A-Z Index
Every entry on QuotesFromBible.com — alphabetically organised.
We cover misquoted phrases, original language analysis, translation comparisons, full passage readings, and direct quote checks from wider culture.
Use the letter links below to jump to any section, or scroll to browse everything.
148 entries.
A
- "Abba, Father" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Aramaic abba = intimate family address for father. The 'daddy/baby talk' equivalence (Jeremias) was…
- "abide in me" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek menō appears 40 times in John, 11 times in the 11-verse vine passage alone. The repetition is…
- Agape — the love word of 1 Corinthians 13 WORD The Greek word for 'love' in 1 Corinthians 13. The KJV renders it 'charity' — an older English…
- "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Romans 3:23: hēmarton is aorist (past). Hysterountai is present (ongoing). All sinned (past event)…
- All things work together for good ENTRY Romans 8:28. KJV: 'all things work together'. BSB: 'God works all things together'. Greek…
- Amazing Grace — Hymn, not Scripture IN POP CULTURE John Newton, 1772 — not biblical. 'Was lost but now am found' alludes to Luke 15:24; 'was blind but…
- Apocalypse — unveiling, revelation, not catastrophe WORD The Greek apokalypsis means 'unveiling' or 'revelation' — not 'catastrophe.' The book of…
- Arsenokoitai — the rare Greek compound in 1 Corinthians 6:9 WORD Greek arsenokoitai appears only twice in the NT. May have been coined by Paul. One of the most…
- Ashes to ashes, dust to dust ENTRY From the 1662 Book of Common Prayer burial service, not verbatim in the Bible. The underlying…
- Ask and you shall receive ENTRY The exact wording is in John 16:24 (KJV). Matthew 7:7 reads 'ask and it will be given to you.' Each…
- "atonement" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Hebrew kaphar — covering, cleansing, or expiation (scholars debate). Greek katallagē —…
B
- Be still, and know that I am God ENTRY Psalm 46:10 verbatim. The Hebrew harpu is plural and can mean 'desist, cease' — and the surrounding…
- Be the change you wish to see in the world ENTRY Not in the Bible. The Gandhi attribution is also disputed — the pithy form appears to be a…
- Ben-Hur — the healing at the Crucifixion, and what's invented IN POP CULTURE Crucifixion frame: biblical. Chariot race, revenge plot, leprosy healing: Wallace's invention. Not…
- "blessed are the meek" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek praus means gentle, mild, humble — a settled, non-aggressive disposition. The popular…
- "blessed are the peacemakers" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek eirēnopoios is active — people who MAKE peace happen, not people who happen to be peaceful.…
- "born again" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek anōthen means BOTH 'again' AND 'from above.' Nicodemus's confusion is grammatically valid.
C
- "camel through the eye of a needle" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING The saying is hyperbole — intentionally impossible. The 'Needle Gate' theory dates from the 9th…
- "Carpe diem" — is "seize the day" in the Bible? IN POP CULTURE "Carpe diem" is Horace (Odes I.11, 23 BCE), not the Bible. The Bible's time-vocabulary turns on…
- "cast pearls before swine" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek choiros (swine) was ritually unclean in Jewish culture — paired with 'dogs' (another contempt…
- Charis — the Greek word behind 'grace' and what it actually covers WORD The Greek charis covers four meanings — saving grace, ordinary favour, a gift, and plain…
- Chazon — what 'vision' actually means in Proverbs 29:18 WORD The Hebrew chazon means prophetic revelation, not strategic vision. Proverbs 29:18 contrasts the…
- A Christmas Carol — "God bless us, every one" IN POP CULTURE Dickens, 1843 — not Scripture. The closest biblical parallel is the Aaronic blessing of Numbers…
- Cleanliness is next to godliness ENTRY John Wesley's sermon 'On Dress' (1791). Not in the Bible.
