r/Bible

Hi! I am new to reading the Bible with any form of true intent to understand. In the past, I have severely struggled to understand the wording and meaning behind the scripture. It makes me feel stupid to struggle so much.

I've found NIV to be easiest to digest (but still not easy), but I've been told some versions completely omit verses, and Google isn't being helpful about it because its AI tells me NIV is a good translation, but also I find results saying it's one of the offenders of omitting things.

When I've tried to read other versions, my brain almost entirely shuts down because the way things are worded feels far from English as I know it to be in my life today, so I feel like I cannot comprehend what I'm reading. NIV helps.

Any advice for me? I don't have a community offline to go to for support in this. Thanks!

I encourage you to read the whole thing because I'm somewhat paraphrasing

"So if you are presenting a sacrifice and you suddenly remember something someone has something against you leave your sacrifice there and reconcile to that person then come back and offer your sacrifice. When you are on the way to court settle your differences quickly otherwise your accuser may hand you to the judge and you will be thrown in prison till you have paid every penny"

I’m 54 and I’ve been around the Bible my whole life. I’ve heard the stories in church, read them, listened to them, and talked about them for years. Right now I’m reading through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, one chapter at a time, and I’ve noticed that sometimes I know the story so well that I start reading on autopilot. I don’t want to just finish a chapter and move on. I want to read with more purpose and actually get something out of it. For those of you who have been reading the Bible for a long time, what do you do when a passage is really familiar? Do you look for small details you missed before, ask certain questions, pray before you read, focus on one person in the story, or do something else? I’d really like practical advice from people who have dealt with this themselves. What helps you keep familiar Bible stories from feeling routine or boring?

Hi! I was reading Luke 6:43-44 earlier and got stuck on the part where Jesus says you know a tree by its fruit. Assuming we're the tree here — what does that actually look like in real life? What are the good and bad fruits Jesus talking about? And how am I supposed to figure out if I'm a good or a bad tree?

I saw the above focus of Jesus in the following verses "MARTHA MARTHA." Would love to hear what you all see in this example of Jesus. I see keep an eye on priorities; make sure He's number 1.

Luke 10:40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosenthat good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

A certain woman was childless and an angel of God appeared to her and told her you shall have a son. I am wondering how they new this was coming from an angel the writer and the woman. The wife and the husband wanted to honor the angel for this gift.

Later on Samson needed a wife and asked his parents to help him get one from the Philistines. He gave his potential father in-laws and their clan a riddle if they get it correct he will give them 30 linen garments if they get it wrong he will give them 30 linen garments. They didn't know the answer and forced the girl into coaxing Samson for the answer which they got correct. As such God came to govern him power and he went to kill 30 men of Ashkelon stripped them of everything and gave the plunder to the men of Philistine as promised.

Samson wife was given to someone else and angered Samson. He got very angry and promised to hurt them and captured 300 live foxes and set them on fire and they burned down the grain of the Philistines. The Philistines in turn burned the father and the girl that was given to Samson initially. He got angry again and killed more of them. He fled into the caves until his people came to him and he agreed to be delivered to the Philistines. As he was delivered the spirit of the Lord came down upon him and using a fresh jaw of a donkey he killed thousands of the Philistines. After this massacre he cried to the Lord for water leet he dies of thirst and God gave him water.

What I learn from this is that if you are wronged you can enact revenge and kill those who wronged you and God will still hear your cry for help. Is this true interpretation of this scripture?

I’m wondering what the best source for an audio reading of the Bible is. Specifically the NIV, the physical copy I have. So far I’m listening to it on Spotify, but I want to be able to use it to make an animation. So hopefully I can listen to a non copyrighted reading.

I just read that gospels discovered in Alexandria, which predate the texts KJV was translated from, reveal that the gospel were added to over the years. If this is true it makes it difficult to believe the Gospel is " God breathed." This has really confused me and would love some solid insight from other Christians. I have a deep faith but I admit I am not very educated theogically.

