We Usually Say This Backwards
rogersgeorge on August 24th, 2021
What we say:
The golden rule appears in several forms across religions. The usual way we say it is a misquote of the Bible. We say “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”). But this is backwards from Bible! The original, (in modern English) says, “However you want people to treat you, treat them like that.” The Bible states the standard for behavior first (whatsoever ye would that men should do to you), then what you should do (do ye even so to them). We usually first say what to do, then the reason for behaving that way.
Not a big difference, I suppose, but we curmudgeons like to get the details right.
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