1Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
2Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. 3Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. 5For we through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision amounts to anything, but faith working through love.
7You were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth? 8This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9A little yeast grows through the whole lump. 10I have confidence toward you in the Lord that you will think no other way. But he who troubles you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.
11But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed. 12I wish that those who disturb you would cut themselves off.
13For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. 26Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.
Everyday expressions in English that are based on the King James Version of the Bible
| Expression | Meaning | Biblical Text |
|---|---|---|
| "A labor of love" | 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 | |
| "A sign of the times" | Matthew 16:3 | |
| "At the eleventh hour" | Matthew 20:1-16 | |
| "At your wit's end" | Psalms 107:23-27 | |
| "By the skin of your teeth" | To barely succeed | Job 19:20 |
| "Bite the dust" | For something to fail | Psalms 72:9 |
| "Blind leading the blind" | Unskilled persons are being led by equally unskilled persons. | Matthew 15:14 |
| "Broken heart" | To have much sorrow. | Psalms 34:18 |
| "Can a leopard change his spots?" | The inability of a person to change what they are | Jeremiah 13:23 |
| "Cast the first stone" | To criticize first, or be the first person to attack. | John 8:7 |
| "Cast your pearls before swine" | Matthew 7:6 | |
| "Drop in a bucket" | Insignificant impact or amount | Isaiah 40:15 |
| "Eat, drink, and be merry" | Ecclesiastes 8:15; Luke 12:19; 1 Corinthians 15:32 | |
| "Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" | If something bad is done by a person, then the same thing should happen to them as a punishment. | Matthew 5:38 |
| "Fall from grace" | This speaks of a person who has fallen from a position of respect or rank. | Galatians 5:4 |
| "Fall by the wayside" | Luke 8:5 | |
| "Feet of clay" | Daniel 2:31-45 | |
| "Fight the good fight" | 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:6 | |
| "Fly in the ointment" | Something that ruins an effort. | Ecclesiastes 10:1 |
| "For every thing there is a season" | Ecclesiastes 3 | |
| "Forbidden fruit" | Genesis 3:3 | |
| "Go the extra mile" | Go beyond what is expected of a person. | Matthew 5:41 |
| "Good Samaritan" | This speaks of a person who helps another person in need without the intent of receiving something in return. | Luke 10:30-37 |
| "He that toucheth pitch" | Ecclesiasticus 13:1 (Apocrypha) | |
| "He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword" | Matthew 26:52 | |
| "How the mighty have fallen" | 2 Samuel 1:19 | |
| "Land of milk and honey" | Exodus 3:1-22 | |
| "Land of Nod" | Genesis 4:16 | |
| "Leopard cannot change its spots" | Jeremiah 13:23 | |
| "Let there be light" | Lighthearted comment when someone turns on a light | Genesis 1:3 |
| "Like a lamb to the slaughter" | To do an innocent act not knowing of the danger ahead. | Isaiah 53:7 |
| "Millstone around your neck" | Luke 17:2 | |
| "Move mountains" | 1 Corinthians 13:2 | |
| "Nothing but skin and bones" | For a person to be very thin or emaciated. | Job 19:19-20 |
| "Nothing new under the sun" | Ecclesiastes 1:9 | |
| "O ye of little faith" | Matthew 8:26 | |
| "Pride comes before a fall" | Usually, a caution that someone is too confident and will cause the person to fail. | Proverbs 16:18 |
| "The love of money is the root of all evil" | 1 Timothy 6:10 | |
| "The powers that be" | Romans 13:1 | |
| "The straight and narrow" | Matthew 7:13-14 | |
| "Writing on the wall" | Indicating that something bad is about to happen. | Daniel 5:1-31 |
You may see several examples, given above, at Biblical idioms and sayings with origins explained.
David Crystal has discovered 257 examples of these idioms. You may read or listen to an interview with him at Talk of the Nation, December 22, 2010, and may want to order his book, Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language.