Dictionary Home » The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms » multitude of sins, cover a

multitude of sins, cover a

multitude of sins, cover a idiom

Compensate for numerous evils, as in You may not be offering to help with the fair, but that big donation covers a multitude of sins. This expression originated in the New Testament (I Peter 4:8): “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.