Faith and Finance
In the book of Acts chapter 8, we read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian. As Philip was traveling down a desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza (about 50 miles), he saw an Ethiopian man reading the works of Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked him “Do you understand what you are reading?”
“How can I, unless some explains it to me?” replied the Ethiopian. So Philip shared the good news of Jesus with the Ethiopian.
Philip was ready to share the word in season and out (2 Tim 4:2), and so should we!
Using Online Bible Study Tools
Reading your Bible is different than studying your Bible. Understanding the context, history, and relationship between stories and verses can help you understand God’s word at a much deeper level.
The good news is that you don’t have to be a Bible scholar to use these online bible study resources. These online Bible study tools are a great way for you to grow in your faith while gaining a better understanding of God’s word.
7 Free Online Bible Study Tools
Bible Reading Plans
Have you ever wanted to read through the Bible in an entire year? Did you know that you could read through the Bible chronologically? The BibleGateway website gives you a Bible reading plan customized to your goals. Choose a version (NIV or KJV) and BibleGateway will email you the reading plan daily.
Online Bible Commentary
The Matthew Henry commentary is one of the most well known Bible commentaries available today. Originally written in 1706, the commentary helps explain the Bible verse by verse. If you’ve never used a commentary, it’s a great way to gain another perspective on a verse that you’re reading. The complete commentary is available as a free online bible study tool and is a great way to add commentary to a personal or group devotional study.
Free Audio Bible Online
The BibleGateway online audio Bible is completely free and a great way to read through the Bible. Sometimes listening to scriptures makes the stories come alive even more than simply reading the words. If you’ve never tried listening to an audio Bible, give it a try sometime.
Bible Dictionary
Stuck on a word or unsure of a particular definition or term? Try using an online Bible dictionary to decipher the meaning of a word. With over 6 Biblical dictionaries, BibleStudyTools.com is a great resource for you to use in your personal study of the scriptures.
Greek and Hebrew Lexicons
If you really want to study the Bible in its original text, you can use an Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon or New Testament Greek Lexicon. This is great for someone who is looking to study the Bible in the original text, and you can actually read the original Hebrew or Greek characters if you download the font (available through BibleStudyTools.com as well.)
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
If you’ve never used a concordance before, I highly recommend that you give it a try. When you use an online concordance, you simply type in a word and you’ll see every verse that includes that word. For example, if I wanted to see how many verses had the word ‘treasure’, I’d simply type the word ‘treasure’ into a concordance and see that there are over 350 verses with that one word!
YouVersion Mobile Bible App
One of my favorite online Bible study tools is the website YouVersion.com. After creating a free account, you can track your reading, set reading plan goals, read commentary, and share scriptures via facebook and twitter. They have an app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Kindle, and Blackberry as well. With YouVersion, you’ll have the Bible as well as great study tools available anytime!
How do you study the Bible? Have you ever used these online Bible study tools? If so, hit the +1 button or like this article so that others can be reminded to study God’s word.
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