Common Bible Misquotes

Polly - posted on 07/22/2010 ( 7 moms have responded )

Does anyone else's eye start to twitch when they hear someone misquote a bible verse? Mine does! But there were a few I "thought" I knew until I found out I was wrong, so I can't claim perfection by any means! I thought it would be kind of fun/educational to post some of the common bible misquotes. Please feel free to add to the list!!

**"Money is the root of all evil."

Actually, the Bible verse 1 Timothy 6: 7-10 states, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil".

What is the difference, you ask? Well, actually there is a huge difference. Money itself is not inherently evil. Money in the hands of the right person could be used to do all sorts of good. It is the 'love of money' that is the problem. A love of money causes a person to be greedy, power seeking, and negligent of other areas of his or her life.

**"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

This verse is not in the Bible. Very similar Bible verses are found in the Bible, however. One of the Bible verses most similar to this quote is as follows-

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." -Matthew 7:12

**"The lion shall lie down with the lamb".

This is one of the most misquoted scriptures from the Bible. There are a couple of Bible verses similar to this quote. Here is the Bible verse that is probably being referenced:

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them." -Isaiah 11:6

** "Spare the rod, spoil the child."

Actually, this exact Bible verse is nowhere in the Bible. But it is a close paraphrase. There are many similar Bible verses which say essentially the same thing.

"He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently". -Proverbs 13:24

** "God helps those who help themselves."

Many people incorrectly reference this popular saying as a verse in the Bible. But the Bible verse doesn't exist. This saying comes to us by way of Benjamin Franklin.

** "God won't give us more than we can bear"

That is a misquote of 1 Cor 10:13, ”No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it”

It seems like an encouraging thing to tell people that God won't give us more than we can bear, but you know... sometimes maybe people ARE going through more tragedy and pain than they are able to handle. I think of the horrific things that happen to people because of the sin of others or sickness, etc., and I just wouldn't be able to tell them that they should be able to handle it.

What God says is that he will not allow us to be TEMPTED without giving us a way to escape sinning. Totally different.

Annnnd....My NUMBER ONE most annoying misquote!!

** “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”

OK, so this verse from Matthew 7:1 may not typically be “misquoted.” Rather, this verse tends to be quoted out of context to mean we should never judge anyone. The Bible doesn’t tell us we shouldn’t judge anyone (or anything). Indeed, 1 Corinthians 2:15 says the exact opposite: “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” These verses don’t contradict each other – the complement each other. Matthew 7 is talking about hypocrites who are guilty of doing the same or worse than what they condemn others for without repenting or judging themselves first. 1 Corinthians points out that a spiritual judge is one who correctly judges yet is himself innocent.