Bible Verses Explained
The verses people quote most, taken one at a time: the King James text, the situation it was written into, what it actually claims, and a way to pray it. 50 verses, in the order they appear in the Bible.
Some of the best-known are also the most misquoted — Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13 both mean something narrower and sturdier than the version on the coffee mug.
How to read a verse without misreading it
A verse is a unit of reference, not a unit of meaning. Chapter and verse numbers were added in the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries respectively, long after the books were written, and they cut through arguments that were meant to be read whole. Almost every popular misreading comes from taking the cut seriously.
Three questions fix most of it. Who is being spoken to? Jeremiah 29:11 is addressed to a nation seventy years into exile, which makes it a sturdier promise than the graduation-card version, not a weaker one. What comes immediately before? Philippians 4:13 follows two verses about being content in plenty and in hunger, so "all things" means both, not unlimited achievement. Is this a promise, a command, an observation, or a complaint? The Bible contains all four, and Proverbs in particular states how life generally goes rather than guaranteeing how it always will.
That is what each page below does: the King James text, who was in the room, what the sentence claims, and a way to pray it. Where a verse has a chapter page on this site, the explainer links to it, because the chapter is usually the smallest honest unit.
- Deuteronomy 31:6
- Joshua 1:9
- Psalm 23:1
- Psalm 46:10
- Psalm 119:105
- Psalm 91:1
- Psalm 37:4
- Psalm 1:1-2
- Psalm 27:1
- Psalm 139:14
- Psalm 34:8
- Proverbs 3:5-6
- Proverbs 22:6
- Proverbs 16:3
- Isaiah 41:10
- Isaiah 40:31
- Isaiah 53:5
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Lamentations 3:22-23
- Micah 6:8
- Matthew 11:28
- Matthew 6:33
- Matthew 28:19-20
- Matthew 5:16
- Matthew 7:7
- John 3:16
- John 14:6
- John 1:1
- John 13:34
- Romans 8:28
- Romans 12:2
- Romans 10:9
- Romans 6:23
- Romans 5:8
- 1 Corinthians 13:4
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Galatians 5:22-23
- Galatians 2:20
- Ephesians 2:8-9
- Ephesians 6:11
- Philippians 4:13
- Philippians 4:6-7
- Colossians 3:23
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Hebrews 11:1
- Hebrews 13:8
- James 1:2-3
- 1 Peter 5:7
- 1 John 1:9
- Revelation 3:20
Verses by theme
Looking for a situation rather than a reference? The topic pages gather 983 passages across 59 themes — each with a note on what it was written for.
- Verses about anxiety
- Verses about fear
- Verses about hope
- Verses about strength
- Verses about peace
- Verses about healing
- Verses about grief
- Verses about forgiveness
- Verses about love
- Verses about faith
- Verses about joy
- Verses about marriage
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