Common Expressions that Came from the Bible

The Writing is on the Wall that Jezebel has been Weighed in the Balance

Image generated by substack from the prompt “The Writing is on the Wall that Jezebel has been Weighed in the Balance”

---

Many well-known sayings have their origin in biblical accounts. Here is a list of many of these, followed by the scriptural verse or verses from which the expression stems — along with, at times, a bit of commentary.

You can look these up in any version or translation of the Bible. If you are unfamiliar with how to do that, the first number (before the colon) is the chapter, and the second number (after the colon) is the verse or verses. e.g., Matthew 24:14 refers to the 24th chapter of the book of Matthew, the 14th verse.

The Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and has been translated into hundreds of languages. There are a great many translations in English alone. The one I quote from below, the New World Translation, is a literal translation based on the earliest original-language manuscripts. It uses contemporary English (thus there are no “thees” and “thous” and such).

NOTE: The expressions appear in the order that they appear in the Bible. That being so, an expression taken from Genesis will appear early in the list, something from Psalms near the middle, and something from Revelation will appear at the end.

---

Let there be light (Genesis 1:3a reads, And God said: “Let there be light.”)

Forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:16,17 says, Jehovah God also gave this command to the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will certainly die.”)

By the sweat of your brow and Ashes to ashes, dust to dust (Genesis 3:19 reads, In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”)

Am I my brother’s keeper? (Genesis 4:9 says, Later on, Jehovah said to Cain: “Where is your brother Abel?” and he said: “I do not know. Am I my brother’s guardian?”)

“Guardian” is a better word than “keeper,” a word which makes Cain's brother Abel sound as if he was a zebra or a giraffe or something.

As old as Methuselah (Genesis 5:25-27 reads, Me·thuʹse·lah lived for 187 years and then became father to Laʹmech. After becoming father to Laʹmech, Me·thuʹse·lah lived for 782 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. So all the days of Me·thuʹse·lah amounted to 969 years, and then he died.)

Methusaleh had good genes, apparently. His grandfather Jared lived to be 962. Others notable for their longevity include Noah, who lived to be 950; and Adam, who lived to 930.

Of biblical proportions (Genesis chapters 6 to 9, Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10, Daniel 4:10-12, Daniel chapter 2, Exodus 7:14-11:10, et al)

There are multiple things in the Bible that are of immense size, scope, and import. To name just a few of these, there are 1) The flood of Noah’s day, which covered the whole earth for over a year; 2) Ezekiel’s vision of a vast celestial chariot; 3) Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a giant tree dwarfing the tallest redwood; and 4) another dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s that featured a giant image in human form comprised of various elements, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, and an amalgamation of iron and clay.

Also, the Bible contains (a) Prophecies whose fulfillment spans hundreds or even thousands of years (such as one, the “70 weeks of years” prophecy, which runs for 490 years, from 455 BCE to 36 CE; and another, the “seven times” prophecy, that spans 2,520 years, from 607 BCE to 1914 CE); (b) References to the vast magnitude of stars in the heavens; (c) Reports of myriads upon myriads of angels (that is to say, a minimum of 20,000 times 20,000, or 400,000,000).

Note that a single angel once destroyed 185,000 soldiers in one night (2 Kings 19:35), and he possibly wasn't straining himself much — and probably didn't require all night to do it, at that. He may have had "one wing tied behind his back," so to speak.

Doing the math, the minimum number of angels (400 million) multiplied by 185,000 could dispatch 74 quadrillion enemy combatants. Biblical proportions, indeed! That is more than 9 million times as many soldiers as the entire population of the earth — and that's if each angel only engaged in one battle!

It also may be that the account of the ten plagues brought on Egypt for its treatment of God’s people make up part of what is meant by “Biblical proportions,” too. The first three plagues affected everyone in the land, both Egyptians and Israelites. The other seven only affected the Egyptians. The ten plagues proved the Egyptian gods, including the pharaoh, to be false. The plagues, comprehensive in their scope, were: 1) water turned to blood, 2) frogs, 3) dust turned into gnats, 4) gadflies, 5) pestilence, 6) boils, 7) hailstorm, 8) locusts, 9) darkness and 10) death of the firstborn.

Fire and brimstone (Genesis 19:24, Psalm 11:6, and Revelation 21:8, in the beginning, middle, and end of the Bible, all speak of “fire and sulfur.”)

Sulfur is the modern word for “brimstone”

Land of milk and honey (this description of the promised land appears in four places in the Bible, in the 2nd through 5th books, namely Exodus 3:8, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 13:27, and Deuteronomy 6:3)

Of my bone and my flesh (Genesis 29:14 reads, Laʹban said to him: “You are indeed my bone and my flesh.” So he stayed with him a full month.; 2 Samuel 5:1 says, In time all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebʹron and said: “Look! We are your own bone and flesh.)