I'm diving into the Bible for the first time, but I've hit a little snag. I just managed to get through three pages, and staying consistent has been a challenge. Does anyone have some tips to help me stick with it?

I've seen how a lot of people write notes and mark Verses in their physical Bibles, but I can't imagine doing that myself. I do my best to keep my Bible clean and tidy because writing or marking anything would feel like dirtying it. Not sure how to explain. How many feel the same?

So I want to start off by saying I am religious and believe in god and the bible 100% but have alwyas been interested in one thing. What stories, events, and people have actually been confirmed. I know theres loads of things we have yet to discover but what have humans already discovered?

I did some research on the greek of the word ‘mark’ and cultural background of the speaking idol in the temple and here’s what I came up with.

THE SPEAKING IDOL & THE MARK OF THE BEAST

The journey to understanding the prophetic landscape of the end times begins with a profound scriptural irony: the stark contrast between the lifeless, mute idols of old and the terrifying, vocal deceptive powers of the future beast system. Throughout the Old Testament, the true God consistently pointed out false deities, with the Psalmists and prophets reminding Israel that while these man-made idols had mouths, they were utterly silent and dead. This ancient spiritual truth serves as the backdrop for the ultimate counterfeit revealed in Revelation 13, where the False Prophet is granted the power to give breath to the image of the Antichrist, breaking the historic rule of idolatry by making a dead object literally speak.

This "speaking idol" acts as a global enforcer, ordering the death of any who refuse to bow down. Historically, first-century believers would have recognized this imagery immediately; they lived under the heavy hand of Roman Imperial Cults where local enforcers compelled citizens to declare Caesar as Lord, and manipulative pagan priests used elaborate stage magic, hidden breathing apparatuses, and speaking tubes to trick crowds into thinking stone statues were alive.

As we look at the modern world, this prophetic image transitions from ancient stage magic to an undeniable technological reality. For centuries, a speaking statue seemed strictly supernatural, but today’s convergence of artificial intelligence, generative voice synthesis, humanoid robotics, and hyper-realistic deepfakes makes a literal, autonomous "speaking image" entirely plausible. This technological shift mirrors the political and economic rise of the Antichrist described in the Book of Daniel, where he is portrayed as the charismatic "Little Horn" boasting a mouth that speaks great things. Daniel notes that this tyrant does not honor traditional spiritual deities, but instead worships a "god of fortresses", a god of raw power, absolute security, and totalitarian control. To honor this system, global wealth, gold, and silver are funneled into constructing an all-encompassing surveillance state, demanding complete citizen reliance on the government for survival.

This intersection of power, wealth, and worship crystallizes in the infamous Mark of the Beast, an economic compliance mechanism that is heavily illuminated by the underlying Greek text. In Revelation 13:16, the word translated as ‘mark’ is ‘charagma’ (χάραγμα). According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (G5480), charagma denotes a literal scratch, etching, or stamp. It is etymologically derived from the word charax, meaning a stake sharpened to a point, heavily implying that a physical tool or sharp instrument is required to apply it. In the ancient Greco-Roman world, a charagma was the official imperial seal stamped onto commercial deeds to validate contracts, the metal stamp pressed into coins, or the painful brand burned into cattle and slaves as a badge of servitude. By choosing this specific term over more symbolic options like ‘semeion’ (a conceptual sign) or ‘sphragis’ (a spiritual seal), the biblical text strongly points toward an inescapable, tangible, and physical implementation within the global economy, rendering a person completely unable to buy or sell without it.

The physical fulfillment becomes clearer when ‘charagma’ is contrasted with other Greek words the author of Revelation could have chosen to imply a purely symbolic meaning. If the mark were merely a metaphor for evil thinking or ungodly behavior, the text could have utilized ‘semeion’, the standard New Testament word for a conceptual "sign" or pointer or even ‘typos’, which denotes a moral pattern or blueprint. Furthermore, when God marks His own people earlier in Revelation, the text uses ‘sphragis’, a word representing an invisible, spiritual "seal" of divine ownership.

