Bible Misquotes

Have you ever been misquoted?

Someone says something similar to what you said, but they change it just enough so that it means something entirely different, and you’re left saying, “That’s not what I said!”

Or they repeat something you said, but they leave out the context in which it was said, and again you’re misquoted. Aggravating, isn’t it?

God gets misquoted too. Years ago a coworker told me, “The Bible says sex is a sin.”
Dumbfounded, I asked, “Do you ever read the Bible?”

She said, “No.”

Well, drrrr. Why would you quote from a book you’ve never read?

Much of what people believe is just what they’ve heard someone else say without ever checking for themselves. For instance, how many people are sure the Bible says, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”? Nope. It’s not there. Or how about, "God helps those who help themselves"? You won’t find that one either—Ben Franklin said it.

I’ll bet you’ve heard people say, “Money is the root of all evil.” Money’s an inanimate object; there’s nothing inherently evil about it. The Bible says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). It’s not money that’s the problem; it’s the love of money and pursuing it—along with anything else—above God that is evil.

People often say, “God won’t give you any more than you can handle,” a very loose paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 10:13, which is more accurately paraphrased as “God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to escape.” There’s no implication that He’s “giving you” the trial or temptation. In fact, James 1:13 clearly tells us that God does not tempt nor is he tempted!

The point is, God’s Word is a precious gift to us. Let’s at least be familiar with what it says and be blessed!