Advice
The Bible offers proverbs filled with words of wisdom and advice.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:3-6
Poetry
Poetry can be found throughout the Bible. The Psalms provide a multitude of examples. One that most readers will know or have heard of is Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23
Odes
An example of an ode from the Bible can be found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
A Toast
To celebrate a friendship, a toast, from Song of Songs 5: “Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.”
Songs
Many songs have been inspired by the Bible and its many meanings. But the greatest songs are about love. There is a book of the Bible, Song of Songs, that provides many words of love. Interpretations made compare the love of wisdom to that of the love of a woman and a man and a woman. Well worth a read.
Guiding Principle
And as for guiding principles, they too are throughout the Bible. Again, we turn to Proverbs:
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor; a man of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret. For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure. Proverbs 11:12-14
If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength. Proverbs 24:10
Familiar Phrases or Idioms
• Stairway to heaven (Genesis 28:12)
• For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
• Make swords into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4)
• Man does not live on bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3)
• Be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28)
• East of Eden (Genesis 3:21)
• Adam’s rib (Genesis 2:21)
• Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)
• As old as Methuselah (Genesis 5:25)
• Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28:12)
• Land of milk and honey (Exodus 3:8)
• The meek will inherit the earth (Psalms 37:11)
• Strangers in a strange land (1 Peter 2:11)
• Let my people go (Exodus 5:1)
• Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Matthew 5:38)
• Jezebel (Esther 4:14)
• Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1)
• Wisdom of Solomon (1 Kings 4:29)
• The patience of Job (from the Book of Job)
• Leviathan (Isaiah 27:1)
• Spare the rod and spoil the child (Proverbs 13:24)
• The skin of my teeth (Job 19:20)
• Welcome the little children (Mark 9:37)
• Forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:12)
• The floodgates of heaven (Genesis 7:11)
• The Golden Rule (Luke 6:31)
• Much will be demanded from those who have been given much (Luke 12:48)
• A voice calling in the desert (Luke 3:4
• Wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15)
• Salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)
• Go the extra mile (Matthew 5:41)
• Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6:7)
• The poison of vipers is on their lips (Romans 3:13)
• A time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8)
• On earth peace to men (Luke 2:14)
• Turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38)
• Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24)
• Weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12)
• Den of thieves (Mark 11:17)
• Good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21)
• Physician, heal thyself (Luke 4:23)
• Cast the first stone (John 8:7)
• Stand your ground…stand firm (Ephesians 6:14)
• Written on their hearts (Romans 2:15)
• The handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:5)
• The kiss of Judas (Mark 14:45)
• Walk on water (Matthew 14:29)
• Greater love hath no man than this (John 15:13)
• Death, where is thy sting (1 Corinthians 15:55)
• The root of all evil (1 Titus 6:10)
• Light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
• The light of life (Psalm 56:13)
• The seventh seal (Revelation 8:1)
• In the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
• I am the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8)
• Fight the good fight (1 Titus 1:18)
• Armageddon (Revelation 16:16)
• Holier than thou (Isaiah 65:5)
• Sheep, gone astray (Isaiah 53:6)
• As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings (Luke 13:34)
• Wipe away every tear (Revelation 7:17)
• Woe is me! (Isaiah 6:5)
• Can a leopard change his spots? (Jeremiah 13:23)
• A drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15)
• Eat, drink, and be merry (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
• Give up the ghost (Job 14:10)
• Am I my brother's keeper? (Genesis 4:9)
• Fat of the land (Genesis 45:18)
• A lamb for the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7)
• The blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14)
• Old wives’ tales (1 Timothy 4:7)
• Soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31)
• From the lips of children (Matthew 21:16)
• Written in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15)
• Four corners of the earth (Revelation 20:8)
• Brotherly love (Romans 12:10)
• The Spirit is willing, but the body is weak (Matthew 26:41)
• Busybodies (2 Thessalonians 3:1;Titus 5:13)
• Jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7)
• Potter’s field (Matthew 27:7)
• A household divided against itself will not stand (Matthew 12:25)
So much of our language today contains words, idioms, and phrases from the Bible, and most do not realize the source. “Surely ignorance of the Bible is bound to impoverish one’s appreciation of English literature?” And the writer of the prior quote is an atheist.
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