Phrases to be covered
Here’s a rough list of phrases I intend to cover:
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OT Phrases
In the beginning
Let there be light
Let us make man in our own image.
Be fruitful and multiply
It was very good
God rested
The breath of life
The garden of Eden
Adam
Spare Rib
Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh
To leave and cleave
One flesh.
They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Forbidden fruit
Pride goeth before a fall
Fig leaves
Dust to Dust
Sweat of your brow
Eve
East of Eden
Cherubim
How are the mighty fallen
Knowing… In the biblical sense (Carnal knowledge)
Am I my brother’s keeper?
The Land of Nod
Begat
Methuselah
Noah
Two by Two
Forty days and forty nights
Olive leaf
Rainbow
Tower of Babel
Abraham
Fear not
Covenant
Circumcision
Sodom and Gomorrah
Fire and brimstone
Test of faith
Coat of many colours
the fat of the land (Gen 45:18)
A stranger in a strange land
Burning bush
I AM WHO I AM
Land flowing with milk and honey
Putting words in his mouth (Ex 4:15)
Taskmasters (Bricks without straw)
Let my people go
Plagues (of biblical proportions)
Hard hearted
Passover lamb
Red sea
Fleshpots
Bread of heaven – Manna
I bare you on eagle’s wings (cf Is 40)
Thou shalt have no other gods before me
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
I the LORD thy God am a jealous God
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honour thy father and thy mother
Thou shalt not covet
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Golden Calf (“Out came this calf”)
Stiff necked
Face to face
Longsuffering
High Priest
Atonement
Peace offering
Unclean, unclean
Scapegoat (Bear their iniquity)
Love thy neighbour as thyself
Spy out the land
Wilderness wanderings (murmuring)
Brazen serpent
What hath God wrought
Fell flat on his face
Balaam’s Ass
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength
Man does not live by bread alone
The apple of his eye
Kiss of death
Be strong and courageous
Walls of Jericho
Shibboleth
Samson and Delilah
Everyone did as they saw fit
Shelter under the wings (Ruth 2:12)
Messiah
God save the king
A man after his own heart
Goliath
David and Bathsheba
The way of all flesh (all the earth)
Wisdom of Solomon
The Queen of Sheba
Put your house in order
Carried away (exile)
The LORD gave and the LORD hath taken away (not “giveth and… taketh away”)
Job’s Comforters (miserable comforters)
Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards
I am escaped with the skin of my teeth (Skin and bone)
I know that my Redeemer liveth
Gird up thy loins (Job 38)
I repent in dust and ashes
Job died old and full of days
Blessed (is the Man)
The heavens declare the glory of God
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me
Laughed to scorn
The LORD is my Shepherd
The valley of the shadow
My cup runneth over
The ends of the earth
Bite the dust
Three score year and ten
Strength to strength
As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field
Wits’ end
Praise the LORD
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding
Soft answer turns away wrath
Spare the rod and spoil the child
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
To everything there is a season…
Nothing new under the sun
Eat drink and be merry
Two are better than one
Fly in the ointment (Ecc 10:1)
A little bird told me (Ecc 10:20)
Cast thy bread upon the waters
Of making many books there is no end
My beloved is mine and I am his
White as snow (eg Is 1:18)
It shall come to pass
Beat swords into ploughshares
Woe is me
Immanuel
Unto Us a Child is Born
The wolf shall lie down with the lamb.
A drop in the bucket
Take root
Beast of burden
Seeing eye to eye
Led like a Lamb to the slaughter
Rise and shine
Bind up the broken-hearted
No rest for the wicked
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard
Holier than thou
A new heavens and a new earth
Be horribly afraid (Jer 2:12)
Can a leopard change its spots? (Jer 13:23)
Great is thy faithfulness
Sour grapes (Ezek 18)
Thus saith the LORD (Ezek 37)
Feet of clay
The writing is on the wall (“Weighed in the balances and found wanting”)
Daniel in the lion’s den
Reap the whirlwind
Sackcloth and ashes (eg Jonah 3)
The desire of all nations
Prisoners of hope
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Christmas Phrases
Thou shalt call his name JESUS: (for he shall save his people from their sins.)
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, (the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.)
My soul doth magnify the Lord
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. …
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation
There came wise men from the east
They presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
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Other Gospel Phrases
In the beginning was the Word
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us
Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world
Water into wine
Shining light
Baptism of fire
To fulfil all righteousness
The heavens were opened
It is written
Fishers of men
Preaching the gospel
Physician heal thyself
Verily, verily I say unto thee
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Blessed are they that mourn
Blessed are the meek
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Great is your reward in heaven
The salt of the earth
The light of the world
Keep you light under a bushel
Jot and tittle
Ye have heard that it was said… But I say unto you,
Hell fire
If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out… if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off
Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay
Turn the other cheek
Go the extra mile
Love your enemies
Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth
Our Father which art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Take no thought for your life
Consider the lilies of the field
But seek ye first the kingdom of God…
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Casting pearls before swine.