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21:23-25 reads, But if a fatality does occur, then you must give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, blow for blow.; Leviticus 24:19-20 says, If a man injures his fellow man, then what he has done should be done to him. Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, the same sort of injury he inflicted should be inflicted on him.; it’s recorded at Matthew 5:38-39 as follows: “You heard that it was said: ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. However, I say to you: Do not resist the one who is wicked, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him.)

It may seem that in Matthew 5 Jesus was contradicting the words at Exodus and Leviticus. Keep in mind, though, that the Mosaic Law is not binding on Christians — the Law had been replaced with the Law of the Christ, and at any rate the Mosaic Law was only applicable to the ancient Jewish nation, anyway. Jesus’ sacrificial death abolished the Mosaic Law (Romans 10:4). And notice that Jesus’ words at Matthew 5:38 were, “You heard that it was said” (not “you saw that it was written”). We can deduce that Jesus was keenly aware that some (apparently from among the religious leaders of the Jews) had misinterpreted the “eye for an eye” rule to promote retaliation and vengeance, or even vigilantism. Jesus' words corrected those with such false notions.

Golden Calf (Exodus 32:2-4 reads, At this Aaron said to them: “Take the gold earrings from the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” So all the people began taking off the gold earrings that were in their ears and bringing them to Aaron. Then he took the gold from them, and he formed it with an engraving tool and made it into a statue of a calf. They began to say: “This is your God, O Israel, who led you up out of the land of Egypt.”)

Scapegoat (Leviticus 16:10 says, But the goat designated by lot for A·zaʹzel should be brought alive to stand before Jehovah in order to perform the atonement upon it, so that it may be sent away for A·zaʹzel into the wilderness.)

Man does not live by bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3 states, So he humbled you and let you go hungry and fed you with the manna, which neither you had known nor your fathers had known, in order to make you know that man does not live by bread alone but man lives by every expression from Jehovah’s mouth.; Matthew 4:4 reads this way: But he answered: “It is written: ‘Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from Jehovah’s mouth.’”)

At Matthew 4:4, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 when rebuffing the devil.

How the mighty have fallen (2 Samuel 1:25 says, How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonʹa·than lies slain upon your high places!)

Put words in one’s mouth (2 Samuel 14:3 reads, Then go in and speak to the king like this.” With that Joʹab put the words in her mouth.)

Jezebel (1 Kings 18:4 says, and when Jezʹe·bel was doing away with Jehovah’s prophets, O·ba·diʹah took 100 prophets and hid them 50 to a cave, and he supplied them with bread and water.; 1 Kings 21:5-16 reports on Jezebel’s wicked cruelty thus: His wife Jezʹe·bel came in to him and asked him: “Why are you so sad that you refuse to eat?” He replied to her: “Because I said to Naʹboth the Jezʹre·el·ite, ‘Give me your vineyard for money. Or if you prefer, let me give you another vineyard to replace it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” His wife Jezʹe·bel said to him: “Are you not the one ruling as king over Israel? Get up, eat something, and let your heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naʹboth the Jezʹre·el·ite.” So she wrote letters in Aʹhab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived in Naʹboth’s city. She wrote in the letters: “Proclaim a fast, and have Naʹboth sit at the head of the people. And have two good-for-nothing men sit in front of him and testify against him,g saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king!’ Then bring him out and stone him to death.” So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did just as was written in the letters that Jezʹe·bel sent to them. They proclaimed a fast and had Naʹboth sit at the head of the people. Then two of the good-for-nothing men came in and sat down in front of him and began to testify against Naʹboth in front of the people, saying: “Naʹboth has cursed God and the king!” After that they brought him to the outskirts of the city and stoned him to death. They now sent word to Jezʹe·bel, saying: “Naʹboth has been stoned to death.” As soon as Jezʹe·bel heard that Naʹboth had been stoned to death, she said to Aʹhab: “Get up, take possession of the vineyard of Naʹboth the Jezʹre·el·ite,m which he refused to give you for money, for Naʹboth is no longer alive. He is dead.” As soon as Aʹhab heard that Naʹboth was dead, Aʹhab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naʹboth the Jezʹre·el·ite to take possession of it.)

To find out what ultimately happened to Jezebel, see 2 Kings 9:30-37

To escape by the skin of one’s teeth (Job 19:20 says, My bones stick to my skin and my flesh, And I escape with the skin of my teeth)

The root of the problem (Job 19:28 reads, For you say, ‘In what way are we persecuting him?’ Since the root of the problem is with me.)

Weighed in the balance (Most Bible readers would think first of Daniel 5:27, where it says of Babylonian king Belshazzar: “TEʹKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found lacking., but Job 31:6 also uses the same illustration: Let God weigh me with accurate scales; Then he will recognize my integrity.)

