Donald Trump says he loves the Bible and is prepared to quote scripture.
The billionaire businessman’s religion has become a campaign issue since his Republican rival Ben Carson cited his personal faith as a key difference between the two of them last week. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network published Wednesday, Trump quoted the book of Proverbs.
“There’s so many things that you can learn from it (The Bible),” the real estate mogul told CBN’s David Brody. “Proverbs, the chapter ‘never bend to envy.’ I’ve had that thing all of my life where people are bending to envy.”
It was not immediately clear, which verse Trump was referencing. Multiple searches of various English versions failed to produce a verse with the phrase “never bend to envy” although Proverbs mentions the topic of envy on several occasions.
Trump has repeatedly named the Bible as his favorite book, but had declined to share his favorite verse.
“I wouldn’t want to get into it. Because to me, that’s very personal,” he told Bloomberg news last month. “The Bible means a lot to me, but I don’t want to get into specifics.”
In the CBN interview at his golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library where he’ll debate Wednesday night, Trump said the more he reads the Bible, the more “incredible” it becomes.
“The Bible is special. The Bible, the more you see it, the more you read it, the more incredible it is. I don’t like to use this analogy, but like a great movie, a great, incredible movie. You’ll see it once it will be good. You’ll see it again. You can see it 20 times and every time you’ll appreciate it more. The Bible is the most special thing,” he said.