kill the fatted calf Luke 15:23
And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill [it]; and
let us eat, and be merry:
lamb to the slaughter Isa
57:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he
is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
land of the living Jer
11:19 Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his
name may be no more remembered. (many other refs)
left hand doesn’t know what the
right is doing Matt 6:3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy
left hand know what thy right hand doeth.
letter, not the spirit, of the law Rom
7:5-7 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead
wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not
in the oldness of the letter.
lip service Isa
29:13 Thus people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour
me, but have removed their heart far from me.
living off the fat of the land Gen 45. And take your father and your households, and come unto me and I will give you
the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
making bricks without straw Exd
5:18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given
you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
man doesn’t live by bread alone Luke 4:4.
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God.
manna from heaven Exd 16:15
And when the children of Israel saw [it], they said one to another, It [is] manna: for they
wist not what it [was]. And Moses said unto them, This [is] the bread which the
LORD hath given you to eat.
mantle, to inherit someone’s mantle,
the mantle falls on X 2 Kings 2 describes how the Prophet Elijah was
taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot , dropping his wonder-working mantle onto
his disciple, Elisha.
marked man Gen 4:15
And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance
shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding
him should kill him.
millstone (round neck) Mat
18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me,
it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that]
he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Money is the root of all evil Timothy
6:10. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which
while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows'
move mountains, faith can move
mountains Cor 13:2: And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so
that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
My cup runneth over Ps
23:5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
no hiding place Ps 139 7 Whither shall I go
from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up
into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light
about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as
the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
no peace for the wicked (not “no
rest”) Isa 48:22 [There is] no peace, saith the
LORD, unto the wicked.
Nothing new under the sun Ecclesiastes I, 9 The
thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that
which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.
olive branch Gen 8:11
And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth
[was] an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters
were abated from off the earth.
Out of the mouths of babes and
sucklings Ps 8:2 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. Matt 21:16. And said unto him, Hearest thou what these
say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of
babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
outer darkness/wailing and gnashing
of teeth Matt 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matt
8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out
into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Matt 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him
hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 25:30
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Pass by on the other side Luke
10:30-32, the Parable of the Good Samaritan: And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and
when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
patience of Job The Book of Job is about Job's endurance of everything life can throw at him.
pearls before swine Matt
7:5-7 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend
you.
Physician, heal thyself. Luke 4:23.
And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician,
heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here
in thy country.
powers that be Rom 13:1 The
powers that be are ordained by God.
promised land Exd
12:25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the
LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye
shall keep this service.
prop and stay Isa 3:1 For, behold,
the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the
stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water...
put
not your trust in princes Ps 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, [nor] in the son of man, in whom [there is] no help. Quoted in The Duchess of Malfi.
put your house in order Isa 38:1 In those days
was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isa the prophet the son of Amoz came unto
him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt
die, and not live.
reap the whirlwind Hosea
“They have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
root and branch Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that
cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them
neither root nor branch.
salt of the earth Matt
5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have
lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for
nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
scapegoat Leviticus
26, 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be
presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him
go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
scattered to the four winds
Zech 2:6 "Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north," declares
the LORD, "for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,"
declares the LORD.
separate the sheep from the goats Matt
25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the
left.
shake the dust from your feet Matt
10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you
depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
shibboleth Judges
12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he
said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took
him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan.
sign of the times Matt
16:2-4 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is
red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can
ye not discern the signs of the times?
skin of my teeth Job 19, 20 My bone
cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my
teeth.
sour grapes/set your teeth on edge Ezek
18:2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of
Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children's teeth are set on edge?
stumbling block Lev
19:13 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the
blind.
swords into ploughshares Isa 2 They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears
into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more
take name in vain Exd 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in
vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that
taketh his name in vain.
tender mercies Ps 51:1
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the
multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions.
tender plant Isa 53:2
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a
root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see
him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him.
the scales fell from (his) eyes Acts 9 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been
scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
the sins of the fathers are visited
on the children Exd 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth [generation] of them that hate me;
The spirit is willing but the flesh
is weak. Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed
[is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.
their name is legion Mar 5:9
And he asked him, What [is] thy name? And he answered,
saying, My name [is] Legion: for we
are many.
thorn in the flesh Cor
12:7. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me...
troubled waters John
5:3-5 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled
the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in
was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
turn and rend you Mat 7:6
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Turn the other cheek. Mat 5:39
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
under someone's wing Ps 17:8
Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the
shadow of thy wings
uttermost ends of the earth
"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Psalms 2:8
watches of the night Ps 119:148
Mine eyes prevent the [night] watches, that I
might meditate in thy word.
way of all flesh Gen 6:12
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth.
wheels within wheels Eze 1:16
The appearance of the wheels and their work [was] like unto the
colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and
their work [was] as it were a wheel
in the middle of a wheel.
whited sepulchre Mat 23:27
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited
sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of
dead [men's] bones, and of all uncleanness.
widow’s mite Mar 12:42
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two
mites, which make a farthing.
winds of heaven (seven
references) Daniel 7:2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and
there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.
wits’ end Psalm 107 They reel to and fro, and stagger
like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
writing on the wall/weighed in the
balance and found wanting Daniel 5:5 “In the same hour came forth
fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the
plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the
hand that wrote...25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE,
TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath
numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the
balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to
the Medes and Persians.”
Bible phrases
