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QuotesFromBible

QuotesFromBible

What it says. Where it appears. Your call.

A neutral textual reference — for believers, skeptics, scholars, and everyone mid-argument. We report what the text says and how translations differ. We don't tell you what it means.

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Cleanliness is next to godliness

John Wesley's sermon 'On Dress' (1791). Not in the Bible.

Not in the Bible
John Wesley, sermon 'On Dress' (1791): 'Slovenliness is no part of religion. Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness.' Wesley himself attributes the form of the saying to ancient Hebrew tradition, but the phrase does not appear in the Bible.

For God so loved the world

John 3:16 begins verbatim in both BSB and KJV. The Greek word 'monogenes' is translated 'only begotten' (KJV) or 'one and only' (BSB).

Verbatim
John 3:16. The phrase appears verbatim at the start of the verse in both BSB and KJV.

God helps those who help themselves

Benjamin Franklin wrote it in Poor Richard's Almanack in 1736. It is not in the Bible.

Not in the Bible
Algernon Sidney, Discourses Concerning Government (1698). Popularised in America by Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanack (1736).

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Philippians 4:13. The KJV says 'through Christ'; older Greek manuscripts read 'through him who strengthens me'. The verse is part of a passage about contentment in poverty and abundance.

Translation Dependent
Philippians 4:13. The wording 'through Christ' appears in the KJV and NKJV; the Greek text has the pronoun 'him' rather than the noun 'Christ', so most modern translations render it 'through him who strengthens me.'

Money is the root of all evil

The Bible says 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil' (1 Timothy 6:10). Two dropped words; one changed.

Paraphrase
1 Timothy 6:10. The biblical text says 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil' — two words have been dropped and one changed in the common paraphrase.

Spare the rod, spoil the child

From Samuel Butler's satirical poem 'Hudibras' (1664). Not in the Bible — though Proverbs 13:24 uses related wording.

Not in the Bible
Samuel Butler, 'Hudibras' (Part II, Canto I, 1664). The phrase appears in a satirical poem, not in the Bible. The biblical Proverbs contain a separate verse on discipline (Proverbs 13:24) that uses the word 'rod' but with different wording.

Not in the Bible

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Phrases commonly attributed to Scripture that do not appear there in any form.

Context changes everything

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Famous verses where the surrounding passage changes the common interpretation. We show the full passage and let you decide.

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