Biblical Idioms

[MHz]

No, I know how to read and think about what I have just read. You want me to take your opinion as being that of am expert yet you reference something and forget to include 30% of it at all and of the 70% that you include it is not a correct quote. If you ever expected to swing me into your view of eternity it just became a vapor. BTW you forgot to include the legend that says time is a variable as far as how far back you go over millions of years. You could always defend yourself by saying some choice words on how all ancient places have something similar to these verses.

Jer:25:13:
And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it,
even all that is written in this book,
which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also:
and I will recompense them according to their deeds,
and according to the works of their own hands.
For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me;
Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand,
and cause all the nations,
to whom I send thee,
to drink it.
And they shall drink,
and be moved,
and be mad,
because of the sword that I will send among them.
Then took I the cup at the LORD's hand,
and made all the nations to drink,
unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Jer:25:30-33:
Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words,
and say unto them,
The LORD shall roar from on high,
and utter his voice from his holy habitation;
he shall mightily roar upon his habitation;
he shall give a shout,
as they that tread the grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth;
for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations,
he will plead with all flesh;
he will give them that are wicked to the sword,
saith the LORD.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
Behold,
evil shall go forth from nation to nation,
and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth:
they shall not be lamented,
neither gathered,
nor buried;
they shall be dung upon the ground.

There is an instance where all cultures should have a similar theme and rather than you accept it as a sign of the Bible being accurate you will find some pretense to change the 'rules' you just mentioned. (that would include the nations in America BCE)

I don't recall saying reading was finding eternal life. At best it tells us that there is something called that. The amount of detail is relative to how many passages mention it.

Eternal as far as the grave or your version of God wouldn't let you even enter the grave. Who has he saved so far from that fate to which we all go?

 

[Spade]

Neighbour's dog got into chocolate this holiday. For the protection of the dog's and his family's sensitive noses, the beast was tied up outside until the worst passed. We were reminded of the proverb, "To air is humane."

 

[Motar]

How many English language idioms have Biblical origins?

"When (David) Crystal posed this question to people, they guessed a wide range of answers — anywhere from 50 to 1,000. So he decided he'd better read the Bible and figure it out. I went through it and looked for every instance of an expression that I thought was current in modern English," Crystal says. "And then I thought: I'd better read it again, just to make sure I haven't missed any." And after that second reading, he had a figure. "I found 257," Crystal reports. He acknowledges that there's "no magic in that figure" and that someone else could read through the Bible and come up with a different number entirely. Still, he thinks that 257 is about right. And "it makes the point that it isn't as high a figure as some people expect. On the other hand, it's twice the number that Shakespeare introduced, so it's not doing badly." How The King James Bible 'Begat' English Idioms : NPR

How many contemporary English idioms have Biblical origins? Can you identify one?

"The writing is on the wall' is also sometimes expressed as 'the handwriting is on the wall' or as 'mene mene'.

The first of those variations is an obvious synonym but what does 'mene mene' mean? This is a shortening of 'mene mene tekel upharsin', which is of Aramaic origin. If your Aramaic isn't that strong you can get some guidance from the Bible, Daniel 5, in the story of Belshazzar's feast. To cut a long Old Testament story short, Belshazzar was indulging in a drunken revelry and debasing sacred temple vessels by using them as wine goblets when a disembodied hand wrote 'mene mene tekel upharsin' on the palace wall.

On the face of it, and using a literal translation, this appeared meaningless. The expression seemed to mean 'two minas, a shekel and two parts' or alternatively 'numbered, weighed, divided'. None of this meant much to Belshazzar, who decided that he needed further interpretation and sent for the Jewish exile Daniel. It then became clear that the phrase was an elaborate wordplay, relying on the fact that each word can denote a different coin, and the third word can be interpreted as 'Persia'. Daniel's interpretation, as recorded in the first easily understood English version of the Bible, the King James Version, 1611, was:

And this the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This the interpretation of the thing:
MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
​

The point of the moral tale was that Belshazzar couldn't see the warning that was apparent to others because he was engrossed with his sinning ways." The writing is on the wall

 

[Cliffy]

The point of the moral tale was that Belshazzar couldn't see the warning that was apparent to others because he was engrossed with his sinning ways." The writing is on the wall

And those who spend all their time with their noses buried in an ancient book fail to see life passing them by. I think the expression that expresses this best can be found in my signature statement under this post. Take a look. It might rattle your brain.

 

[Motar]

Nobody has contributed to the creative use of the English language like Tom Robbins...from Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Why not start a discussion thread about Tom Robbins, his works or the creative use of the English language, Cliffy?

 

[Cliffy]

Why not start a discussion thread about Tom Robbins, his works or the creative use of the English language, Cliffy?

Because I thought it fitted in here quite nicely. I have no interest in discussing Tom any farther.

 

[Motar]

How many contemporary English idioms have Biblical origins? Can you identify one?

"A thorn in the flesh" is a persistent difficulty or annoyance. From the Bible,

“‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live." (Numbers 33:55 NIV)

"...or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." (2 Corinthians 12:7 NIV)

​

 

[Motar]

How many contemporary English idioms have Biblical origins? Can you identify one?

"The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
A statement of the difficulty in living up to the high moral standards that one has set oneself.

From the Bible:
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41 NIV)
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak