I know I’m not the only one who’s opened my Bible, seen an underlined verse, and wondered, “Why did I underline that?” Or maybe you opened up your Bible only to find an entire page highlighted in different colors- based merely on the highlighter you were using at that time, without any rhyme or reason.
Then again, you might be hesitant to write in your Bible. Perhaps it feels like you’re vandalizing something holy. Maybe you hadn’t even considered writing in your Bible before.
If you’ve never written in your Bible before, I hope you consider it. Writing in your Bible can transform a passive act of reading into an interactive conversation- not just with the words, but with the God who gave you those words.
That being said, we could all benefit from a clearer, more consistent system for writing in our Bibles.
I recently read a book about how to read a book. Yeah, I got a cheap thrill from reading “How to Read a Book” by the neighborhood pool this summer. This book includes several suggestions on how to write in any book, and I think this can help us be more productive in writing in our Bible. It can help us become more interactive readers of our Bible.
Underline major points or important or forceful statements
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has the habit of underlining (or highlighting) a verse that really resonates with me as I read it. That’s not a terrible idea (I’m glad God’s Word meets you where you are), but it can cause confusion later, when we return and forget why it resonated with us in the first place.
Another problem with underlining verses based on your personal experience is that it can encourage you to take things out of context. In the Bible, context is essential to understanding what it says. Each verse is not a self-contained unit (in fact, verses are a very recent invention). I’d even suggest that pulling verses out of context is the leading way people go astray when reading the Bible- not only for you, but in how others may manipulate you with the Bible.
So, instead, I’d suggest reserving underlines to highlight important statements within the given story. Highlight something that’s happening in the story that, if this were missing, the entire story would turn out differently. Or, more shockingly, underline something forceful or radical in the story. Sure, this might mean that your Bible is now full of underlines for challenging statements- rather than motivational soundbites- but that’s one of the reasons God gave us his Word, to challenge us!
Vertical lines at the margin to emphasize a statement already underlined or point to a passage too long to underline
Sometimes a portion of the Bible is clearly very important- and you find yourself underlining many verses together or even an entire page. I’m glad you’re paying attention and noticing that a part of a story (or even an entire story) is worth noticing. Unfortunately, confusion happens when you come back later and see several verses underlined- why did you do that?
Instead of extending the underline to more and more verses, add a vertical line in the margin that covers all these verses.
This brings up an important question: what is important? Whether you’re underlining something or making a vertical mark in the margin, when should you be adding these notations?
The Bible is made up of several units. The first unit is the book within the Bible. That’s a self-contained unit or story that exists not just to tell a story, but to make a point. You’ll identify the point of each book as you read it. You might notice that the first unit into which I’m dividing the Bible is not the Old vs. New Testament- but we’ll talk about that another time.
Within each book is a smaller unit within the greater story- scholars call these “pericopes” (or maybe we can call them a “section” or “passage”). This is a story within the book’s larger message. These pericopes can be designated by chapters in the Bible, but not always (chapters, like verses, are a very recent way of dividing up the Scriptures, and they don’t always follow a natural division of a story). A modern Bible often gives helpful headings before each pericope, summarizing it for you. As you read a book of the Bible, you should ask yourself: How does each section/pericope contribute to the overall theme or point of this book?
As you practice this, you will start to see that different sections (not just verses) matter more than others in contributing to each book's overall theme. It’s not that the others are not important- it’s just that some have a greater impact on the book’s theme than others.
So this means that highlighting any part of the Bible is something you might return to later as you discover an event is more important than you originally thought- as the story continues toward its greater point.
Or, maybe to put this another way, use underlines within a pericope; use vertical margin lines when you see what’s important within a book of the Bible.
Star, asterisk, or add a symbol in the margin to emphasize the dozen or so most important statements in a book
This suggestion isn’t just about encouraging further decoration in your Bible beyond lines. Instead, it suggests reviewing your underlinings and deciding which are most important to the point each book of the Bible is making.
This assumes something important: when you’re done reading a book, don’t just move on to the next. Instead, take time to go back through what you’ve highlighted earlier and determine which of those are most important to the book’s overall point.
Of course, it’s tempting to say “it’s all God’s word, so it’s all important.” I’m not suggesting that some parts of the Bible are important and others aren’t. Take a moment to consider the challenges and difficulties God’s people faced as they tried to preserve his words over the centuries. For most of that time, there weren’t digital copies or printing presses- copying the Bible was a tedious, painful, and expensive process. These scribes copied by hand, often in poor lighting and with expensive materials they couldn’t afford.
I don’t say this to undermine the reliability of this method- something we will talk about later- but to remind you how difficult it was for these scribes to add each letter, jot, and tittle to each manuscript. If parts were unimportant, they would have skipped them. Instead, they tirelessly and meticulously wrote it all down- so that you can read it today. Why go to all this? Because it’s all important!