- Crime and Punishment — Sonya reads the raising of Lazarus IN POP CULTURE Sonya reads John 11 to Raskolnikov in Part IV, chapter 4. Dostoevsky chose Lazarus because his…
- The Crown — "by the Grace of God" and the anointing of kings IN POP CULTURE The British coronation's anointing ritual is continuous with biblical practice — 1 Sam 16 (David)…
D
- The Da Vinci Code — Mary Magdalene as Jesus's wife IN POP CULTURE The Gospel of Philip manuscript has a hole exactly where the key word would be. 'Mouth' is an…
- The devil made me do it ENTRY Flip Wilson's Geraldine Jones catchphrase from his 1970s TV show. Not in the Bible. James 1:14…
- Do not be anxious about anything ENTRY Philippians 4:6 verbatim. The verse is bracketed by 'rejoice always' (v.4) and 'whatever is true……
- "do not conform to the pattern of this world" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek schēma (outward form) vs morphē (inner essential form). Two different verbs in Romans 12:2.…
- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ENTRY Matthew 7:12 is real — but almost always quoted without 'for this sums up the Law and the…
E
- East of Eden — "timshel" and the translation that drives the novel IN POP CULTURE Steinbeck builds the novel on Genesis 4:7. The translation question is real: Hebrew imperfect of…
- "the elect / chosen" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek eklogē / Hebrew bachar simply mean 'choosing.' The OT election is corporate (Israel as a…
- "eternal life" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek aiōnios literally means 'of the age.' Some scholars read 'eternal life' as the quality of the…
- Everything happens for a reason ENTRY Not in the Bible. Romans 8:28 is the verse most often cited as its equivalent — but Romans 8:28 has…
- The Exorcist — "The power of Christ compels you" IN POP CULTURE Not a Bible verse, and not in the actual Catholic Rite of Exorcism either. The biblical formula…
- An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind ENTRY Widely attributed to Gandhi but not in his published writings. The 'eye for an eye' phrase is…
F
- "the flesh" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek sarx covers physical body, human weakness, and sinful tendency. BDAG lists them as distinct…
- Footprints in the Sand ENTRY Not in the Bible. A 20th-century prose poem whose authorship has been claimed by at least three…
- For God so loved the world ENTRY John 3:16 begins verbatim in both BSB and KJV. The Greek word 'monogenes' is translated 'only…
- The forbidden fruit was an apple ENTRY Genesis never names the fruit. The Hebrew word means simply 'fruit.' The apple comes from a Latin…
- "the fullness of time" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek plērōma = fullness, completion. Chronos = measured time (vs kairos, qualitative). The…
G
- Genesis 1 — the creation account PASSAGE Six days, the seventh-day Sabbath. The Hebrew yom ('day') and bara ('create') and the ambiguous…
- Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day ENTRY Not in the Bible. Earliest English source is Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie's 1885 novel.…
- God doesn't give you more than you can handle ENTRY 1 Corinthians 10:13 is about temptation specifically (Greek peirasmos), not suffering. And 2…
- God helps those who help themselves ENTRY Benjamin Franklin wrote it in Poor Richard's Almanack in 1736. It is not in the Bible.
- God is love — in full context ENTRY 'God is love' appears twice in 1 John 4 — both times as the theological foundation for the…
- "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" — is this in the Bible? ENTRY Not in the Bible. The phrase makes human belief the deciding factor — which inverts its apparent…
- "God works in mysterious ways" — not in the Bible ENTRY Not in the Bible. It's the opening line of William Cowper's 1774 hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious…
- "God-shaped vacuum" — what Pascal actually wrote ENTRY Pascal wrote of 'an infinite abyss' — not a vacuum, never 'God-shaped.' The famous quote is a…
- "greater love has no one than this" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek tithēnai = to place or set down. The image is voluntary action, like setting a burden down.…
H
- Hallelujah — the biblical sources behind Leonard Cohen's song IN POP CULTURE Cohen's song uses real biblical episodes — David's harp, Bathsheba, Samson and Delilah. The word…
- The Handmaid's Tale — "Blessed be the fruit" and the text behind Gilead IN POP CULTURE Real texts, selectively repurposed. Genesis 30 narrates surrogacy as events, not commands. Luke…
- Hate the sin, love the sinner ENTRY Augustine wrote 'with love for mankind and hatred of vices' (c. 424 AD). Gandhi popularised the…