Seek and ye shall find
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Strait and narrow
Wolf in sheep’s clothing
By their fruits ye shall know them
Built on sand
Outer darkness
Weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth
Born again
God so loved the world…
…that whosoever believeth….
O ye of little faith
Be of good cheer
They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. (Luke 5:31)
A house divided against itself cannot stand
I send you forth as lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:3)
Wise as serpents, innocent as doves
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Luke 12)
From the housetops
My name is Legion, for we are many
Good Samaritan
Friend of sinners
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
He that hath ears
Fell by the way side (Seed falling on stony ground)
Wheat and tares
Pearl of great price
The head of John the Baptist.
A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.(Luke 12)
The crumbs under thy table “the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
highways and hedges (Luke 14:23)
cross to bear
Lost sheep
Prodigal son
The far country
Fatted calf
safe and sound
Dives and Lazarus
Feeding the Five Thousand
I am the Bread of Life
The keys of the kingdom
Get thee behind me Satan
Taking up your cross
What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Transfigured
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
I am the Good Shepherd
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, (to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.)
Regeneration
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Jesus wept
A millstone about his neck
The first shall be last and the last shall be first (Matt 20)
Many are called, few are chosen (Matt 22)
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Out of the mouths of babes
Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s
Heavy burdens, grievous to be borne
Blind guides (the blind leading the blind)
Strain out a gnat and swallow a camel
Whited sepulchres
How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
To catch him in his words.
Wars and rumours of wars
If [one] had never been born
Signs of the times – Red sky at night
Talents
Well done, thou good and faithful servant
Sheep and goats
Washing the disciples’ feet
In my Father’s house are many mansions
I am the way, the truth and the life
I am the Vine, ye are the branches
Greater love hath no man than this
This is my body
This is my blood
Abba, Father
Let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Betrayed with a kiss
Thirty pieces of silver
My kingdom is not of this world
Hail King of the Jews
Crucify him, crucify him. (Luke 23:21)
Pilate washed his hands
Crown of thorns
Father, forgive them they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)
It is finished
He gave up the ghost
He is not here, he is risen.
Doubting Thomas
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
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Rest of NT
The fruit of his loins
Cut to the heart
Damascus Road Experience
Turned the world upside down
In Him we live and move and have our being
It is better to give than to receive
Saints
A law unto themselves
Hope against hope
God forbid
The wages of sin is death
Vengeance is mine
O wretched man that I am!
The powers that be (Rom 13)
Stumbling block
The time is short
All things to all men
Faith, hope and love.
Faith that can move mountains
Through a glass darkly
In the twinkling of an eye
O death where is thy sting
Letter of the law
Anathema
Suffer fools gladly
A thorn in the flesh
Fallen from grace
As you sow, so shall you reap
The unsearchable riches of Christ
Let not the sun go down on your wrath
Passeth all understanding
Bowels of mercies
A labour of love
Filthy lucre
Old wives’ tales
Love of money is the root of all evil
Itching ears
Fought the good fight
Twoedged sword (Heb 4)
Once and for all
A multitude of sins (James 5:20)
Dearly beloved
God is love
Alpha and Omega
Bottomless pit
Armageddon
Babylon the great is fallen
Alleluia









[...] Here’s the full list of phrases I intend to cover. [...]
aren’t you missing “the apple of my eye”? Zech 2:8
Could someone please invent a time machine, so I can jump to 1st Jan 2012 then spend the day reading everything Glen has written here?
It’s like a year-long advent calendar, but chocolate has nothing on this!
Tim.
P.S. If someone does invent the time machine, Glen – how about I copy and paste the blog then give it to you. Might save you some time this year.
Hi Jonathan, yes that comes up a few times: Deut 32:10; Ps 17:8; Prov 7:2; Lam 2:18 and Zech 2:8. I’ll be covering it when we’re in Deuteronomy territory. No idea what it means yet! Any ideas yourself?
Hi Tim, that might be a time saver – but I’m looking forward to this little project :)
According to The British Library article on Tyndale’s Bible, some of the phrases you are going to cover originate with Tyndale, not the KJV.
Considering that Tyndale gave his life for his translation, I think we oguht to give him the credit where the credit is due.
Hi David, yes a couple of posts on Tyndale would be a great idea! Will do.
Ever read ‘God’s Outlaw’ – a biography of Tyndale. An excellent read. Much of the KJV (two-thirds, maybe?) is straight from Tyndale.
This makes everything so completely pailenss.
Can you list the references as well, chapter and verse?
Nice work.
Brian
Hi Brian,
Do you mean of the poem? I’ve just posted the words of the poem with references here:
http://kingsenglish.info/2011/05/13/kings-english-the-poem/
I’ll soon be updating this page with links to my posts on the phrases (which all have the biblical references),,
Thanks for dropping by.
Tim – VB
The King James make no claim to all of the phraseology – you are correct – Tyndale’s readings were used about 75% to 80% of the time.
Theres a terrific amount of knolewdge in this article!