Sour grapes (Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Aesop)

Bible Verse:
「…everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes-his own teeth will be set on edge.」 (Jeremiah 31:29-30)

Meaning:
Sour grapes were intended to mean sinful deeds in the Bible. In Aesop's fables, you dismiss something as sour grapes when you try to belittle something you cannot have but really desire.

Origin and Application:
In one of the Aesop's fables – Sour Grapes, a fox noticed a bunch of grapes on the grapevine. He tried to reach to grab the grapes, but failed. Disappointed, he said, 「the grapes are sour anyway.」
It will be interesting to note that the idiom 「sour grapes」 has its parallel in the Old Testament written by the prophet Jeremiah (626 – 580 BC), who incidentally is a contemporary of Aesop (620-560 BC). The Lord says to Jeremiah, 「…everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes-his own teeth will be set on edge.」

Sour grapes酸葡萄（耶利米書 31：29－30 和 伊索寓言）

Bible Verse:
「…everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes-his own teeth will be set on edge.」 (Jeremiah 31:29-30)
上帝對耶利米說，「當那些日子，人不再說，父親吃了酸葡萄，兒子的牙酸倒了。但各人必因自己的罪死亡，凡吃酸葡萄的，自己的牙必酸倒。」（和合本）（耶利米書 31：29－30）

Meaning:
在聖經中，酸葡萄意味著罪過。隨著伊索寓言中酸葡萄的故事的普及，「sour grapes」引申出另一意思──放棄一些得不到的慾望。

Origin and Application:
酸葡萄的故事是伊索寓言中的其中一則寓言，它講述了這樣一個故事：一隻狐狸看到了葡萄籐上的一串葡萄，他嘗試抓取那些葡萄卻失敗了。狐狸非常失望，所以他安慰自己說，「葡萄是酸的。」
有趣的是，在聖經舊約中可以找到「sour grapes」這習語。伊索（620－560BC）和舊約先知耶利米（626－580BC）屬同期的人物。上帝對耶利米說，「當那些日子，人不再說，父親吃了酸葡萄，兒子的牙酸倒了。但各人必因自己的罪死亡，凡吃酸葡萄的，自己的牙必酸倒。」（和合本）（耶利米書 31：29－30）

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