Let me offer you a warning that will vastly improve your ability to understand Scripture—if you heed it. It’s an insight for every person who has ever asked, “How does this verse apply to my life?” Here it is: There are no verses in the Bible. Nope. Not one. At least not in the original, and that’s the Bible that matters.
Let’s start with a definition. A “verse” is a passage of Scripture distinguished from other passages of Scripture by a numerical address (e.g., John 3:16, famously). Those numbers, though, were not in the original.
There’s good news and bad news about verse numbers. The good news is, they make it easier to find stuff. The bad news is, they make it easier to get stuff wrong. I have two pieces of advice to help you avoid that pitfall.
First, beware the numbers. Verse numbers tempt readers to take a section of Scripture as a collection of discrete statements having meaning and application in isolation from the larger context (“How does this verse apply to my life?”).
In fact, standing on their own, most “verses” have no application to anyone’s life, Christian or Hebrew. None. Why, then, are they in the Bible? Because much of the time, the precise point of a passage cannot be found in a single verse, but in the role that verse plays in relationship to the verses above and below it.
Remember, the verse, as such, doesn’t exist. Rather, the sentence exists as part of a passage that might apply to your circumstances. It makes no sense, though, to isolate a line from its context and ask, “How can I stick this sentence into my life?”
Here’s why. God did not give us 66 books of short, pithy statements to be applied piecemeal to our situation (with a few exceptions—e.g., much of Proverbs). Most of Scripture is narrative—story. Most of the rest—the New Testament epistles, for example—is argument (making a case) or instruction (teaching us how to live). Each of these—narrative, argument, instruction—trades on a flow of thought in the passage made more clear by reading the smaller parts in light of the larger part.
That’s why, at STR, we follow the rule “Never read a Bible verse.” Instead, always read a paragraph, at least, before drawing conclusions about a single verse’s meaning.
So first, beware the numbers. Second, beware the headings. The same warning about verses applies to captions added by Bible editors (and to chapter breaks, too, by the way). Headings can be helpful, but they can also be harmful when a caption severs the link between two sections of a passage that are critical to understanding the flow of thought.
So, beware. I suggest you ignore the artificial divisions (verses, headings, chapters) and focus on the larger narrative, argument, or instruction.
Start big, then get small. Look at the larger flow of thought, then zoom in on the particulars. It will save you a mountain of confusion—if you heed it.
But to keep doing this—and to deploy all of STR’s new and ongoing projects in this new year—I’m asking you to prayerfully consider a generous gift today
Your support now will equip and encourage you and others through everything we do: articles, podcasts, videos, speaking events, Red Pen Logic, STR U, Reality Student Apologetic Conferences, a new Tactics book with companion workbook and video series—and more.
Yet none of this is possible without good friends like you.
Please let me hear from you right away with your kind, much-needed, and much-appreciated support.
Thank you for the honor of partnering with you to equip bold and confident believers everywhere!
Faithful to the Word,
Greg Koukl
