Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Scripture ·77 of 348
"Faith can move mountains."
They never said that.
What people say
"Faith can move mountains."
What was actually said
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove." Jesus — Matthew 17:20 (KJV, 1611)
Why it stuck
Jesus is specific about the size of the faith (a mustard seed) and the act (commanding, not moving). "Faith moves mountains" flattens both the quantity and the grammar.
Paul echoes the image in 1 Corinthians 13:2 ("though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains…"), which further conflated the forms.
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