- Heaven — shamayim and ouranos WORD Hebrew shamayim and Greek ouranos cover both 'sky' and 'God's dwelling' — the English split between…
- Hell — four distinct words behind one English translation WORD Four distinct biblical words — Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus — get translated 'hell' in some…
- Hesed — the covenant love no English word captures WORD Hesed appears ~248 times in the Hebrew Bible. English translations use at least 12 different words…
- "honour your father and mother" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Hebrew kabad = 'give weight to.' The commandment in its original legal context addressed adult…
- How many times does the Bible say "fear not"? CURIOSITY The popular "365 times" claim is folklore. Careful counts give about 100–110 commands not to fear…
I
- "I am the vine" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Vine = Israel in OT prophets (Isaiah 5, Psalm 80, Jer 2). Jesus claims to be the 'true' vine — what…
- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me ENTRY Philippians 4:13. The KJV says 'through Christ'; older Greek manuscripts read 'through him who…
- I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you ENTRY Jeremiah 29:11 is verbatim in BSB. Written to Israelite exiles in Babylon, c. 597 BC. The preceding…
- Idle hands are the devil's workshop ENTRY Not in the Bible. Conceptual ancestor in Jerome (c. 411 CE). Phrasing popularised by Chaucer and…
- In God we trust ENTRY The official motto of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1956. First on coins in 1864. Not a…
- It's a Wonderful Life — "An angel gets its wings" IN POP CULTURE Not in the Bible. Biblical wings (cherubim, seraphim) are descriptive of created form, not earned…
J
- Jesus was born on December 25th ENTRY The Bible never specifies a date. December 25 was established by Western tradition; earliest…
- Judge not, lest ye be judged ENTRY Matthew 7:1 is real — but almost always cited alone. Verses 2-5 clarify Jesus is prohibiting…
- "justification" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek dikaioō is forensic. Reformation debates turned on whether it means 'declare righteous' or…
K
- Kairos — the appointed time versus the clock WORD Greek distinguishes chronos (clock time) and kairos (the right moment). Mark 1:15's 'the time is…
- "the kingdom of God" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek basileia is primarily 'reign,' not 'place.' Jesus's kingdom sayings are about God's active…
- The KJV mentions unicorns nine times CURIOSITY The Hebrew re'em — translated 'unicorn' nine times in the KJV — is now identified with the aurochs…
L
- Leviticus 19:28 — what the Bible actually says about tattoos IN POP CULTURE The verse is real. Whether the Holiness Code's provisions bind contemporary Christians is the…
- "light under a bushel" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING A modios was a domestic grain-measuring bowl (~8.75 litres). Putting a lamp under it would smother…
- The lion shall lie down with the lamb ENTRY The actual verse pairs the wolf with the lamb, and the lion with the calf (Isaiah 11:6).
- Logos — word, reason, account WORD Logos appears ~330 times in the New Testament. John 1:1 makes it cosmic. The philosophical…
- The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away ENTRY Job 1:21 is verbatim — but it was said by Job immediately after learning all ten of his children…
- "love your enemies" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek agapaō names intentional action toward another's good. You cannot command emotion; you can…
M
- Malakoi — soft, the contested word in 1 Corinthians 6:9 WORD Greek malakoi means 'soft.' Jesus uses it for fine clothing (Mt 11:8). In 1 Cor 6:9 the meaning is…
- "Manifesting" — where the prosperity gospel meets self-help IN POP CULTURE "Manifesting" is not biblical. The prosperity-gospel reading of 3 John 1:2 takes a personal letter…
- Mary Magdalene was a prostitute ENTRY The Bible never calls Mary Magdalene a prostitute. The identification came from a 591 CE sermon by…
- Matthew 27 and Acts 1 give differing details about Judas's death CURIOSITY Matthew 27 and Acts 1 give different accounts of how Judas died, what happened to the silver, and…
- Messiah and Christ — anointed one WORD Hebrew mashiach and Greek christos both mean 'anointed one.' A title, not a name. Used in the OT of…
- Moderation in all things ENTRY From the Greek 'mēden agan' (nothing in excess), inscribed at Delphi. Classical, not biblical.
- Money is the root of all evil ENTRY The Bible says 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil' (1 Timothy 6:10). Two dropped…
- Monty Python's Life of Brian — "Blessed are the cheesemakers" IN POP CULTURE The film gets Matthew 5:9 right. The mishearing is the joke; the underlying text is accurate.
