How to Look up a Bible Verse
Identify the book of the verse., Identify the chapter., Identify the verse number., Locate the verse within the chapter.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Identify the book of the verse.
When Bible verses are listed, the first thing you’ll see is the name of a book.
Use the table of contents in your Bible to locate that book within it.
The table of contents is at the beginning of the Bible.
Locate the name in the table of contents and turn to the page associated with the start of the book.
The name of the book might be abbreviated or spelled out completely.
Some books include:
Exodus (Ex) Genesis (Gen) Numbers (Num) -
Step 2: Identify the chapter.
After the book name, you’ll see two numbers.
The first number is the chapter.
For example, in “John 3:16”, “3” is the chapter number.
Look at the verse and determine which chapter is is from in the book.
Some people may cite Bible verse using abbreviations and Roman numerals.
For example, Lev. xx:13 is the same as Leviticus, chapter 20, verse
13.
Locate that chapter within the book.
You may be able to find the location of that chapter in the table of contents.
If not, you can thumb through the specific book until you see that chapter.As with other books, it should clearly say, “Chapter __” at the top of the chapter. , The second number after the book name is the verse number.
This number should come after a colon (:).
In the case of John 3:16, 16 would be the verse number.
If you're looking up a longer passage, there may be two numbers, separated by a hyphen (-).
For example, in John 3:16-18, you're looking for verses 16,17, and
18. , Once you’ve found the chapter, go through it until you find the verse.
The verses go in numerical order, just like chapters.
There should be a small number at the beginning of each sentence or a small group of sentences.
This is the verse number.
If you're looking for multiple verses, such as John 3:16-18, 17 and 18 would follow directly after
16. -
Step 3: Identify the verse number.
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Step 4: Locate the verse within the chapter.
Detailed Guide
When Bible verses are listed, the first thing you’ll see is the name of a book.
Use the table of contents in your Bible to locate that book within it.
The table of contents is at the beginning of the Bible.
Locate the name in the table of contents and turn to the page associated with the start of the book.
The name of the book might be abbreviated or spelled out completely.
Some books include:
Exodus (Ex) Genesis (Gen) Numbers (Num)
After the book name, you’ll see two numbers.
The first number is the chapter.
For example, in “John 3:16”, “3” is the chapter number.
Look at the verse and determine which chapter is is from in the book.
Some people may cite Bible verse using abbreviations and Roman numerals.
For example, Lev. xx:13 is the same as Leviticus, chapter 20, verse
13.
Locate that chapter within the book.
You may be able to find the location of that chapter in the table of contents.
If not, you can thumb through the specific book until you see that chapter.As with other books, it should clearly say, “Chapter __” at the top of the chapter. , The second number after the book name is the verse number.
This number should come after a colon (:).
In the case of John 3:16, 16 would be the verse number.
If you're looking up a longer passage, there may be two numbers, separated by a hyphen (-).
For example, in John 3:16-18, you're looking for verses 16,17, and
18. , Once you’ve found the chapter, go through it until you find the verse.
The verses go in numerical order, just like chapters.
There should be a small number at the beginning of each sentence or a small group of sentences.
This is the verse number.
If you're looking for multiple verses, such as John 3:16-18, 17 and 18 would follow directly after
16.
About the Author
Laura Ford
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