--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only words worth repeating are from…" description: "\"“The only words worth repeating are from the Old Testament or Oscar Wilde.”\" — Barry Gifford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barry-gifford-52375_old-testament_the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from_1449582.jpg" --- # The only words worth repeating are from the Old Testament… ![“The only words worth repeating are from the Old Testament or Oscar Wilde.” quote by Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barry-gifford-52375_old-testament_the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from_1449582.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barry-gifford-52375_old-testament_the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from_1449582.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barry-gifford-52375_old-testament_the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from_1449582.jpg) > ““The only words worth repeating are from the Old Testament or Oscar Wilde.”” [Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only the most profound words come from ancient scripture or Oscar Wilde’s wit. **In simple terms:** Old Testament and Wilde hold the best sayings. Key Takeaway Seek wisdom in classic sources. Themes literature wisdom tradition Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading classics - quoting in conversation - writing essays Key Concepts biblical literature Oscar Wilde Questions to Reflect On - Which modern author challenges this view? - How do you define “worth repeating”? A Different Perspective May overlook modern insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Old testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) [Oscar wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oscar-wilde/) [Quotes-on-quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quotes-on-quotes-153057/) [Repeating Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeating-old-3484386/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-worth-632835/) [Worth Repeating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-repeating-1096426/) ## Related quotes > [“People who like quotations love meaningless generalisations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/people-who-like-quotations-love-meaningless-generalisations/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [What we see is what they're trying to sell us. It's not true nostalgic as much as it is repeating old material because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moranis/what-we-see-is-what-they-re-trying-to-sell-us-it-s-not-true-nostalgic/) [Rick Moranis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moranis/) > [“... the vintage of history is forever repeating ~ same old vines, same old wines!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/the-vintage-of-history-is-forever-repeating-same-old-vines-same-old/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Making changes can be difficult, but less difficult than repeating the same old story. -](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/making-changes-can-be-difficult-but-less-difficult-than-repeating-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Happily for me, ninety-nine percent of all human life is spent simply repeating the same old actions, speaking the same tired clichés, moving like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/happily-for-me-ninety-nine-percent-of-all-human-life-is-spent-simply/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [If you stop reading and learning, you will start repeating yourself; that's why, old people always repeat the same things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-stop-reading-and-learning-you-will-start-repeating-yourself/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“ninety-nine percent of all human life is spent simply repeating the same old actions, speaking the same tired clichés, moving like a zombie through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/ninety-nine-percent-of-all-human-life-is-spent-simply-repeating-the/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [“Is a picture really worth a thousand words? 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It's not the word count but the impact of those words that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/three-carefully-stringed-words-are-worth-more-than-a-book-of/) [richelle e. goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [You need to say the words worth saying while you still can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-need-to-say-the-words-worth-saying-while-you-still-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is like that, full of words that are not worth saying or that were worth saying once but not any more, each word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/life-is-like-that-full-of-words-that-are-not-worth-saying-or-that/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Be silent or let thy words be worth more than silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/be-silent-or-let-thy-words-be-worth-more-than-silence/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [“The life these words speak of is not worth the ink they are written in… He now knows that the only words worth writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-makine/the-life-these-words-speak-of-is-not-worth-the-ink-they-are-written/) [Andreï Makine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-makine/) > [Good words are worth much, and cost little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/good-words-are-worth-much-and-cost-little/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Words are worth little when the heart refuses to hear. Therefore, judge us by our works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/words-are-worth-little-when-the-heart-refuses-to-hear-therefore-judge/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) ## More by Barry Gifford > [“In the picture, Ava Gardner's tousled black hair obscured her right eye, and her full, closed lips were pulled slightly to the right, resulting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/in-the-picture-ava-gardner-s-tousled-black-hair-obscured-her-right/) [Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) > [“This is something an ordinary man can never know. You will enter the House of Dreams, Juanito, where you will live forever. Your mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/this-is-something-an-ordinary-man-can-never-know-you-will-enter-the/) [Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) > [“Romeo gritted his teeth and let the wind hit his face. Believe it, he told himself. Life with this woman will be without apologies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/romeo-gritted-his-teeth-and-let-the-wind-hit-his-face-believe-it-he/) [Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) > [“BARRY GIFFORD, Author of "Wild at Heart", on DANGEROUS ODDS by Marisa Lankester: "Marisa Lankester's unique chronicle of high crimes and low company is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/barry-gifford-author-of-wild-at-heart-on-dangerous-odds-by-marisa/) [Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) > [“Barry Gifford, Author of Wild at Heart, says: “Marisa Lankester’s unique chronicle of high crimes and low company is as wild a ride as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/barry-gifford-author-of-wild-at-heart-says-marisa-lankester-s-unique/) [Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) > [“The world is really wild at heart and weird on top.