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Can anyone give me the origin of the phrase "what the right hand giveth, the left hand taketh away"?

I had assumed it was a Bible quote, but my Google ninja skills have failed to bring up a chapter and a verse.

Stephen K. Stephenson has published a comprehensive series of videos that show how calculations were done with stones (calculus = little stone). To summarize: to denote the number IV, he places one stone in a space that represents the number 5 on the right side of his abacus and one stone on a line representing the number 1 on the left side, so the I on the left and the V on the right in "IV" make perfect sense. In very concrete terms, the left side of the abacus (and the left hand) "taketh away".

Is it reasonable to say that this expression has an origin in arithmetic manipulations?

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The phrase "what the right hand gives, the left hand takes" is accusatory, and has its origin in Martin Luther's Commentary on the Sermon of the Mount. An influential translation of Luther's commentary, for example, phrases it this way:

These simple alms we do not find among the worldly. For their giving is of such a character, that the right hand gives but the left hand takes...yes, given in such a way that one takes ten times as much in place of what he gives....

"Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount" by Martin Luther, translated by Charles A. Hay, 1892, p 236.

Thus, while the source of the phrase could be said to be Matthew 5-7, the origin of the phrase is Martin Luther or, more precisely, an English translation of Martin Luther's commentary on Matthew 5-7.

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The biblical reference you are thinking of may be from the words of Jesus regarding giving alms 'let not the right hand know what the left hand doeth' regarding anonymity of charity.

Textus Receptus Bibles - Matthew 6:3, KJV

There is also an English idiom 'give with one hand, take with the other' meaning that a supposed benefactor (perhaps a Government) is apparently, but not actually, benefiting oneself. It is such a common saying, and so logically accessible, that I think it would be difficult to quote an 'original source' for it in antiquity.

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And the other possible biblical quote is from the book of Job 'the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away : blessed be the name of the Lord' regarding bereavement and other afflictions, which may (to some people) be somewhat topical at the present time.

Textus Receptus Bibles - Job 1:21, KJV

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    Yeah, it's probably a conflation of those idioms.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Apr 3, 2020 at 11:52
  • Seems very likely that somebody has, at some point, mixed up the Job quote and 'give with one hand, take with the other'. I don't recall hearing 'giveth/taketh' in the context of hands very often, but given how similar in meaning the two phrases are, it's an easy 'mistake' to make.
    – Will
    Commented Apr 3, 2020 at 11:59

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