The now commonly-used English idiom “money is the root of all evil” (meaning the desire to obtain and amass money is the ultimate reason humans do evil things) was first coined in 1560 in the Geneva Bible (in the spelling (the desire of) money is the roote of all euill). (Source: Crystal 2010, p. 283)

In Russian, this phrase (Ибо корень всех зол есть сребролюбие — Ibo koren’ vsekh zol yest’ srebrolyubiye) is also widely-used as an idiom. The wording of the quote originated in the Russian Synodal Bible (publ. 1876). (Source: Reznikov 2020, p. 45)

It is also used in the following languages:

• Spanish: El dinero es la raíz de todos los males
• French: L’argent est la racine de tout mal / L’argent est la source de tous les maux
• Arabic: المال أصل كل الشر (almal ‘asl kuli alshari)
• Mandarin Chinese: 钱是万恶之源 (qián shì wàn’èzhī yuán)
• German: Geld ist die Wurzel allen Übels