Do you know where the proverb, “Red sky at night sailors delight, red sky in morning sailors warning?” comes from?

If you said Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis, you would be right. But only partially. Here’s the quote:

“Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.”

Before that, Jesus said it in the Bible in Matthew 16: 2-3 (ESV)

He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’”

What Jesus was really talking about:

You’d think it would be about sailing! But nooooo. He was referring to the unbelief of the Pharisees and Sadducees asking for a “sign” right then and there to prove to them that he was the Son of God.

Jesus said the people in Jonah’s day (remember those three days in the whale?) had better faith than these men did. The divine was in their midst and they were blind to it.

Back to the origin of the phrase. Honestly, I have no idea, probably a sailor.

From the makers of Nuggets of Awesome You Didn’t Know Came From the Bible. (I just made that up, but maybe I’ll do it again and it’ll be a thing.)

The Bible: not only relevant, but keeps you from sinking your boat.