to maintain a home; to do housework
—I’m looking forward to having my own home, but keeping house is not one of my favorite things to do.

Psalm 113 is a psalm of praise to God, including the following example of how God helps his people:

He makes the barren woman of the family [He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be—KJV]

a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord! (Psalm 113:9)

Here keep house uses an older meaning of keep, and the phrase means “to have a home.” While the modern usage of keep house means “to take care of a home,” housekeeper is usually used for a person hired to clean and look after the rooms in a hotel or other such place.

to fail; to be defeated; to die, especially on the battlefield
—The economy is so bad, I predict that half of the businesses on our street will bite the dust this year.

The subject of Psalm 72 is the “king,” or the “royal son.” It is both a prayer for Solomon, David’s son, and a prophecy about another descendant of David who would become Israel’s eternal king—later called the Messiah, or Christ. Among the characteristics of his reign is that he would rule over his enemies:

Before him the coastlands will bow down,

and his enemies will lick the dust. (Psalm 72:9)

Many years later, the prophet Micah spoke of a great king coming from the town of Bethlehem and also predicted a time when God would restore Israel’s glory:

Nations will see this and be disappointed by all their strength,

they will put their hands over their mouths,

and act as if they were deaf.

They will lick the dust like a snake,

like serpents crawling on the ground.

They will come trembling from their strongholds

to the Lord our God;

they will be terrified of you. (Micah 7:16,17)

Lick the dust, which in these two passages refers to someone bowing down in humility (much like fall flat on one’s face), led to the present-day bite the dust, which began with the meaning “to be killed” before gaining its current definition.

to greatly respect or revere (someone or something)
—We stood in awe of his ability to play the guitar.

Worship is one of the main themes of Psalms. One psalm contains this simple praise of God:

Let the whole earth fear the Lord!

Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him! (Psalm 33:8)

kindness, compassion; unkindness, harsh treatment
—While I was away on vacation, my poor garden suffered under the tender mercies of the hot summer sun. 

In one of his psalms, David appeals to God’s goodness, saying,

Remember your compassionate and faithful deeds [tender mercies and lovingkindnesses—KJV], O Lord,

for you have always acted in this manner.

Do not hold against me the sins of my youth or my rebellious acts!

Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord! (Psalm 25:6,7)

Here, and elsewhere in the Old Testament, tender mercies means “kindness, compassion.” But its appearance in Proverbs gives us today’s ironic usage of the phrase, because even the “kindnesses” of an evil person are actually cruel:

A righteous person cares for the life of his animal,

but even the most compassionate acts [the tender mercies—KJV] of the wicked are cruel. (Proverbs 12:10)

to have more than is needed of something
—What a week! I got a promotion, I’m engaged, and I found my lost dog. My cup runneth over!

David’s 23rd Psalm, which compares his relationship with God to that of a sheep with its shepherd, is one of the most widely recognizable portions of the Bible. Because of its emphasis on God’s care, this psalm gives comfort to those facing difficult times, such as sickness, or the death of a loved one.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (Psalm 23, King James Version)

Many people are familiar with this psalm as it is translated in the King James Bible, completed in 1611 under the direction of King James I of England. Its older style of English gives the King James Bible a poetic, formal feel, but it also contains older words that may be difficult for modern readers to understand. Examples of “King James English” include thee, thou, and ye (“you”); thy and thine (“your”); shalt (“shall”); unto (“to”); doth (“do”); whatsoever (“whatever”); and several verbs, such as runneth, that used to end with –eth but today end with –s.

Valley of the shadow of death is a well-known phrase from Psalm 23, referring to the dangers faced in life. Another, similar phrase is in Psalm 84, which says,

How blessed are those who find their strength in you,

and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple!

As they pass through the Baca Valley [the valley of Baca—KJV],

he provides a spring for them.

The rain even covers it with pools of water.

They are sustained [go from strength to strength—KJV] as they travel along;

each one appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:5-7)

In this passage, the Valley of Baca is a dry, barren place that travelers cross on their way to worship in Jerusalem. The Wycliffe Bible has Valley of Baca translated as valley of tears. Today, valley of tears, or vale of tears (vale is another word for valley), has the meaning of “this world or one’s life, filled with sorrow and troubles.” Veil of tears is commonly used as well.

In current usage, go from strength to strength means “to move forward, from success to success.”

children sometimes say things that are wise, profound, or insightful
—After hearing news about wars around the world, my young niece said that people should learn how to love each other. Out of the mouths of babes.

