Over 130 English Sayings from the Bible

Bill Brown .... Xiamen University

This list is extracted from my post, "My Favorite Book, Movie and Song" (from a 30 minute interview with a Beijing radio station). Please send more!

Over 130 English Phrases from the Bible still used today include:
The apple of my eye Deut. 32:10
A housed divided cannot stand Luke 11:17
The eleventh hour Matthew 20:1
Fly in the ointment (Eccl. 10:1
Cast the first stone John 8:7
At my wit's end Psalm 107:27
A man after his own heart 1 Samuel 13:14
Can a leopard change his spots? Jeremiah 13:23
By the skin of our teeth Job 19:20
Don't cast your pearls before swine Matthew 7:6
Drop in the bucket Isaiah 40:15
Blind leading the blind Matthew 15:14
Dust of the earth Genesis 13:16
Raising Cain adapted from 1 John 3:12
Thorn in the flesh 2 Corinthians 12:7
Oh, ye of little faith Matthew 6:40, Luke 12:28
Where there is no vision, the people perish Proverbs 29:18
Eye for an eye Exodus 21:24 Matthew 5:38
The powers that be. Romans 13:1
Eat, drink, and be merry Ecclesiastes 8:15
Fall on rocky ground Matthew 13:5
Fall from grace Galatians 5:4
Keeping your head 2 Tim. 4:5
Scattered to the four winds Jeremiah 49:36
My cup runneth over Psalm 23:5
False prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing Mark 13:22
Golden calf Exodus 32
Written in stone. Rev. 2:17
The root of the matter. Job. 19:28
Straight from the horse's mouth. Numbers 22:28
Physician heal thyself Luke 4:23
Like mother, like daughter Ezekiel 16:44
Let there be light. Genesis 1:3
Fruits of your loins Isaiah 13:18
To the bitter end. Amos 8:10
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41
Sour grapes Ezekial 18:2
Heart of stone Job 41:24
Render unto Caesar Mark 12:17 Luke 20:25
Go through fire and water for Numbers 31:23
Forbidden fruit Genesis 3:3
Nothing but skin and bones Job 19:19-20
Stumbling block Matthew 16:23
Vanity of vanities Ecclesiastes 1:9
All things must pass Matthew 24:6-8
Wives' tales 1 Timothy 4:7
Woe is me. Job 10:15
Sharp tongue Psalm 52:2
The gospel truth Galatians 2:14 Col. 1:5
A living dog is better than a dead lion. Eccl. 9:4
False prophets in sheep's clothing Matthew 24:24,
Strait and narrow Matthew 7:14
Have his head on a platter. Matthew 14:6-8
Do as I say, not as I do Adapted from Mt. 23:2-3
A multitude of sins James 5:20
Spare the rod and spoil the child. Proverbs 13:24
Scapegoat Leviticus 16:9-10
Bite the dust. Adapted from Psalm 72:9 [lick the dust]
All things to all men 1 Cor. 9:22
Knees knocked together Daniel 5:6
Pin him to the wall 1 Sam. 18:10-11
From strength to strength Psalm 84:7
Thorn in the flesh 2 Corinthians 12:7
Living off the fat of the land. Genesis 45:18
Either with us or against us. Matthew 12:30
Fight the good faith 1 Timothy 6:12
Letter of the law 2 Corinthians 3:6
Nursing a grudge Mark 6:18-19
In deep water Proverbs 20:5
Laughingstock Exodus32:25
Going the extra mile Matthew 5:41
Lamb to the slaughter Jeremiah 11:19 Isaiah 53:7
I wash my hands of it. Matthew 27:24
A still, small voice 1 Kings 19:12
Feet of Clay Adapted from Daniel 2:33
He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. Matthew 26:52
Don't go to bed angry Eph. 4:26-27
Get thee behind me. Matthew 16:23
Weighed in the balances and found wanting Daniel 5:5
The blind leading the blind Matthew 15:14, Luke 6:39"
Labor of love 1 Thessalonians 1:3
Faith will move mountains 1 Cor. 13:2
As old as Methuseleh Adapted from Gen. 5:25
To everything there is a season Ecclesiastes 3:1
Sweat of your brow Genesis 3:19
Suffer fools gladly 2 Corinthians 11:19
As old as the hills. Adapted from Job. 15:7
Handwriting on the wall Daniel 5:5
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adapted from Gen.3:19
Hammer swords into plowshares Isaiah 2:4
He gave up the ghost Luke 23:46
He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone John 8:7
Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37
How are the mighty fallen 1 Samuel 1:19-27
Out of the mouths of babes Psalm 8:2
Pride goes before a fall Proverbs 16:19
Many are called, but few are chosen Matthew 22:14
More blessed to give than to receive Acts 20:35
Signs of the times Matthew 16:3
Stood by the stuff (troops guarded supplies) 1 Samuel 25:13
Soft answer turns away wrath Proverbs 15:1
Twinkling of an eye 1 Corinthians 15:52
Put your house in order 2 Kings 20:1, Isaiah 38:1
There's nothing new under the sun Ecclesiastes 1:9
Wars and rumors of wars Mark 13:7
What is truth? John 18:38
The truth shall make you free" John 8:32
The patience of Job Book of Job
Doubting Thomas John 20:27
Casting pearls before swine Matthew 7:6
A coat of many colors Gen. 37:3
The salt of the earth Matthew 5:13)
Being thrown to the lions Daniel 6:7
Turn water into wine John 2:9
A Judas John 6:71
A law unto themselves Romans 2:14
[love of] Money is the root of evil 1 Tim. 6:10
Forty years in the wilderness Deut. 29:5
A camel through the eye of the needle. Mark 10:25
The Wisdom of Solomon I Kings 4:30
Man does not live by bread alone Matthew 4:4
My brother's keeper Genesis 4:9
Venison --first used in the Bible, referring to a goat kid. Genesis 27:3
Facing a Goliath 1 Sam. 17:23
Sod (an insult, from Sodom, in Genesis 19
Sixes and sevens Job. 5:19
No rest for the wicked Isaiah 48:22
Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in morning, sailor's take warning (first appears as Christ's comments in Matthew 16:2-3)
Hammer swords into plowshares Isaiah 2:4
He gave up the ghost Luke 23:46
Handwriting on the wall Daniel 5:5
How are the mighty fallen 1 Samuel 1:19-27
Last gasp From the Bible's Apocrypha
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