Bible search and navigation

Find a known reference or search by wording.

Choose the right search

Use Book search when you know the reference. Use Context search when you remember wording or want candidate passages about a topic. A semantic result is a suggestion to inspect, not an interpretation of Scripture.

Find a reference

Select a translation, book and chapter, then locate the verse. A fully typed reference such as John 3:16 can also resolve an exact passage in Context search. Check the selected translation because wording varies.

Clicking a verse in the search panel calls its presentation action. Check Live and the audience screen before browsing during a service; do not assume selections remain private.

Search by phrase

1. Switch to Context search.
2. Enter distinctive wording such as “the Lord is my shepherd.”
3. Read each returned reference and passage.
4. Check surrounding verses for context.
5. Present the intended result or add it to the queue.

The app uses available local semantic and text-search components. If the semantic model is unavailable, results can rely on text search or a fallback. Wording from another translation can also affect results.

Navigate a chapter

With the Scripture search panel focused, Left/Right move through chapters and Up/Down step verses. Verse stepping can present the selected verse. These controls differ from the global presentation shortcuts.

Prepare and troubleshoot

Queue passages for later and inspect each item's reference and translation before presenting. After changing translations, check existing queued items rather than assuming they were rewritten.

If a passage is missing, verify that the translation is installed, the reference exists and an imported text has the expected book/chapter structure. See Bible imports, queue controls and shortcuts.