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/the-world-is-really-wild-at-heart-and-weird-on-top/) [Barry Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) [Explore all 7 Barry Gifford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/) ## More Old testament quotes > [“days of the earliest Church? I ask you: Do you want things to go on as usual, or do you want to see God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall/days-of-the-earliest-church-i-ask-you-do-you-want-things-to-go-on-as/) [R. T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall/) > [“Jesus and Paul knew the Old Testament completely. Their comments about divorce were meant to add to, not replace or change, what was already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-abbott/jesus-and-paul-knew-the-old-testament-completely-their-comments-about/) [Caroline Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-abbott/) > [“Jesus was not just a man filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or blessed with the presence of God, like the prophets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-norris/jesus-was-not-just-a-man-filled-with-the-baptism-of-the-holy-spirit/) [S.G. Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-norris/) > [“May Christ, indeed, be the theme of your song. CONCLUSION If you are like me, this may be the first thing in the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-christ-indeed-be-the-theme-of-your-song-conclusion-if-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) [Twe Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twe-stephens/) > [“‎A careful reading of the Old and New Testaments shows that idolatry is nothing like the crude picture that springs to mind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-keyes/a-careful-reading-of-the-old-and-new-testaments-shows-that-idolatry/) [Richard Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-keyes/) > [Who wrote the Bible? Current scholarship, to my knowledge, assumes that the material that constitutes the Old Testament was put together from various oral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/who-wrote-the-bible-current-scholarship-to-my-knowledge-assumes-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“When we connect the death of Christ to the Old Testament, as Paul tells us we should,45 we can see the destruction of Jerusalem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-j-h-wright-2/when-we-connect-the-death-of-christ-to-the-old-testament-as-paul/) [Christopher J.H. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-j-h-wright-2/) > [Calvin founded a little theocracy, modeled after the Old Testament, and succeeded in erecting the most detestable government that ever existed, except the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/calvin-founded-a-little-theocracy-modeled-after-the-old-testament-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [My father, my Rastafari culture, has a tight link to the Jewish culture. We have a strong connection from when I was a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/my-father-my-rastafari-culture-has-a-tight-link-to-the-jewish-culture/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Sunday morning came – next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sunday-morning-came-next-day-the-battalions-would-leave-for-the-front/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The call to “take the land” ...is not a call to a new political, cultural or geographical dominance. It is Kingdom of God territory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-baker/the-call-to-take-the-land-is-not-a-call-to-a-new-political-cultural/) [Ken Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-baker/) > [“Somehow, Matheus expected the night he died to be fraught with weather straight out of the Old Testament: thunderstorms and hurricane winds and floods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/somehow-matheus-expected-the-night-he-died-to-be-fraught-with-weather/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [“Which God is the forgiving one, exactly? Old Testament, where He got His rocks off by smiting? Or New Testament, once Our Heavenly Father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/which-god-is-the-forgiving-one-exactly-old-testament-where-he-got-his/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) [Browse all 606 Old testament quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The only words worth repeating are from the Old Testament or Oscar Wilde.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barry Gifford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from-the-old-testament-or-oscar/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Old testament" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from-the-old-testament-or-oscar/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barry-gifford-52375_old-testament_the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from_1449582.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barry-gifford-52375_old-testament_the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from_1449582.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barry-gifford-52375_old-testament_the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from_1449582.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only words worth repeating are from the Old Testament or Oscar Wilde.” — Barry Gifford", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barry Gifford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gifford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The only words worth repeating are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from-the-old-testament-or-oscar/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gifford/the-only-words-worth-repeating-are-from-the-old-testament-or-oscar/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```