The Bible is a big part of every American’s life. Regardless of whether you’re actually religious, you’ll hear quotes from it in songs & speeches, even in some casual arguments. Or, at least, you’ll hear what you think are quotes. People tend to misquote these quotes accidentally, although not necessarily for malicious reasons. Here are eight Bible verses that many people quote incorrectly, and the true quotes we should be repeating.
1. “Money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10)
So many people quote 1 Timothy 6:10 with the belief that it’s meant to be a warning about wealth. They’ll say, “Money is the root of all evil,” and leave it at that. Yet the truth is that the verse doesn’t actually say that money is the cause of all evil, but rather, it says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It’s not the only thing to cause sin. In fact, the verse is telling people that chasing after money may cause them to drift away from their faith, and that leads to a lot of trouble. But most people rarely quote that part.
2. “Do not judge” (Matthew 7:1)
One of the most common Bible quotes you might hear is “Do not judge,” which is from Matthew 7:1. And it’s true. The Bible does say that. However, the real issue here is that the quote goes a lot further than that, because the same passage that people love to quote talks about being judged by the same standard that you judge others by. It then goes on to include imagery about someone worrying about a speck while ignoring a plank in their own eye. Essentially, the quote is encouraging people to do some self-reflection, rather than be completely silent.
3. “I can do all things…” (Philippians 4:13)
It’s normal for people to use the quote “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” from Philippians 4:13 as a kind of motivational slogan. In fact, you’ll probably hear it a lot whenever someone’s trying to encourage another person to overcome their challenges. But the majority of people ignore the end of the quote. They fail to mention the part where Paul talks about contentment, in terms of having enough when things are good & being okay when they aren’t. Many people don’t recognize that Paul is teaching people to endure during changing conditions. He’s not trying to suggest that you should have some sort of unlimited ability or measure yourself by personal success.
4. “God won’t give you more than you can handle” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Unfortunately, the quote “God won’t give you more than you can handle” from 1 Corinthians 10:13 isn’t a real quote at all, despite the fact that people love to use it during hard moments. It actually says, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” The focus here is on temptation. This section is trying to say that God won’t allow people to be tempted beyond what they’re capable of, not that He won’t give you things you can’t handle.
5. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18)
There are two aspects of the quote “Where there is no vision, the people perish” that people get wrong. The first is that “vision” doesn’t actually translate to physical or even theoretical sight, but instead, prophetic revelation. The second mistake is that “perish” refers to losing all restraint, rather than dying. So what does this quote mean? It’s telling people that when they don’t have any revelations from God, they stop following His Laws. The quote is giving believers guidance on teaching & tradition.
6. “Spare the rod, spoil the child” (Proverbs 13:24)
The idea of “Spare the rod, spoil the child” from Proverbs 13:24 is somewhat accurate, yet that’s not exactly how it’s worded in the Bible. The truth is, this specific section states, “Those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them,” and doesn’t mention anything about spoiling children. Instead, it suggests that part of being a parent involves disciplining your child. That doesn’t directly mean you should hit them. Rather, the quote uses the rod as an example to let people know how important discipline is for children.
7. “The sins of the father are passed down to the children” (Ezekiel 18:20)
It’s a little funny how often people get the quote from Ezekiel 18:20 wrong. People quote it as saying, “The sins of the father are passed down to the children,” but this section actually means the opposite of what they say. The Bible verse spells it out clearly. A child doesn’t carry the guilt of a parent, and the parent doesn’t carry the guilt of a child, meaning that full responsibility for a person’s actions lies with them and them alone. Yet the misquoted version of the line seems to stick around.
8. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away” (Job 1:21)
People going through a hardship sometimes quote the line, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away” from Job 1:21. It’s supposed to be a way for them to take comfort in their suffering. However, that’s not how the verse reads in full, as it finishes by saying, “blessed be the name of the Lord.” It’s meant to tell people that they should have faith in God regardless of their suffering, and it’s actually supposed to be a form of worship during grief. Leaving it off makes the quotation more of a fatalistic statement about loss.
One thing to remember is that the majority of these misquotes didn’t come from anyone’s bad intentions or lack of faith. These are simply an issue of poor repetition & paraphrasing. People naturally shorten certain verses or blend them with other ideas until they sound right, even when such quotations aren’t entirely accurate.
