I read from a children’s Bible every day. Technically, it’s no different than the grown-up NIV translation that might be sitting on your coffee table right now. But my version was created for kids so it has pictures throughout and cute little Bible stories right after Revelation 22:21. Score!
I’ve had this Bible since I was eleven years old, when my grandparents gave it to me for Christmas. Over the years I’ve collected other Bibles, of different translations and with less pictures, of course. Although I’ve tried to transition to a more grown-up version, I still come back to my tattered children’s Bible every day because it feels like home.
Oftentimes as I am reading and studying the Bible, however, a need will arise to quickly read a different translation, research a Greek or Hebrew word, visualize the story on a map, or discover a deeper understanding about a particular passage of scripture.
Enter the world wide web.
We are fortunate to have so many online tools at our fingertips to help us study and understand God’s Word. And the better we understand His Word, the easier it will be to apply His truth to our lives. Here are five of my favorite websites and online tools for Bible study:
Five Online Tools to Deepen Your Bible Study
www.biblegateway.com – useful for reading large passages of scripture in different translations.
www.biblehub.com – useful for comparing parallel translations of the same verse at once, and for researching the original meaning of the Greek or Hebrew of a particular word.
www.bible.com – not a website really but an app for mobile devices, useful for reading the Bible on the go and quickly reading different translations. Try the audio versions to listen to scripture as you go about your day, or try one of the many reading plans they offer.
www.blueletterbible.org – useful for in-depth study of the Bible, with access to cross-references, commentaries, maps, and dictionaries.
www.thebibleproject.com – an organization to making the Biblical story accessible to everyone. They produce creatively animated videos that explore the Bible as a unified story, always pointing to Jesus.
The next time you need to dig a little deeper as you are reading the Bible, I hope you will find these tools helpful in your study. If you have a favorite that isn’t listed here, feel free to list it in the comments below so that future readers can consider it as well.
Happy studying!
Related: if you’re looking for your next in-depth Bible study, I’d love for you to consider my six-week study on Joshua, Ready: Finding the Courage to Face the Unknown.
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