How do you study the Bible?… Bible study tools and translations abound, making maneuvering through them and choosing which to use more than a bit intimidating.
I’ve tried many over the years and here are my no-fuss, easy-to-use favorites:
1. ZEBRITE BIBLE MARKERS
Colorful and lasting, these don’t bleed through the pages, unintentionally marking the passage on the back side. Each has 2 tips - a thin end for underlining or circling and a thicker end for highlighting. They’re sold individually or in a small pouch of 4-5 multiple colors (great for travel). I always buy mine at my local Mardel Christian bookstore because I know that company greatly blesses others from their profits.
2. BIBLE PROJECT VIDEOS
Billed as “visual storytelling meets the Bible,” these short 5-7 minute videos highlight main themes in the Bible in an easy to understand way. I like to watch one on a particular book of the Bible before I start reading or studying it to get background and an overview. I view them on my YouVersion App, but you can easily find their widest variety of videos at bibleproject.com/explore or on YouTube.
3. HEBREW-GREEK KEY STUDY BIBLE
Study Bibles have more resources within them than your regular Bible. Some include lots of commentary and footnotes, devotions, character studies, Bible reading plans and more, but I don’t want that much in my Bible. I want a solid but manageable amount of introductory background context to each book in the Bible and definitions of key words, as well as a nice amount of Cross References (references to a few other other verses on the same thing) and a Concordance (alphabetical listing of words in the Bible and verses using that word) at the back so I can easily track the Bible’s more comprehensive take on a subject. I want a Bible that helps me study the Bible for myself and this one delivers.
I passionately love that this Bible highlights main words in a passage with a number so I can easily flip to the back of the Bible and find a Hebrew and Greek lexicon (dictionary) that gives me the original word and its definition. Invaluable understanding! Study Bibles can be expensive, but here is a 30% off coupon for the leather one I linked above or for this less expensive hardcover option. Buy one for yourself or put it on your Christmas Wish List now!
Honorable mention: ESV STUDY BIBLE
My absolute go to whenever I want to seriously study a passage or topic. This site houses multiple Bible translations and versions, Commentaries, Concordances, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and more. I started intentionally studying God’s Word before the benefit of the internet, so I know how to appreciate it! No more lugging multiple Bible translations and heavy resource books to spread out on my kitchen table for study. No timely looking up everything I need and making it impossible for anyone to put a plate down for dinner.
Once you learn how to choose some settings on this site, you can type in the passage or topic you want to study and magic happens! It gives you links that take you not just to valuable resources, but to the exact places in those resources for what you need. I especially love the links to original word meanings and the Bible handbooks listed under the Concordance category because they make studying a topic so easy.
But…
Regardless of what Bible study tools you choose, they will only deeply impact you if we use the two tools God has already given each of us:
5. OUR MIND AND HEART
We must think deeply about the Bible when we listen to, read and study it. We must look first for what it teaches us about God and His ways, then we must wrestle with how to practically realign our beliefs and behaviors to live according to it. As evangelist D.L. Moody has been credited with saying,
“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.”
Let us embrace the tools God has given us to study His Word. Most importantly, let us think and live differently because we have done so.
LINKS TO RELATED Council Road Women POSTS:
Meet the Author!
Bible teacher, author, inspirational speaker and disciple-maker, Vickey Banks is passionate about helping women connect the dots between God’s Word and their everyday lives. She loves serving as Women’s Ministry Director at Council Road, celebrating her people, playing with her puppy and getting lost in a good story.