N
- Nephesh — what the Hebrew word for 'soul' actually means WORD The Hebrew nephesh doesn't mean an immortal immaterial component. Genesis 2:7 says the man BECAME a…
- Noah (2014) — How closely does it follow Genesis? IN POP CULTURE Genesis 6-9 is short and terse. The Watchers / rock giants come from 1 Enoch, an extra-canonical…
- The number 666 appears as 616 in some early manuscripts CURIOSITY Some early Greek manuscripts of Revelation read 616 instead of 666 for the number of the beast.…
O
P
- The Passion of the Christ — Isaiah 53:5 IN POP CULTURE Isaiah 53:5 is quoted accurately. Its interpretation as messianic prophecy is the Christian…
- "the peace that passes all understanding" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek hyperechousa = surpasses, exceeds. The peace exceeds what the mind can produce —…
- A penny saved is a penny earned ENTRY Not in the Bible. Associated with Benjamin Franklin — though his 1737 wording was 'a penny saved is…
- Pistis — faith or faithfulness? WORD Greek pistis means both 'faith' and 'faithfulness.' Which sense is intended in Paul's pistis…
- "poor in spirit" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek ptōchos = the utterly destitute, the beggar. Stronger than penēs (the working poor). Matthew…
- Pray without ceasing ENTRY 1 Thess 5:17 is real — but the Greek adialeiptōs means persistently/regularly, not literally…
- "predestination" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek proorizō just means 'to decide beforehand.' The Calvinist-Arminian debate is about what was…
- Pride comes before a fall ENTRY Proverbs 16:18 says 'Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.' The common…
- "propitiation" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek hilastērion is the same word translated 'mercy seat' (Heb 9:5) and 'propitiation' (Rom 3:25).…
- Proverbs 31 — the eshet chayil passage PASSAGE An alphabetic acrostic — 22 verses, one for each Hebrew letter. The eshet chayil is a 'woman of…
- Psalm 23 — the LORD is my shepherd PASSAGE Six verses. The Hebrew tsalmaveth in verse 4 means 'deep darkness'; the KJV's 'shadow of death' is…
- Pulp Fiction — "Ezekiel 25:17" IN POP CULTURE Almost the whole speech is invented. The real Ezekiel 25:17 is one sentence about divine vengeance…
R
- "reconciliation" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek katallagē names the restoration of a broken relationship, drawn from ordinary human life.…
- "render unto Caesar" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek apodote = 'give back' (not 'give'). Caesar's image (eikōn) on the coin makes it his. Humans…
- Repent — metanoeō, to change one's mind WORD Greek metanoeō literally means 'change your mind.' Less emotional in Greek than the English…
- "resist the devil and he will flee" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek anthistēmi = military 'hold your ground.' James 4:7 frames submission to God as prerequisite…
- Revelation 13 — the beast and the number 666 PASSAGE The two beasts. The number 666 — or 616 in some manuscripts. The 'Nero Caesar' gematria in Hebrew…
- "righteousness" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek dikaiosynē and Hebrew tsedaqah cover both 'righteousness' (personal) AND 'justice' (social).…
- The road to hell is paved with good intentions ENTRY Conceptual origin in Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1150). Modern English form crystallised in the 18th…
- Ruach — wind, breath, spirit WORD Ruach appears ~378 times in the Hebrew Bible and means wind, breath, and spirit — often all three…
S
- "salt of the earth" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Salt was a preservative, purifier, and covenant symbol in the ancient world. 'Loses its saltiness'…
- "salvation" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek sōtēria covers rescue, deliverance, healing, and spiritual salvation — all the same word…
- "sanctification" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek hagiasmos means 'set apart' or consecrated — not primarily moral perfection. Same root as the…
- Satan fell from heaven like lightning — and how it is misread ENTRY Luke 10:18 is real, but it's Jesus's response to the disciples casting out demons — not a…
- Schindler's List — "Whoever saves one life" IN POP CULTURE From the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5), part of the Talmud — rabbinic interpretation, not the Hebrew…
- Selah — the word scholars don't know WORD Selah appears 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its meaning is not known. HALOT documents the…
