Due to long Christian traditions in Finland, biblical phrases are in frequent use in Finnish, often so that their roots and connections are not known to many people who use them. The form of the phrases is generally based on the Bible translation made in the 1930s, rather than the newer (1992) translation. Both translations are available on the web at raamattu.uskonkirjat.com, where they can also be compared with some English and other translations. The new translation also changed the spelling of some Biblical names, e.g. from Aabel to Abel. The older forms are still much more widely known.
The form of a Biblical phrase has often undergone some changes; for example, the phrase heittää helmiä sioille (to throw pearls to swines) does not appear as such in the Bible; it is based on älkääkä heittäkö helmiänne sikojen eteen (do not throw your pearls before pigs). Many phrases are just names that allude to stories of the Bible rather than quotations from it, e.g. tuhlaajapoika (prodigal son).