How to Find a Bible Verse by Phrase or a Few Words

1. Search the most distinctive words

Common words match thousands of verses; unusual ones narrow the search fast. If you remember something about being made in a wonderful way, search for “fearfully” rather than “made.” It leads straight to Psalm 139:14: “I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Leave out names and pronouns, which appear everywhere, and keep words like “eagles,” “lamp” or “refuge” that only appear in a few places.

2. Try different wording

Translations phrase verses differently, and older ones use thee, thou and -eth. If you learned a verse years ago, it may have been from the King James Version, so try both the old word and the modern one.

1 Corinthians 13:4 is a good example. The World English Bible says, “Love is patient and is kind.” The King James Version uses “charity” where most modern translations say “love,” so searching for only one of those words can miss the verse.

3. Use quotation marks in a search engine

In a web search, put the words you’re sure of in quotation marks and add “verse,” for example: "wings like eagles" verse. The quotation marks tell the search engine to match that exact phrase. That search finds Isaiah 40:31 in seconds.

4. Narrow it down by book or theme

If you remember roughly where the verse is, search within that book. If you remember only the idea, use a concordance or a topical index. A concordance lists every verse that uses a given word; a topical index groups verses by subject, such as comfort or forgiveness.

5. Check whether it’s really in the Bible

Some of the most quoted “verses” aren’t in the Bible at all:

• “God helps those who help themselves.” Not in the Bible. Benjamin Franklin popularized it in Poor Richard’s Almanack.
• “This too shall pass.” Not in the Bible. It’s an old saying usually traced to Persian poetry.
• “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Not in the Bible. John Wesley used the phrase in a sermon.
• “Money is the root of all evil.” A misquote. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”

Verses people often half-remember

If one of these is the line in your head, here is where to find it:

• “A lamp to my feet”: Psalm 119:105.
• “Wings like eagles”: Isaiah 40:31.
• “New every morning”: Lamentations 3:23.
• “The joy of the LORD is your strength”: Nehemiah 8:10.
• “Be still, and know”: Psalm 46:10.
• “Iron sharpens iron”: Proverbs 27:17.
• “A time for everything”: Ecclesiastes 3:1.
• “Faith, hope and love”: 1 Corinthians 13:13.
• “Plans to prosper you”: Jeremiah 29:11. That is the New International Version’s wording; the World English Bible says “thoughts of peace” instead, a good example of why searching one translation can miss a verse.

6. Read the verses around it

Once you find the verse, read the paragraph or chapter it sits in before you share it. A line can sound different on its own than it does in its setting. Our guide to reading a Bible verse in context shows what to look for.

Finding verses in Versomi

Versomi’s search looks through the whole Bible edition you’re reading, by word or by reference, and it works offline. Results show the verse first, so you can recognize the one you remember, then open its chapter, like it or share it. More on that in reading the Bible offline.

Common questions