Every Day Expressions from the Bible
by Michael J. Penfold
English speaking people around the world quote the Bible millions of times daily without realising it. How come? Because previous generations, who knew their Bibles better, made dozens of biblical expressions part of their every day lives, and it stuck.
Here are some of the most well-known ones, in alphabetical order:
A
All things to all men (1 Corinthians 9.22)
Am I my brother’s keeper? (Genesis 4.9)
Apple of my eye (Deuteronomy 32.10)
Armageddon (Revelation 16.16)
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust (Genesis 3.19)
B
Bag with holes (Haggai 1.6)
Bald as an eagle (Micah 1.16)
Baptism of fire (Matthew 3.11)
Beware of the dog (Philippians 3.2)
Blind leading the blind (Matthew 15.13-14)
Building his castles on the sand (Matthew 7.26)
By the skin of your teeth (Job 19.20)
By the sweat of your brow (Genesis 3.19)
C
Casting pearls before swine (Matthew 7.6)
Cast the first stone (John 8.7)
Cross to bear (Matthew 16.24)
D
Damascus Road conversion (Acts 9.1-9)
Drop in a bucket (Isaiah 40.15)
E
Eat, drink, and be merry (Ecclesiastes 8.15)
Eleventh hour (Matthew 20.6)
Ends of the earth (Zechariah 9.10)
Eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth (Exodus 21.23-25)
F
Fall by the wayside (Matthew 13.4)
Fall from grace (Galatians 5.4)
Fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6.12)
Feet of clay (Daniel 2.31-33)
Fire and brimstone (Genesis 19.24)
Flesh and blood (Ephesians 6.12)
Fly in the ointment (Ecclesiastes 10.1)
Forbidden fruit (Genesis 2.16-17)
Four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11.12)
G
Give up the ghost (Luke 23.46)
Good Samaritan (Luke 10.30-37)
Go the extra mile (Matthew 5.41)
H
He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword (Matthew 26.52)
Holier than thou (Isaiah 65.5)
House divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12.25)
How are the mighty fallen (2 Samuel 1.25)
L
Labour of love (1 Thessalonians 1.3)
Land of milk and honey (Exodus 3.8)
Law unto themselves (Romans 2.14)
Leopard can’t change his spots (Jeremiah 13.23)
Let there be light (Genesis 1.3)
Letter of the law (2 Corinthians 3.6)
Led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53.7)
Little bird told me (Ecclesiastes 10.20)
Love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6.10)
M
Make a name for yourself (Genesis 11.4)
Man after my own heart (1 Samuel 13.14)
Man shall not live by bread alone (Matthew 4.4)
Millstone around your neck (Matthew 18.6)
Move mountains (Matthew 17.20)
N
No rest for the wicked (Isaiah 57.21)
Nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1.9)
O
O ye of little faith (Luke 12.28)
Old as Methusaleh (Genesis 5.25-27)
P
Parted like the Red Sea (Exodus 14.21)
Pass by on the other side (Luke 10.31)
Powers that be (Romans 13.11)
Pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16.18)
Problems are legion (Mark 5.9)
Put away childish things (1 Corinthians 13.11)
Put words in my mouth (2 Samuel 14.3)
Put your house in order (2 Kings 20:1)
R
Rain of biblical proportions (Genesis 7.11-12)
Reap what you sow (Galatians 6.7)
Rise and shine (Isaiah 60.1)
Root of the matter (Job 19.28)
Rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 2.27)
S
Sackcloth and ashes (Jonah 3.6)
Salt of the earth (Matthew 5.13)
Scapegoat (Leviticus 16.10)
See eye to eye (Isaiah 52.8)
See through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13.12)
Shibboleth (Judges 12.6)
Sign of the times (Matthew 16.3)
Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18.2)
Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8.7)
Spare the rod, spoil the child (Proverbs 13.24)
Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26.41)
Straight and narrow (Matthew 7.14)
T
Thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12.7)
Truth will set you free (John 8.32)
W
Wages of sin (Romans 6.23)
Wash your hands of the matter (Matthew 27.24)
Weak as water (Ezekiel 7.17)
Weighed in the balances (Daniel 5.27)
Wheels within wheels (Ezekiel 1.10)
Wits’ end corner (Psalm 107.27)
Wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7.15)
Writing is on the wall (Daniel 5.5-6)
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