By deliberately bypassing these symbolic alternatives and choosing ‘charagma’, the text anchors the Mark of the Beast exclusively to the tangible, external world. It signals to the reader that this is not a vague spiritual posture, but an unavoidable, physical stamp woven into the mechanics of daily survival.

The physical placement of this mark on the right hand or the forehead is the ultimate satanic parody of God’s most sacred command to His people. In the Shema of Deuteronomy 6, God instructed Israel to bind His laws as a sign on their hands and between their eyes (the forehead)—a command Jews still honor through the wearing of tefillin boxes during prayer.

Spiritually, the forehead represents a person’s thoughts, beliefs, and allegiance, while the hand signifies their actions, labor, and economic output. By stamping his charagma on these exact locations, the Antichrist demands total, counterfeit ownership over human minds and human labor. The future beast system will use economic stability and global security to trap humanity. The slogans and branding of this new global currency will likely boast of peace, unity, and the "living power" of the system, forcing a desperate world to place their faith in a counterfeit creator rather than the living God.

So I understand Eve was made from the rib of Adam thus making “of one flesh”. It seems they all agree on this . But if we have free will and Eve was made for Adam did she actually have free will to love him ? Being she was made for him doesn’t that mean that she didn’t have the decision and it was already made for her ?

i have memory lost and plus i got adhd like a chicken so i have a hard time paying attenchion, so i dont remeber names

I'm reading John 2:1-11. I don't know Greek or Latin. But am I correct in saying that for John 2:10 in the NASB and the ESV, that the word for "drunk freely" is μεθυσθῶσιν (methusthōsin) at least *implies* that the guests at the wedding at Cana were drunk?

One of the webpages I'm looking at is https://openbible.com/commentaries/john/2-10.htm .

Jesus on the End Times:

> “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

Matthew 24:32–35

Has any else noticed we’re missing a Bible verse on the apps

Matthew 17:21 and Matthew 18:11🧐

From Revelation 2:2-4, it is obvious that to the Lord, the "first love" far outweighs all the commendable works mentioned in 2:2. If so much time and effort are spent building and maintaining those external practices in 2:2, there is no reason we don’t talk more about the “first love” in 2:4. But what is it? How to get it?

I know the New Testament had two Greek words, agape and phileo, both were translated to “love” in English, so in English we lost the distinctions there, but clearly the Bible is very specific when using them. For example, it says that God “agape” the world, but only a handful people does the Bible recorded that God “phileo”. Also the Lord asked Peter two times using “agape”, but “phileo” the third time (John 22:15-17). Those two kinds of love must be very different, but in which ways?

I know the Bible always says we should “agape”, and implies how important “agape” is, but what is it? Like is it being nice to people? Don’t blame when being offended/robbed/stolen, etc., or else? I know Paul said “love (agape) your enemy”, but how? Like give them water and food, don’t whip them, bite your tongue when your enemy says mean things to you, etc.? How do you know you’re actually “agape”-ing but not “phileo”-ing among all the possible feelings that can be confused with loving?

Hey all, I'm looking for a Bible that's at least a 16pt font or larger. Single volume and must have a pronunciation guide for the names and places, etc.

I have a nice KJV one, but it's starting to get all worn. It was from Broadman and Holman. I was thinking instead of buying the same one again, perhaps there are others out there with maybe a larger font or have more information for studying and understanding etc.

Preferably KJV, but I wouldn't mind NKJV, ESV, or NASB

So i’ve been reading/listening to the book of Exodus and after hearing of all the times Pharaoh would change his mind i can’t help but think he represents something that can apply to our lives today.

He would constantly deny Moses’ requests then Moses would bring a curse on him. As soon as the curses came he would ask Moses to intercede for him that the curses may stop then when the LORD would relent he would grant Moses’ request with certain stipulations and then the cycle would repeat. It’s like his heart would soften then harden again.

What can we take away after seeing the condition of Pharaoh’s heart?