Book Minute

All around this museum are signs. They can be removed or replaced as needed. But some writings are attached to buildings more permanently—inscriptions carved into stone or embedded into floors. Bible verses are affixed to buildings all over the world. In the floor of the central lobby of the Houses of Parliament in London is a Latin inscription from Psalm 127: “Unless the LORD builds the house its builders labor in vain.” At the main entrance to the Canadian Parliament buildings are three Bible inscriptions. One from Proverbs 29: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” from Proverbs 29. And two from Psalm 72: “Give the King thy judgment, O God, and thy righteousness unto the King’s son”; and “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea.” Perhaps one of the most unlikely examples is at the original headquarters of the CIA. On the main lobby wall is the agency motto from John’s Gospel: "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." One final example comes from the Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. From Deuteronomy 28, the following words are above the entrance to passport control: "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out." If you want to see examples of Bible inscriptions here in Washington DC, visit “Washington Revelations” right here in the museum.