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How to Navigate the Bible: 3 Simple Tricks

If you’re a frequent visitor to my blog, you already know there are two things I regularly implore Christian teens to do:

  1. Go to church often.
  2. Read your Bible every day.

Forgive me for constantly pounding these ideas but they are nonnegotiable. (You can learn more about the importance of church attendance in Why Young Christians Absolutely Need to Go to Church.) If you want to love and serve God, you need to know his will and you can only do that through his word.

That’s hard to do if you don’t know how to navigate the Bible in the first place.

Lauren Thell, author of YA Christian Fiction

Hey, I’m Lauren, author of YA Christian fiction and

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Navigating the Bible: Does it Really Matter?

By sheer volume alone, the Bible is an intimidating read. The average novel has 15 to 20 chapters, with the majority of nonfiction books staying under 30. The Bible? It has 66 books—nearly all of which are divided into chapters, some numbering as many as 150! So if I ask you to look up Nahum 1:3 (one of my favorite verses, by the way), can you find it quickly?

Can you find it at all?

It’s all part of knowing and loving God’s word as more than just another piece of literature.

At this point, many of you will wonder why knowing how to navigate the Bible matters. More and more teens are reading their Bibles on their phones. (And why not? Everything else is done electronically.) Bible apps have a handy search bar where you can type in the exact reference you need, and voila! There it is.

If you’re a digital Bible-reader, great. I’m glad you’re reading at all. (VerseNotes makes a strong case for using a physical Bible in 15 Reasons to Use a Physical Bible Instead of a Digital Bible.) But if you want to truly understand and appreciate what you’re reading, you still need to know the structure of the Bible: the various categories of books within each testament, the location of historical books compared to wisdom literature and prophetic books, etc.

It’s all part of knowing and loving God’s word as more than just another piece of literature. And this is where physical Bible readers have a strong advantage over digital readers. So even if you’re a digital reader, get your hands on a physical copy and learn how to navigate the Bible like a pro.

How to Navigate the Bible in 3 Steps

If you struggle with navigating the Bible, these quick tricks will give you a starting point (without resorting to singing the Books of the Bible song).

1) Learn the Different Sections

The Bible is divided into two main parts: Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT). The OT is much longer than the NT, however, so if you want to find the NT quickly, close your Bible, hold it up on its spine, and crack the pages about three-quarters of the way through. You should end up in one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), which begin the NT.

The OT is divided further into smaller sections:

  1. The Law (Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
  2. History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel 1 & 2, Kings 1 & 2, Chronicles 1 & 2, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
  3. Poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (These are located right in the center of your Bible.)
  4. Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
  5. Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachai

The NT is divided into these sections:

  1. Gospel: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
  2. History: Acts
  3. Prophecy: Revelation
  4. Letters (Epistles): Everything between Acts and Revelation!

If all you do is remember the order of these sections (and, generally, what books are in each), you will already be well on your way to navigating your Bible. But to find things even more quickly and precisely, read on.

2) Memorize the Old Testament Books in Short Lists

As mentioned above, there is a kids’ song that sings the books of the Bible in order from Genesis all the way to Revelation. If that works for you, great. But honestly, starting from the beginning every time you want to find, say, Malachi—the thirty-ninth book—is a bit counterproductive.

In that case, you’re better off learning the books of the Bible in short lists.

Start with the five books of The Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). Learn them together. After that, try memorizing books in groups of three as if they are an individual’s first, middle, and last names. Like this:

  • Joshua Judges Ruth
  • Samuel Kings Chronicles (which, incidentally, all have 2 books each)
  • Ezra Nehemiah Esther (also remember the initials E.N.E. for this one)

This same system works for memorizing the order of the Minor Prophets (which are so short, if you flip too many pages at once, you’ll miss the entire section completely). Learn them in groups of threes:

  • Hosea Joel Amos
  • Obadiah Jonah Micah (Say that out loud a few times and see how it flows off the tongue!)
  • Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah
  • Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Practice these out loud every day and I bet you’ll have them fairly secure in your memory after only a week.

how to navigate the Bible

3) Break the New Testament Letters Down Even Further

Letters make up a big chunk of the NT, and while they’re filled with so many profound words, they can give you a lot of trouble navigating if you’re not quite as familiar with the order in this part of the Bible. As with the OT, break them into sections.

After the four books of the Gospel come Acts, Romans, and Corinthians (1 & 2). The titles of the next four books each highlight a different vowel (a, e, i, o), in that order:

  • Galatians (has three a’s)
  • Ephesians (has two e’s)
  • Phillipians (has three i’s)
  • Colossians (has two o’s)

It’s kind of a funny trick, but it works if you’re stuck. Thessalonians 1 & 2 do not follow this pattern, but they finish out the -ians books so that you have a list of five.

The rest of the NT can be memorized in groups just like we did with books of the OT:

  • Timothy Titus Philemon (Timothy has two books)
  • Hebrews (goes well by itself)
  • James Peter John Jude (Peter and John both have multiple books)
  • Revelation (the last book of the Bible)

Having trouble remembering which books come in multiples? Don’t worry about it. That will come later. Just concentrate on memorizing the order of the names for now. (I only include which ones are multiple for information’s sake.)

Repetition: The Best Tactic for Navigating the Bible

If you really want to learn how to find verses in the Bible quickly, repetition is your friend. Begin with one section, use the techniques above, and practice not only speaking the names of the books but finding them as well. Keep reading, keep studying, keep attending church, and it will come.

Practice makes perfect!

The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, 

2 Chronicles 15:2

More Bible Study Tips for Teens

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You don’t have to have all the answers.

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How to Read the Bible for Beginners:

Scripture Passages By Topic:

General Bible-Reading Resources for Teens:

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