Sayings

Let the dead bury the dead

This page is about the saying "Let the dead bury the dead"

Possible meaning:
This is generally taken to imply that we should spend our time and energy on living people, not on dead people. (But see Origin below.)

Note:
bury (verb) = put (a dead body) in the earth or in the sea

Origin: This saying has its roots in the Bible, and may originally have meant that the living should serve God rather than serve the dead (though its real interpretation has long been the subject of heated theological debate). Matthew 8: "Another of the disciples said to Him, 'Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.'"

Quick Quiz

In the saying "Let the dead bury the dead", the word "dead" is

a. a noun

b. an adjective

c. a noun first and then an adjective
a) a noun b) an adjective c) a noun first and then an adjective

See Saying of the Day today

Contributor: Josef Essberger