Meanings
alternative man cannot live by bread alone · alternative man does not live by bread alone · alternative man does not live on bread alone · alternative man shall not live on bread alone · alternative one does not live by bread alone
- People need more than food and shelter to live a fulfilling life.
Another basic religious and moral consideration is that in foreign aid we actually go beyond material realities. “Man shall not live by bread alone.”
1957 April 12, Eugene Carson Blake, The Foreign Aid Program: Hearings Before the Special Committee to Study the Foreign Aid Program. United States Senate, Eighty-Fifth Congress, First Session, page 5582 more examples
(1) Why is it in the national interest to provide Federal support for the humanities and the arts? […] The first of these three questions was answered succinctly 2,000 years ago: “Man shall not live by bread alone.”
1965 February 26, Gustave O. Arlt, National Arts and Humanities Foundations […] United States Senate, Eighty-Ninth Congress, First Session, page 326I am as anxious as anyone, perhaps more than many in this House, for dollars to be spent in places where they are needed, particularly in the field of old age pensions and other forms of social security. But […] man shall not live by bread alone. I suggest that the concern for preserving the various cultures of an area like Cape Breton Island is a concern that this House does well to consider.
1975 February 28, Stanley Knowles, Canada, House of Commons Debates: Official Report. First Session—Thirtieth Parliament, 24 Elizabeth II, volume 4, page 3690
Origin
From the King James translation of Luke 4:4 (“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”) or Matthew 4:4 (“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”), which are paraphrases of Deuteronomy 8:3. The Middle English translation in Wycliffe’s Bible is a man lyveth not in breed aloon.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic لَيْسَ بِٱلْخُبْزِ وَحْدَهُ يَحْيَا ٱلْإِنْسَانُ
- لَيْسَ بِٱلْخُبْزِ وَحْدَهُ يَحْيَا ٱلْإِنْسَانُ (laysa bi-l-ḵubzi waḥdahu yaḥyā l-ʔinsānu)Translations
Finnish ei ihminen elä ainoastaan leivästä
- ei ihminen elä ainoastaan leivästäTranslations
Hungarian nemcsak kenyérrel él az ember
- nemcsak kenyérrel él az emberTranslations
Italian non di solo pane vive l'uomo
- non di solo pane vive l'uomoTranslations
Japanese 人はパンのみにて生くる者に非ず
- 人はパンのみにて生くる者に非ず (hito wa pan nomi ni te ikuru mono ni arazu)Translations
Latin nōn in sōlō pāne vīvit homō
- nōn in sōlō pāne vīvit homōTranslations
Polish nie samym chlebem żyje człowiek
- nie samym chlebem żyje człowiekTranslations
Portuguese nem só de pão viverá o homem
- nem só de pão viverá o homemTranslations
Russian не хле́бом еди́ным жив челове́к
- не хле́бом еди́ным жив челове́к (ne xlébom jedínym živ čelovék)Translations
Spanish no sólo de pan vive el hombre
- no sólo de pan vive el hombreTranslations
Cite this entry
man shall not live by bread alone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/man%20shall%20not%20live%20by%20bread%20alone
“man shall not live by bread alone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/man%20shall%20not%20live%20by%20bread%20alone. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “man shall not live by bread alone,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/man%20shall%20not%20live%20by%20bread%20alone.
Source: man shall not live by bread alone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.