Not only was David a warrior and king of Isreal, he was also a poet, writing with great passion in the book of Psalms. In Psalm 8, he writes that even small children honor God with what they say:

O Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!

You reveal your majesty in the heavens above!

From the mouths of children and nursing babies [Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings—KJV]

you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,

so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy. (Psalm 8:1-2)

not to want to do something; should not; will not
—Far be it from me to interfere, but I think you should apologize to your friend.

Following the attempted takeover of Israel by King David’s son, Absolom, a man named Sheba rebelled against the king and was joined by many Israelites. Abishai and Joab led David’s army to pursue Sheba, finding him in the city of Abel Beth Maakah. As they attacked the city, a woman called out to Joab:

“I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”

Joab answered, “Get serious! I don’t want to [Far be it, far be it from me that I should—KJV] swallow up or destroy anything! That’s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.”  (2 Samuel 20:19-21)

The woman gave the message to the people of the city, who killed Sheba, and Joab went back to Jerusalem.

Far be it from me is now often used in a sarcastic way, mocking what someone else believes to be true, as in “Far be it from me to be kind to my children! Honestly, why do you think I’m such a bad parent?”

to gain someone’s love
—All it took was a little meow, and the tiny kitten with the hurt leg stole my heart.

Absolom, King David’s son, took steps to replace his father as leader of Israel by winning the affection of the people. As the Israelites came to Jerusalem with complaints needing the king’s decision, Absalom met them outside the city gates and promised them justice if he were made their judge.

When someone approached to bow before him, Absalom would extend his hand and embrace him and kiss him. Absalom acted this way toward everyone in Israel who came to the king for justice. In this way Absalom won the loyalty [stole the hearts—KJV] of the citizens of Israel. (2 Samuel 15:5,6)

When he felt the time was right, Absalom declared himself king, and David fled from Jerusalem. While chasing after David with his army, Absalom was killed by Joab. David then returned to his throne.

to misrepresent a person’s opinions or what someone has said; to suggest what someone should say
—I did not say that I agreed with him. Stop putting words in my mouth. 

After the death of King Saul, David took over the throne of Israel. While David was a great king, his life was not without struggles. Some were caused by his own sins, and others were caused by the sins of his sons, beginning with his oldest, Amnon. Amnon was filled with lust for his half sister, Tamar, and raped her. Two years later, Absalom (full brother to Tamar and half brother to Amnon) took revenge by having his servants kill Amnon. After this murder, Absalom fled. Joab, the commander of David’s army, wanted the king to allow Absalom to return, so he came up with a plan. He told a woman to pretend that she was a widow in mourning and to tell a story to King David:

“Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say [put the words in her mouth—KVJ]. (2 Samuel 14:3)

The story that the woman told to the king was this:

Your servant has two sons. When the two of them got into a fight in the field, there was no one present who could intervene. One of them struck the other and killed him. Now the entire family has risen up against your servant, saying, “Turn over the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him and avenge the death of his brother whom he killed. In so doing we will also destroy the heir.” They want to extinguish my remaining coal, leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband.” (2 Samuel 14:6,7)

When David said that he would protect her son from harm, the woman challenged the king to show the same mercy to his own son and let him come back safely. The plan worked, and Absalom returned.

a great person or group has failed or been disgraced
—Two years ago the president and vice president were celebrating their reelection. Now they are in prison. How the mighty have fallen.

Throughout his rule as king of Israel, Saul fought against the Philistines, and in the end, he was gravely wounded in a battle with them. Rather than have his enemies find him and kill him, Saul killed himself:

Saul said to his armor bearer “Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me.” But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead he also fell on his own sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day. (1 Samuel 31:4-6)

Upon hearing the news that Saul and his son Jonathan were dead, David was filled with grief. He wrote a song in their honor, which begins,

The beauty of Israel lies slain on your high places!

How the mighty have fallen [how are the mighty fallen—KJV]! (2 Samuel 1:19)

About the deaths of Saul and his armor bearer, the Wycliffe Bible—the Bible’s first English translation, completed in the late 1300s—says that “Saul took his sword, and felled thereon,” and the armor bearer, “also he felled upon his sword.”

Today, to fall on one’s sword means to take the blame for a mistake or wrongdoing and to punish oneself, often by resigning from a job or position.