The words "Balance" and "Balances" were old terms for what we normally call scales today

Behemoth (A literal behemoth, the one mentioned in the Bible, is a hippopotamus. Job 40:15-18 describes it: Here, now, is Be·heʹmoth, which I made as I made you.
It eats grass like a bull.
Look at the strength in its hips
And the power in the muscles of its belly!
It stiffens its tail like a cedar;
The sinews of its thighs are woven together.
Its bones are tubes of copper;
Its limbs are like wrought-iron rods.)

Spare the rod, spoil the child (Proverbs 13:24 reads, Whoever holds back his rod hates his son, But the one who loves him disciplines him diligently.)

Pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18 says, Pride is before a crash, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.)

There’s nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9 reads, What has been is what will be, And what has been done will be done again; There is nothing new under the sun.)

For everything there is a season (The song Turn, Turn, Turn, which was written by Pete Seeger and made popular by The Byrds, is based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which reads, There is an appointed time for everything,
A time for every activity under the heavens:
A time for birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what was planted;
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up;
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to wail and a time to dance;
A time to throw stones away and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away;
A time to rip apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak;
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.)

Eat, drink, and be merry (Two scriptures use this phrase. Ecclesiastes 8:15 reads, So I recommended rejoicing, because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and drink and rejoice; this should accompany him as he works hard during the days of his life, which the true God gives him under the sun.; Luke 12:19 says, on the other hand: and I will say to myself: “You have many good things stored up for many years; take it easy, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.”’)

Fly in the ointment (Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, As dead flies cause the perfumer’s oil to stink and bubble, so a little foolishness outweighs wisdom and glory.)

A little birdie told me (Ecclesiastes 10:20 says, Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,t and do not curse the rich in your bedroom; for a bird may convey the sound, or a creature with wings may repeat what was said.)

The Four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11:12 reads, He will raise up a signal for the nations and gather the dispersed ones of Israel, and he will gather together the scattered ones of Judah from the four corners of the earth.)

A drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15 says, Look! The nations are like a drop from a bucket, And as the film of dust on the scales they are regarded. Look! He lifts up the islands like fine dust.)

There’s No rest for the wicked (Isaiah 57:21 reads, There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”)

Like a lamb led to the slaughter (Jeremiah 11:19 says, I was like a docile lamb being brought to the slaughter. I did not know that they were scheming against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, And let us cut him off from the land of the living, So that his name may be remembered no more.”)

Can a leopard change his spots? (Jeremiah 13:23 reads, Can a Cushʹite change his skin, or a leopard its spots? If so, then you can do good, You who are trained to do bad.)

Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18:2 says, “What does this proverb that you quote in the land of Israel mean, ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, but the teeth of the sons are set on edge’?)

Feet of clay (Daniel 2:31-33 reads, “You, O king, were watching, and you saw an immense image. That image, which was huge and extremely bright, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying. The head of that image was of fine gold, its chest and its arms were of silver, its abdomen and its thighs were of copper, its legs were of iron, and its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay.)

The Writing is on the Wall (Daniel 5:24 reads, So the hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: MEʹNE, MEʹNE, TEʹKEL, and PARʹSIN.)

---

Baptism of fire (Matthew 3:11 reads, I, for my part, baptize you with water because of your repentance, but the one coming after me is stronger than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to take off. That one will baptize you with holy spirit and with fire.; Luke 3:16 says, John gave the answer, saying to all: “I, for my part, baptize you with water, but the one stronger than I am is coming, the lace of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with holy spirit and with fire.)

Salt of the Earth (Matt 5:13 reads, “You are the salts of the earth, but if the salt loses its strength, how will its saltiness be restored? It is no longer usable for anything except to be thrown outside to be trampled on by men.)

Go the extra mile (Matthew 5:41 says, and if someone in authority compels you into service for a mile, go with him two miles.)

To cast pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6 reads, “Do not give what is holy to dogs nor throw your pearls before swine, so that they may never trample them under their feet and turn around and rip you open.)

To stay on the Straight and narrow (Matthew 7:14 says, whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are finding it.)

Wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15 reads, “Be on the watch for the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves.)

Shake the dust off your feet (Matthew 10:11-14 says, “Into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is deserving, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, greet the household. If the house is deserving, let the peace you wish it come upon it; but if it is not deserving, let the peace from you return upon you. Wherever anyone does not receive you or listen to your words, on going out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.)

A house divided against itself cannot stand (In a speech he gave in 1858, Abraham Lincoln said A house divided against itself cannot stand, but that thought was not original with him — he was quoting Jesus Christ. Matthew 12:25 records it: Knowing their thoughts, he said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself comes to ruin, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.)