- The Sermon on the Mount — Matthew 5–7 PASSAGE Three chapters of teaching attributed to Jesus. Beatitudes, Lord's Prayer, Golden Rule, dozens of…
- The seven deadly sins are in the Bible ENTRY The list isn't in the Bible. Compiled by Pope Gregory I around 590 CE, refined by Aquinas in the…
- Shalom — peace, wholeness, flourishing WORD The Hebrew shalom carries a wider range than the English 'peace' suggests — wholeness,…
- The Shawshank Redemption — "His judgment cometh and that right soon" IN POP CULTURE Norton's inscription reads like scripture but is a KJV-style pastiche. No standard translation…
- The Silence of the Lambs — Hannibal Lecter's sources IN POP CULTURE Lecter's 'what is it in itself?' is Marcus Aurelius (Stoic), not biblical. His Revelation imagery —…
- The Simpsons — Ned Flanders's Bible quotes IN POP CULTURE A deliberately mixed corpus — some accurate, some parodic. The show knows the difference and plays…
- Spare the rod, spoil the child ENTRY From Samuel Butler's satirical poem 'Hudibras' (1664). Not in the Bible — though Proverbs 13:24…
- "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Said to sleeping disciples in Gethsemane. Pneuma = their willing intention. Sarx = physical…
- "a still small voice" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Hebrew qol demamah daqah literally means 'a voice of thin silence' — a deliberate oxymoron the…
T
- "take up your cross" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Romans forced condemned men to carry their crossbeam through public crowds. Jesus's audience…
- There were three wise men at the nativity ENTRY Matthew 2 mentions Magi without specifying a number. Eastern Christian tradition has named 12. The…
- This too shall pass ENTRY A Persian fable, popularised in English by Edward FitzGerald (1852) and Abraham Lincoln (1859). Not…
- "Thoughts and prayers" — what the Bible actually says about prayer IN POP CULTURE "Thoughts and prayers" is not in the Bible. James 2:16 explicitly criticises verbal blessing…
- "through a glass darkly" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek esoptron = polished metal mirror (no glass). En ainigmati = 'in a riddle' (root of 'enigma').…
- To thine own self be true ENTRY From Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' (c. 1600). Spoken by Polonius, a long-winded courtier whose advice is…
- To'evah — abomination, abhorrence, ritual or moral detestation WORD Hebrew to'evah is used across the Bible for dishonest scales, certain foods, lying, pride, and…
- "transformed by the renewing of your mind" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek metamorphousthe = root of 'metamorphosis.' Passive voice: 'be being transformed' — done to…
- The Tree of Life — Job and the voice from the whirlwind IN POP CULTURE Direct quotation of Job 38:4, 7 on the opening title. The film's structure parallels Job 38–41:…
- The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable ENTRY First half is John 8:32. Second half ('but first it will make you miserable') is widely attributed…
- "turn the other cheek" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Matthew 5:39 specifies the RIGHT cheek. In a right-handed culture, that was a backhanded insult,…
- Two Greek words for 'love' — John 21:15-17 TRANSLATION Three times Jesus asks 'do you love me?' but the Greek shifts between agapaō and phileō. Whether…
U
V
W
- The Walking Dead — Hershel's Psalm 23 IN POP CULTURE Psalm 23 and Revelation 21:4 quoted accurately and in context — unusually careful for pop culture.
- When the devil quotes Scripture — Jesus's temptation ENTRY In the wilderness temptation (Matthew 4), the devil accurately quotes Psalm 91:11-12. Jesus…
- Where two or three are gathered in My name ENTRY Matthew 18:20 verbatim. The 'two or three' is the same number as the 'two or three witnesses' in…
- "with all your heart" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Hebrew lēb (heart) = reason and will. Emotion lived in the bowels (me'eh) and kidneys (kilyot).…
- The word 'Rapture' is not in the Bible CURIOSITY The English word 'rapture' is not in any major Bible translation. It comes from the Latin rapiemur…
- "the word of God is living and active" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek energēs = root of English 'energy.' The verse describes God's word as active and effective —…
- "work out your salvation" — what does the Bible mean? MEANING Greek katergazesthe = bring to completion (not earn). Phil 2:13 immediately follows: 'God who works…