Instead, I’m asking you to review what you first noticed as important to the story, then add a symbol to help you remember which parts matter to each book’s overall theme. It’s that review that will help you better understand the point of each book- and how all the stories fit together to make the point.
Numbers in the margin for sequences
I am taking these suggestions for notations from a book about how to read books- not necessarily from the Bible. As I think about this notation, I can think of history or philosophy books I’ve read where this suggestion makes sense, but I can’t think of a place in the Bible where it might help.
But I will admit, sometimes reading the Bible can get a little confusing: “Wait, who said that?” “Hold on, where are they now?” If you’re reading through a story and having a hard time keeping up with events and characters, this might be a good opportunity to make a note in the margin reminding yourself who said what or where the event occurred.
To be honest, when you’re reading through the Bible at a fast pace (such as attempting to read the entire Bible in a year), it’s easy to shift into “get it done” mode: “I’m behind and gotta catch up!” The challenge for Bible reading is not just to accomplish the task- but to take it in. If you find yourself getting confused or lost, that’s okay. Let me give you permission to slow down for a moment and figure out what’s going on. Still lost? Make a note of it (maybe just a question mark) so you can go back later and ask a friend.
The point is, feel free to add notes. I know, your Study Bible already does some of this for you (it might even have a helpful map). That’s great, but you will get even more out of it if, instead of relying on someone else’s notes, you take the time to work it out yourself. Besides, notes that you’ve written can help you later when you return to it and need to establish the context of each passage.
Numbers of other pages in the margin to indicate where else makes the same points
As you read the Bible, you might find it refers to something that happened earlier. When you encounter something like that, it might help you to add a reference to the book, chapter, and verse in which this occurred (I know the headline says “other pages,” but that’s a suggestion from “How to Read a Book”- since we’re talking about the Bible, let’s use the convention of chapters and verses).
This can be helpful if you find yourself coming back to a verse later- it can instantly help you return to a previous context that might matter when it comes to understanding these verses. That can help prevent the temptation to take it out of context.
Of course, sometimes the Bible references events outside the book you’re reading. That context can help you understand the passage better. For instance, oftentimes a character in the Bible will quote an event (or law) that was previously stated. However, sometimes the quotation is not exact. That might be intentional- and it’s worth paying attention when you notice this happens!
I know: some of your Study Bibles already add cross-references (what we call it when we add an address for another verse next to one you’re reading) for you. I recommend creating cross-references yourself, rather than relying only on what your Study Bible says. Creating your own cross-references will help you get more from reading the Bible.
Circling key words or phrases to highlight repeated phrases
The Bible loves to use word-play. One obvious place you will notice this is in names for Bible Characters. Sometimes their name says something about who they are.
This can extend beyond names. Often, you can uncover a theme within a pericope by noticing words repeated over and over again. Sometimes it’s less a word than an idea. When you find these, take a moment to circle them in the passage.
This can extend beyond a single passage and repeat within a book of the Bible. The Book of Judges uses similar phrases to introduce each Judge. Kings and Chronicles use a similar formula to introduce each King. The Gospel of Mark keeps mentioning things happening “immediately.” When you notice these, circle them. You might find a book that uses repeated phrases to organize its content. Or this repetition may be an important part of the book’s overall theme.
Repetition is also common between books of the Bible. This is where it gets interesting! Some concepts are so important to the Bible that they occur time and time again. For example, the Exodus gets referred to over and over again- in both the Old and New Testaments. It must be important- perhaps you should circle them when you see them.
Writing in the margins to record questions and even answers or summarize
Let’s get crazy. Don’t just decorate your Bible- have a conversation with God!
Are you reading something confusing? Are you reading something that bothers you? If something you read is true, would it have implications for your life today? Ask questions!
Writing questions or summaries as you read Scripture helps prevent distractions. Think of these as ways to remind yourself to come back to the question later. Stopping to look everything up as you read the Bible can be distracting. If you stopped every time you had a question, you might find yourself getting nowhere fast. As you keep reading, you might find the answer comes to you later.
I hope you read the Bible in a group. One benefit of a group is being able to bring your questions. I think you’ll find that, as you ask questions, others may have similar ones. For others, it might not have been a question- perhaps they can help you understand it better. You’ll never know if you don’t ask. Plus, if you ask, you might find that you’re not alone in asking. In these questions, you will find real, honest community.
Some questions can be hard to ask. These might come from the Bible’s challenging parts. The questions might be hard if you consider their implications for your life. Sometimes questions can be scary because you’ve had a bad church experience. Those are hard to ask- especially in a group. Let me encourage you- God is not afraid of your questions, nor is he mad at you for asking. If all you can do is ask Him privately, let me encourage you to do just that.
I hope these suggestions encourage you to write in your Bible- whether for the first time, or even more! Even more, I hope this helps you focus on the message God wants you to see- both in how each passage contributes to the whole and how the entire Bible works together to tell you about Him. I hope it will transform your Bible from something you passively read into a conversation with God.