Beef Up Your Bible Reading 4

The Bible was written for ordinary people in the common language of their day using the same common-sense logical rules we all use when we string words together into sentences and paragraphs. So mostly, now that you know what all the words in the passage you want to study mean, the meaning of the passage will be clear. I say mostly because you will sometimes come across sentences that are long and complex and take lots of twists and turns on their way to making a point. The apostle Paul seems to have had a particular gift for writing sentences like that.

When you come across one of those sentences, or even a few of them together in the same passage, don’t panic! Don’t give up and go away defeated. Too many people do, and that’s probably why they think reading the Bible’s beyond them: they’ve been quitting too easily. Take your time. You can do it.

First, pick out the words that describe action (the verbs, for you smart young cookies who, unlike me, were taught grammar at school). Take note, does each one refer to something that happened in the past (is it in the past tense), something that is happening now (present tense), or something that will happen in the future (future tense)? And was, is, will the action be complete or continuous?

Next, be sure you know who or what words like he, his, she, hers, it, we, they (the pronouns in your passage) refer to.

Now break each complicated sentence up into smaller meaningful chunks (phrases) and write them down in a list. Be sure you can make sense of each phrase, maybe even rewrite each one in your own words.

Then look at how those phrases connect with each other. Get them in the best order. Pay special attention to joining up words like and, for, but, if, so, or, yet, because, therefore (conjunctions). Sometimes a diagram with lines and arrows will help.

Watch out for tangents (parentheses): places where the writer leaves his main line of reasoning to explain something before coming back to it again. Sometimes those diversions are short and sometimes, but not always, they’re placed in brackets to help identify them. Sometimes a writer will take you off on a long detour (there’s a lot of that in the book of Hebrews) before coming back to where he left his main flow.

Don’t be thrown by verse or chapter divisions. They’re not part of the Bible; they were added long after it was written and where they’ve been placed makes no sense at all. Their only function, like that of grid lines on a map, is to help you find a place. Get into the habit of reading and studying sentences and paragraphs: don’t divide books up according to chapters and verses. Also, the section headings you find in some modern Bible translations can be confusing: ignore them.

If, after all that, you still haven’t got what your complicated sentence or passage means write down all the possibilities, but remember there can only be one correct meaning: the meaning the writer intended. Look for clues in what comes before and what comes after your passage (the immediate context). Which of your possible meanings fits best? Which fits best with the writer’s purpose in writing the book your passage comes from? Which fits best with this passage’s place in the bigger story of the Bible (the wider context)? Which fits best with what you know was going on at the time (the historical and cultural context). If that doesn’t get you down to one possibility, at least you will have ruled some out: your list will be shorter now.

Remember your passage cannot contradict anything else in the Bible. If one or more of the possibilities on your list does seem to contradict something that’s stated clearly somewhere else, you know you can rule that one out too.

And if you still haven’t got that difficult passage sorted, don’t worry, that happens. Pray that God will make it clear and, in His time, He will. Leave it for now but keep your notes so you can come back to it.

Sometimes what seems like an impossible passage will become clear after you’ve let it bounce around in your head for a day or two. Sometimes it will take longer. Sometimes years will go by before the light dawns, because to be able to understand that passage you’ll need to have some other ideas in place, or you’ll need to have been around a few more corners with God. And sometimes you need to put the understanding you already have to good use before God gives you more.