WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE.
Origins of these expressions…
As you sow so shall you reap.
Your deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind.
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7
Coat of many colours.
The coat of many colors was a sign of favoritism.
“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors.” Genesis 37:3
A fly in the ointment –
A small but irritating flaw that spoils the whole
“Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,
And cause it to give off a foul odor;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.” Ecclesiastes 10:1
A nest of vipers.
A group of iniquitous people, congregating together.
Jesus said in Matthew 23:29-33
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
“Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
Literal meaning (house meaning household).
“But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25
A labour of love.
Work undertaken for the pleasure of it or for the benefit of a loved one.
“remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,” 1 Thessalonians 1:3
Beat swords into ploughshares.
Turn to peaceful pursuits and away from war.
“He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4