These 6 Common Sayings Actually Came from the Old Testament?

English is filled with strange idioms. Take for example “one fell swoop” which holds the meaning of “all in one go” or “in a single action.” Chances are you’ve heard the phrase and said it yourself. But do you know where it originates?

We have William Shakespeare to thank for the expression. In MacBeth, Macduff upon learning of the murder of his wife and children responds, “Oh hell-kite! … All my pretty chickens, and their dam At one fell swoop?”¹

Boston Public Library (CC)

Literature and pop culture lend to language many of the idioms we use today, and dozens of our common expressions come to us from the Holy Bible. Here are six you might not know came from the Old Testament:

To All the Church Attendees with a False Sense of Security

Just because you attend church doesn’t mean you’re saved.

But how many of us operate that way? It’s the modus operandi: salvation by association. Redemption through osmosis. But it’s a myth. It’s a lie. It’s a false sense of security.

Boston Public Library (CC)

We think that by belonging to a group or a particular church we’ll sneak our names in the book of life. It doesn’t work like that. (And that’s a good thing.)

Better Prayer: A Lesson from Jeremiah

I used to work at a greasy pizza parlor. We baked the pies directly on a stone above a blazing fire, just the way it should be. That oven would get so hot, I think I still have scar tissue from the burns.

The boss made the schedule in two week increments. One time she released the schedule, and I was supposed to work a Saturday night. But I didn’t want to work. So I intended to ask off. I was so confident that I could get off work, I even made plans with my friends for that night. I was seventeen.

Patrick Fore

I approached my boss to request off, and you know what happens next.

“No.”

Everyone else had already asked. I was sheepish. Now I had to either blow off my friends (and fun) or else push the issue, and risk losing my income source (by which I was able to have fun).

A conundrum if you will.

How Not to Pray

The disciples famously asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus responded with the Lord’s prayer. They did not ask him, “Teach us how not to pray.” But if they did He would he might have given them this lesson from the book of Jeremiah (in addition to the other things He told them).

4 Ways to Be Positive (Even If You're Surrounded by Whiners)

You want to be a positive person. You really do.

But every time you try to think positively, someone grabs you and pulls you back down to earth. Maybe it's a snarky comment, a pessimistic outlook on your situation, or just plain whining. Whatever it is these people keep dragging you down.

And it's not like you can just cut them out of your life. These people are your family. They are your co-workers. Or worse: they are your (gasp) fellow Christians.

Maybe it's just time to join the whiners and pessimists. It would be easier that way. Besides, they seem to lead happy lives, right?

The Most Unbelievable Story in the Bible

Have you heard the most unbelievable story in the Bible?

It’s not Jonah surviving an encounter with a giant fish.
It’s not God parting the Red Sea.
It’s not Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

Even St. Jerome can't believe it. (dbking, CC)

No, the most unbelievable story in the Bible is a less well-known one.