2006-12-14 11:14:06 · 2 answers · asked by JoAnn W 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
Its 'This too shall pass'.
It is a translation of the Hebrew phrase 'gam zeh ya-avor', which means exactly the same thing.
According to legend, King Solomon asked his wise men to make him a ring that would be inscribed with a phrase that would help him through tough times and remind him of his smallness during times of greatness. I'm not sure (I'm telling you this from memory) but I think in the end it was his mother Batshevah who suggested the phrase 'this too shall pass', which he duly inscribed on the ring - which I think was to commemorate his coronation...
Better biblical scholars than I can supply any missing details. But there you have it. The phrase tends to be incorrectly attributed to Shakespeare, who may have appropriated it from the older Hebraic origin.
Google 'gam zeh ya-avor ( or 'yaavor' or 'ya'avor)' and you will probably pull up lots of interesting stuff.
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2006-12-14 11:22:54 · answer #1 · answered by cyclgrrl 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are probably thinking of a poem by Lanta Wilson Smith, entitled, This Too Shall Pass Away. The phrase is common and found in many writings. It does not appear in that exact form in our English Bibles. 2 Peter 3:10-11 suggests the idea that earthly things shall pass and we therefore ought to live for eternity.
2006-12-14 11:24:01 · answer #2 · answered by Jesse T. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