1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” 6he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8‘These people draw near to me with their mouth,
and honor me with their lips;
but their heart is far from me.
9And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”
10He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand. 11That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. 14Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand? 17Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body? 18But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. 20These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”
21Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”
23But he answered her not a word.
His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”
24But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
29Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there. 30Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them, 31so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.
32Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”
33The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
34Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; 36and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. 37They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. 38Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. 39Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
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" | Psalm 107:23-27 | |
"By the skin of your teeth" | To barely succeed | Job 19:20 |
"Bite the dust" | For something to fail | Psalm 72:9 |
"Blind leading the blind" | Unskilled persons are being led by equally unskilled persons. | Matthew 15:14 |
"Broken heart" | To have much sorrow. | Psalm 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 emasculated. | 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.