By Jenny Fulton

God loves us and deeply desires for us to know Him, to love Him, to want a relationship with Him.

He knows this life can be hard, that it carries joy and sorrow, times when all is going well and times of suffering. Jesus experienced it all. He understands.

God wants us to see Him, to hear His words, to experience the joy, peace, comfort, love, hope, and so much more that He offers. To this end, He may work in a variety of ways – encouraging words from a stranger or a hug from a friend, a song, sermon, podcast, etc., a special moment, a peace-filled silence, an encouraging verse taken completely out of context. Although highly inadvisable, God may even work through a random flipping open of the Bible as we desperately seek to obtain some Word or connection with Him (I can’t be the only one who has done this).  

The risk with the latter two examples is they may lead us to assume something about God and living the Christian life that isn’t true. As an extreme example, let’s briefly look at one of my favorite verses, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). While this verse can prove to be a great encouragement and motivator to do, or keep doing, difficult tasks God has called us to, it may also be misused to justify dangerously pushing ourselves beyond physical limitations to do something God has no desire for us to do (yes, I’m speaking from experience). Or we may see our faith shaken when it turns out that trusting God doesn’t mean we will be capable of doing absolutely anything we want.

Sometimes God brings a specific verse or passage of the Bible to our minds. If He does, we can assume there’s a reason for it, possibly something He wants us to learn or remember for ourselves and/or others.

Learning how to study a verse, short passage (a few verses), and chapter enables us to delve deeper into the Bible to gain a more accurate understanding of who God is, how He interacts with us, and what it means to walk with Him.

It doesn’t take as long as studying an entire book of the Bible does and allows us to focus on a specific principle.

Described below are some of the methods I’ve used for this type of study. Sometimes I go through all of them and other times I only use a few. It really depends on your time, resources, and where and how God is leading you.

12 Steps to Study a Verse, Passage, and Chapter

Step 1: Consider Why

Before you jump in, consider your purpose – your reason for wanting to study this particular section.

Why, out of all 31,000+ verses in the Bible, did this verse/passage stand out to you? Is it one of your favorites? Have you heard it preached on? Questioned an interpretation or application you saw/heard/read? You have no idea why you’re interested, but it just keeps popping up in your mind like an annoying song that won’t go away until you give in and fully investigate it?

We may not, probably won’t, know exactly why God is leading us to study the passage, but thinking about some of these questions can open our minds to be aware of what might be driving our interest. What questions should we be asking? What does God want to show us? Say to us?

Step 2: Pray

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” John 14:26 (NASB 95).

Ask God to give you eyes to see and ears to hear, to help you understand and reveal what He wants you to learn from your time with Him as you dig into His Word.

Step 3: Identify What You Know

When we think we know something, the learning part of our brain shuts off. After all, why engage the thought process and critical thinking skills when you already know the answer? Identifying what we think we know can help us be watchful of those moments where we may actually need to work harder to re-engage our minds.

List everything you know about the verse/passage you’ll be studying. It can be as basic as knowing which book the section is found in or any comments/commentaries/sermons/etc. you’ve heard about it.

Step 4: Consider Your Background

Our past experiences can influence our view and interpretation of the Bible. Most of the time, we may not even recognize this is the case. Identifying these aspects of our life and mindset from the get-go can help us better study the chosen passage by alerting us to points we may struggle with or those with which we may have a deeper understanding and connection.

Some personal background questions to reflect upon:

• What is your experience with Christianity and churches?
• How familiar are you with the Bible?
• Have you been through any tough experiences that may have impacted your ideas and beliefs of who God is?
• What is your experience with this verse/passage/chapter?

Step 5: Read the Verse/Passage/Chapter

Read the verse/s in your favorite Bible. Make observations. Underline any key words or phrases that stand out to you. Ask questions. Answer the ones you can after only one reading and try to answer the rest as you go through the study.

Some questions you may ask:

• What is your initial understanding of the verse/passage?
• What stands out to you?
• Who is speaking?
• Who is the audience?
• What is the topic/main idea?
• Why is the topic important?
• What does the speaker say about the topic?
• What is the context – what was the speaker talking about before and after the section you read?

