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. 187 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.
- Genesis 1:1
- Genesis 2:15
- Exodus 20:12
- Exodus 19:5
- Exodus 15:26
- Leviticus 19:15
- Leviticus 25:10
- Numbers 13:30
- Numbers 11:23
- Numbers 23:19
- Numbers 27:16-17
- Numbers 6:24-26
- Deuteronomy 31:6
- Deuteronomy 33:25
- Deuteronomy 15:7-8
- Deuteronomy 3:28
- Deuteronomy 16:19-20
- Joshua 1:9
- Joshua 1:8
- Joshua 10:25
- Judges 6:36-37
- Ruth 1:16
- Ruth 2:20
- 2 Samuel 1:26
- 2 Samuel 18:33
- 2 Samuel 22:31
- 2 Samuel 22:3
- 1 Kings 3:9
- 1 Kings 19:4
- 2 Kings 6:16
- 1 Chronicles 16:11
- 1 Chronicles 16:34
- 1 Chronicles 28:20
- 1 Chronicles 22:13
- 2 Chronicles 32:7
- 2 Chronicles 7:14
- Nehemiah 2:17-18
- Nehemiah 9:31
- Esther 4:16
- Job 17:9
- Job 2:11
- Job 2:10
- 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
- Psalm 103:12
- Psalm 1:1-3
- Psalm 102:7
- Proverbs 3:5-6
- Proverbs 22:6
- Proverbs 16:3
- Proverbs 16:18
- Proverbs 10:12
- Proverbs 10:22
- Proverbs 10:4
- Ecclesiastes 3:13
- Ecclesiastes 3:4
- Song of Solomon 8:7
- Isaiah 41:10
- Isaiah 40:31
- Isaiah 53:5
- Isaiah 12:2
- Isaiah 14:3
- Isaiah 1:19
- Isaiah 10:1-2
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Jeremiah 10:23
- Jeremiah 1:5
- Lamentations 3:22-23
- Lamentations 3:19-20
- Lamentations 3:31-32
- Ezekiel 11:19
- Ezekiel 18:30-32
- Daniel 2:21
- Daniel 3:17-18
- Hosea 6:1
- Joel 2:25
- Joel 2:12-13
- Amos 5:24
- Jonah 2:2
- Jonah 2:9
- Jonah 4:4
- Micah 6:8
- Micah 7:18-19
- Micah 7:7
- Micah 7:8
- Nahum 1:3
- Nahum 1:7
- Habakkuk 3:17-18
- Habakkuk 1:2
- Habakkuk 3:19
- Zephaniah 3:14
- Zechariah 7:9
- Zechariah 7:10
- Malachi 3:6
- Malachi 4:2
- Matthew 11:28
- Matthew 6:33
- Matthew 28:19-20
- Matthew 5:16
- Matthew 7:7
- Matthew 28:20
- Matthew 12:8
- Matthew 11:29
- Mark 1:35
- Mark 10:43-45
- Mark 11:22
- Luke 1:50
- Luke 10:41-42
- John 3:16
- John 14:6
- John 1:1
- John 13:34
- John 15:13
- John 11:25-26
- Acts 13:52
- Acts 10:38
- Acts 13:36
- Romans 8:28
- Romans 12:2
- Romans 10:9
- Romans 6:23
- Romans 5:8
- Romans 1:12
- Romans 10:17
- Romans 12:1-2
- Romans 12:10
- 1 Corinthians 13:4
- 1 Corinthians 13:13
- 1 Corinthians 10:12
- 1 Corinthians 11:1
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- 2 Corinthians 4:16
- Galatians 5:22-23
- Galatians 2:20
- Galatians 5:13
- Galatians 4:7
- Ephesians 2:8-9
- Ephesians 6:11
- Ephesians 2:10
- Ephesians 1:7
- Ephesians 2:4
- Philippians 4:13
- Philippians 4:6-7
- Philippians 1:20
- Philippians 1:21
- Colossians 3:23
- Colossians 2:3
- Colossians 1:23
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14
- 2 Thessalonians 3:10
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
- 1 Timothy 1:16
- 1 Timothy 5:8
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- 2 Timothy 2:2
- 2 Timothy 1:16
- Titus 1:8
- Titus 2:4
- Philemon 1:7
- Hebrews 11:1
- Hebrews 13:8
- Hebrews 10:36
- James 1:2-3
- James 1:5
- James 1:14-15
- James 1:17
- 1 Peter 5:7
- 1 Peter 2:16
- 1 Peter 1:3
- 1 Peter 1:7
- 2 Peter 1:5-6
- 2 Peter 2:9
- 1 John 1:9
- 1 John 4:18
- 1 John 3:17
- Jude 1:22
- Revelation 3:20
- Revelation 21:4
- Revelation 14:13
- Revelation 21:5
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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