The Bible Search supports a rich syntax to help you find verses quickly. Below are the operators and wildcards you can use:
| Operator / Syntax | Description | Example Query & Result |
|---|---|---|
+ (or space) |
Logical AND: Finds verses containing all terms. Note that searching words separated only by a space behaves as an exact phrase. Use + to find terms anywhere in the same verse. |
jesus + weptFinds verses containing both "jesus" and "wept" in any order. |
- |
Logical NOT / Exclude: Excludes verses containing the term after the minus sign. |
jesus - weptFinds verses containing "jesus" but NOT "wept". |
| |
Logical OR: Finds verses containing either term. |
grace | mercyFinds verses containing "grace", "mercy", or both. |
% |
Multi-character Wildcard: Matches zero or more non-space characters. |
behav%Matches "behave", "behaved", "behaveth", "behavior", etc. |
_ |
Single-character Wildcard: Matches exactly one single alphabetical character. |
h_tMatches "hat", "hot", "hit", etc. |
" " |
Exact Phrase: Wraps a search term in double quotes to find an exact match for the entire phrase. |
"in the beginning"Finds verses containing exactly "in the beginning" with no variations. |
[Book] |
Search Scope: Restricts your search to a specific book, range of books, or chapter range. |
lord [Matt] (Only Matthew)faith [Heb - Jam] (Hebrews to James)spirit [Matt 4 - 8] (Matthew Ch. 4 to 8)love [John 1:1 - 3:16] (Specific range)
|
(Col 2:14). The “blotting out the handwriting” is the removal by the grace of the gospel of the condemnation of the law which we had broken.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
