Figures of Speech

If God uses them, perhaps we ought to use them too. 

I'm in Mount Hermon this weekend...

The trees in this place make me yearn to create. When I look at how excellently God has created, something inside of me gets all churned up, looking for a release of creative expression. And longing for excellence. Longing to make something beautiful. Something pleasing.

Since I want to write something beautiful, I thought it would be good to look to see how God writes.

Message is not enough. 

Oooooh. Dare I say that? Yes, I think I dare. Message is great, but it's not enough. If message were enough the Bible could have been written in bullet points. 

• Do love your neighbor.
• Don't bear false witness.
• Do worship God only.
• Don't have other gods before him.

But, no. God did not write us a series of bullet points. He employed, in scripture, all kinds of figures of speech. Let's look at a few:

• metaphor

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler

• simile

The kingdom of heaven is like a pearl

The kingdom of heaven is like a net

• anadiplosis

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

• anaphora

The seven woes of Matthew 23

Woe to you scribes and Pharisees.... Woe to you scribes and Pharisees.... Woe to you blind guides...

• epistrophe

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child

• antimetabole

Whoever shed the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed

• antithesis

Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me

• hendiatris

I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.

• hyperbole

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away

So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

• understatement

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

• parallelism

The law of the Lord is perfect,  reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.

There are more. What other figures of speech do you see in the Bible? 

photo credit: RobertFrancis via photopin cc

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Sally Apokedak is an associate agent with the Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency. She's in the process of of building a dynamite list of authors. She is also active in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.