As a pastor, it is my joy to see our church family studying the Bible outside of our regular services. It is wonderful when we all earnestly desire the Word of God as food for our souls. Below are a few free and helpful tools as you study the Word. They are probably familiar to most but have proven extremely helpful to me in my Bible studying.

Bible Gateway

This site is very helpful in looking up Scripture verses. I really like the layout of the text. It is quite user-friendly. When you arrive on the site you can type in the reference that you would like to look up and then choose the version that you would like to read.

When you have a passage pulled up, there are some free resources, like Bible dictionaries and commentaries, off to the right hand side of the page to help you in your study.

Visit Bible Gateway

Blue Letter Bible

Blue Letter Bible is another great Bible Study site. On the homepage, type in the book and chapter that you would like to study and click search. The passage then comes up on the page with each verse separated from the other.

Next to each verse there is a button entitled “tools.” From this menu you can choose to explore the following:

  • Interlinear: This is just a fancy term for the English and the Greek or Hebrew text shown side by side so that you can separate out each word. When you click on the "Strong’s Concordance" number (Eg. H7725) you will discover how many times that word is used in the Bible, how it is translated in different passages, and what the definition is.
  • Bibles: You can explore other versions using the same tools
  • Cross-References: See your study passage referenced elsewhere in the Bible.
  • Commentaries: Read what other men of God who have studied the Word diligently, like Matthew Henry or C. H. Spurgeon, have to say about the passage you are studying.
  • Bible Dictionaries: These function just like a normal dictionary. Want to know what “communion” means? Look it up!

Visit Blue Letter Bible

Bible Study Tools

This site is very similar to Blue Letter Bible but with a bit more of a modern interface. I still like Blue Letter Bible better because it seems more comprehensive and it is easier to drill down into each verse. But, feel free to check out Bible Study Tools.

Visit Bible Study Tools

Got Questions

Please check out this resource! GotQuestions.org was started in 2002 and has to date answered over 500,000 Bible questions. They have even begun translating some of their most important questions into other languages. I have found this resource to be an integral part of the Bible studies of which I have been a part, my own personal Bible study, and even my sermon preparation!

Though I may not agree with every answer to every question to which Got Questions has responded, I can say that I agree with most. I will assure you that I have read the statement of faith and that I agree with it.

When you are reading through your Bible and come across something that prompts a question, try out Got Questions and see if they have written a helpful response. Happy studying!

Visit Got Questions