Fall by the wayside (Matthew 13:4 says, As he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.; Mark 4:4 reads, As he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.)

The blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:13-14 says, In reply he said: “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. Let them be. Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”)

Sign of the times (Matthew 16:3 reads, and in the morning, ‘It will be wintry, rainy weather today, for the sky is fire-red but gloomy.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but the signs of the times you cannot interpret.; more significantly, Matthew 24 and 25 provide the composite sign of the times, as enumerated by Jesus following this question in verse 3 of chapter 24: While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”)

Flesh and blood (Matthew 16:17 reads, In response Jesus said to him: “Happy you are, Simon son of Joʹnah, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father in the heavens did.; Ephesians 6:12 says, because we have a struggle, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.)

To move mountains (Matthew 17:20 reads, He said to them: “Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard grain, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”; Matthew 21:21 says, In answer Jesus said to them: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what I did to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.; the parallel account in Mark 11:23 records basically the same thing; 1 Corinthians 13:2 reads, And if I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.)

To have a millstone around one’s neck (Matthew 18:6 reads, But whoever stumbles one of these little ones who have faith in me, it would be better for him to have hung around his neck a millstone that is turned by a donkey and to be sunk in the open sea.; parallel accounts are recorded at Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:2)

What God has joined together, let no one put apart (Matthew 19:6 says, So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has yoked together, let no man put apart.”)

The eleventh hour (Matthew 20:6 reads, Finally, about the 11th hour, he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day unemployed?’)

Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14 says, “For there are many invited, but few chosen.”)

The kiss of death (Matthew 26:48-50 reads, Now his betrayer had given them a sign, saying: “Whoever it is I kiss, he is the one; take him into custody.” And going straight up to Jesus, he said: “Greetings, Rabbi!” and gave him a tender kiss. But Jesus said to him: “Fellow, for what purpose are you present?” Then they came forward and seized Jesus and took him into custody.)

He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword (Matthew 26:52 says, Then Jesus said to him: “Return your sword to its place for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.)

To wash one’s hands of a matter (Matthew 27:24 reads, Seeing that it did no good but, rather, an uproar was arising, Pilate took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying: “I am innocent of the blood of this man.* You yourselves must see to it.”)

Head on a platter (Mark 6:25 reads, She immediately rushed in to the king and made her request, saying: “I want you to give me right away on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”)

Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37 records, In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jerʹi·cho and fell victim to robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went off, leaving him half-dead. Now by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the opposite side. But a certain Sa·marʹi·tani traveling the road came upon him, and at seeing him, he was moved with pity. So he approached him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he mounted him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two de·narʹi·i, gave them to the innkeeper, and said: ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend besides this, I will repay you when I return.’ Who of these three seems to you to have made himself neighbor to the man who fell victim to the robbers?” He said: “The one who acted mercifully toward him.” Jesus then said to him: “Go and do the same yourself.”)

The ends of the earth (Luke 11:31 says, The queen of the south will be raised up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solʹo·mon. But look! something more than Solʹo·mon is here.; Zechariah 9:10 reads, I will take away the war chariot from Eʹphra·im And the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be taken away. And he will proclaim peace to the nations; His rulership will be from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.)

O you, of little faith (Luke 12:28 says, Now if this is how God clothes the vegetation in the field that today exists and tomorrow is cast into an oven, how much more will he clothe you, you with little faith!)

The truth will set you free (John 8:31, 32 says, Then Jesus went on to say to the Jews who had believed him: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”)

The corollary to this statement is Falsehoods will imprison, or enslave, you

It is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35 reads, I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way, you must assist those who are weak and must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said: ‘There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.’”)

They are a law unto themselves (Romans 2:14 says, For when people of the nations, who do not have law, do by nature the things of the law, these people, although not having law, are a law to themselves. )

To Risk One's Neck (Romans 16:4 says, who have risked their own necks for med and to whom not only I but also all the congregations of the nations give thanks.)

In the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52 reads, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we will be changed.)

You will reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7 says, Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a person is sowing, this he will also reap;)

(The love of) Money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10 actually doesn’t say “all evil” but rather: For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.)

This saying is often misquoted as "Money is the root of all evil" whereas it is actually the love of money which is the problem, and such love is, indeed, "a root of all sorts of injurious things," but not of "all evil")

Fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6.12 reads, Fight the fine fight of the faith; get a firm hold on the everlasting life for which you were called and you offered the fine public declaration in front of many witnesses.)

To have one's ears tickled (2 Timothy 4:3 reads, For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled.)

Armageddon (Revelation 16:16 records, And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Armageddon.)

The word "Armageddon" only appears once in the Bible, yet everyone seems to be familiar with it (although often misinterpreting it as a thermonuclear “war to end all mankind”)

---