Step 6: Read Before and After

Verse Study: Read the verse before and after the one you’re studying. Back up and read a few more verses before and after. Read the whole chapter.

• Where does the topic of the verse begin and end?
• What is the context for it?
• How does seeing the greater context of the verse impact your understanding?

Passage Study: Read the paragraphs before and after your chosen passage. Read a chapter or two before and after to gain even more context.

• Where does the topic of the passage begin and end?
• What matters are discussed before and after your selected passage?
• How does the subject of your passage tie into the surrounding subjects?
• How do the surrounding verses impact your understanding?

Chapter Study: Read the first few verses or chapter of the book of the Bible your chapter is found in. Read the chapter before and after the one you’re studying. Read the last chapter or paragraph of the book.

• Who is the author and audience of the book?
• Does the author identify his purpose for writing the book in either the first or final chapter?
• What matters are discussed before and after your chapter?
• How does the subject of your chapter tie into the surrounding chapters and the theme of the book as a whole?
• How does the context of the book and surrounding chapters impact your understanding?

Step 7: Look up Notations

Some Bibles have notations in the center margin and/or at the bottom of each page (these are sometimes called Study Bibles or Reference Bibles). If you have a Bible that includes cross references, look up each verse and write them down or copy/paste them to a document, along with the original verse.

Make observations, underline key words and phrases, and ask questions such as:  

• What is your initial understanding of the verse?
• What stands out to you?
• Who is speaking?
• Who is the audience?
• What is the topic/main idea?
• Why is the topic important?
• What does the speaker say about the topic?

Read before and after the cross-referenced verse to gain more context.

• Where does the topic of the verse begin and end?
• What is the context for it?
• How does seeing the greater context of the verse impact your understanding?
• How does it relate to the original verse?

Do the cross-referenced verses impact your understanding of the original verse/s?

Step 8: Read and Compare Different Translations.

Read the verse/passage in different Bible translations. LOGOS Bible Study Software or online sites such as BibleGateway, Bible Hub, and bible.com (YouVersion Bible app) are great places to find and compare translation.

• Does the word choice in each version impact the overall meaning, provide greater clarity, make it more confusing, etc?
• Which translation seems to resonate or fit better with what you’ve discovered so far?

Step 9: Research Greek or Hebrew Words

Look up the original Greek or Hebrew for any words (or verses) you want a greater understanding of. The LOGOS Bible Study Software software or app is a great way to do this. Bible Hub and Scripture 4 All are two online sources I found that provide a way for you to see the Greek and Hebrew translations.

Substitute the original word meanings into the verse. For example, if I put the original meaning of some of the words into Philippians 4:13, I get, “I have the power and ability to do all in the One who causes me to have the ability.”

Does discovering the original, literal meaning of the original language impact your understanding of the verse and chapter?

Some resources for learning more about the Greek and Hebrew words and definitions (included w/ LOGOS software): The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong’s Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance.

Step 10: Read Commentaries

Look up a commentary on the passage you studied and compare their findings to yours. Do you agree or disagree with their conclusions? Did they discover something you missed? Something else that makes you think? Something that adds another piece and creates a fuller picture?

To find a commentary, you can use a study Bible, a commentary you’re already familiar wit,h or do a search for commentaries on the verse/passage you studied.

Step 11: Summarize

Write a summary of what you learned. What is the main principle/truth/teaching of the verse/passage? Who does it apply to? In what situation/s does it apply? Why is it important?

Step 12: Pray and Apply

Think about everything you’ve learned. What did you learn about God through the study? Ask God to show you what He wants you to take away and how He would have you apply it to your life. Ask Him to give you the strength and wisdom to live out what you’ve learned and to grow closer in your relationship with Him.

Continue to seek Him.

Examples of Verse/Passage Studies

• The Origin of Thought: A Lesson from the Book of Daniel
• An Observation About God’s Guidance

Articles in this Series:

• My Bible Study Journey (and what I’ve learned along the way)
• How to Study a Book of the Bible
• How to Study a Verse, Short Passage, or Chapter
• How to Study a Word or Concept
• How to Study a Person in the Bible