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The Bible is a living, breathing collection of books with all kinds of writing styles, written at various points in time, each with a specific purpose in mind. God gave us this wonderful gift so that we could fully know Him through fully knowing His word. And as we read, we find ourselves drawn to Jesus Christ, the One who offers us salvation from the penalty of our sin by paying for them on the cross and rising again.
Sometimes, we lose sight of that. It’s hard to remember that the Bible isn’t a series of bullet points. It’s not a bunch of isolated sentences, where we draw our beliefs from a bunch of scattered sentences without considering why those particular sentences were written.
If you’re anything like me, this is often because of what the Bible looks like when we read it. The smattering of verse numbers, cross references, and tiny letters indicating a note at the bottom of the page is incredibly distracting. Every time we hit a new verse number, we feel a pause in our reading flow and, perhaps without realizing it, may separate verse 11 from verse 12, even though they’re part of the exact same thought.
Of course, those verse numbers were never there in the original writings. They were added as a useful tool so that people could more easily reference very specific things in this collection of 66 books. They are incredibly useful, and the benefits definitely outweigh the hindrances.
But when it comes to our daily Bible reading, when we don’t need to jump to a particular verse… what if they didn’t exist? What if we could read the Bible in the same style and flow that the original audience would have? What if we could approach each book of the Bible and read it as it was intended to be read, whether it’s as history, poetry, a letter, or prophecy.
A Bible like that exists, and it’s something that is worth owning for any follower of Christ.
Bibles like these are often called “Reader’s Bibles,” and they completely remove anything “extra,” letting us read the text like we would any other book. Psalms are laid out like poetry, while things like Genesis and Romans are laid out in natural paragraphs.
If you want something like this for your daily reading, there are a number of options out there.
(A quick note: There are a lot of links here, but I make no money on any purchases you make. This article is only here to help people read and understand the Bible in a new, meaningful way. If you do find this helpful, consider making a one-time or monthly donation to support this ministry.)
Digital Reader’s Bibles
If you have a digital Bible, there’s a chance it already allows you to do this. However, I was surprised to find that many Bible apps don’t feature this as a default. I have YouVersion and Olive Tree on my phone, two fairly popular Bible apps, and neither seems to offer a way to remove verse numbers.
However, The Literal Word (iOS, Android) has this feature by going to Settings – Text Features – Reader. I already love this lightweight app for normal use, and this is just one more reason I’m so glad to have it on my phone. If you don’t mind the NASB, I highly recommend this app.
The app I use for my daily reading is Read Scripture (iOS, Android). Although it’s designed to take you through the Bible in a year, I just use it as a supplement to my regular reading. There’s a lot to love about this app, and one of them is that it inherently removes the verse numbers so that there’s absolutely no distraction when we take time to enjoy God’s word.
Amazon also has a number of translations for Kindle. Just search something like “KJV without verse numbers” and you should find what you’re looking for.
Finally. BibleGateway.com is a website with an exhaustive number of translations, all with the option to remove the verse numbers.
Physical Reader’s Bibles
If you’re like my mother (or you are my mother; Hi Mom!), nothing beats holding a physical Bible for your daily Bible reading. I was first introduced to Bibles without verse numbers through a physical Bible, and since then a few options have come out.
For those who want a very smooth reading experience, the New Living Translation is my regular suggestion. It’s not a good translation for study, but instead takes the original Greek and Hebrew and translates it in a way that is much more natural, capturing the thought of the text rather than the literal words of it. Tyndale has a 6 volume set called “Immerse,” with each book containing several books of the Bible, though they offer each volume individually as well. If you’re brand new to Bible reading and don’t know where to start, Messiah is where I’d go since it contains the entire New Testament. Based on the PDF excerpt, this seems like the best option to read the Bible in an easy and engaging way.
The ESV Reader’s Bible is similar to the one I own, with the entire Bible laid out in a single book, free of verse numbers and other distractions. There’s also a premium 6 volume collection if you want something that looks gorgeous on the shelf.
Other options include the KJV and the NIV. Unfortunately, this type of Bible hasn’t become popular enough to warrant a wide variety of translations. However, I’d definitely recommend the ESV if you want the closest literal translation, the KJV if you prefer that version, or the NLT if you prefer an easier reading experience.
Find a new love for God’s word
If you aren’t sure about a Bible without verse numbers, just try reading the Bible out loud including reading the verse numbers. It feels very disconnected and unnatural. Yet without realizing it, that’s exactly what often happens when we try reading the Bible.
We know it’s important to read the Bible every day. It’s our source of truth, and we want to return to it regularly because it cuts through the lies of the world and let’s us see things as God sees them. Yet for whatever reason, it can be a struggle to do it regularly.
Give this a try. See if it helps God’s word come alive in a new way. Perhaps Exodus or Romans will make more sense when you’re able to see how a sentence fits within an entire paragraph, and how that paragraph makes sense within an entire book.
The Bible is how God chooses to reveal Himself to us today. Visit Him daily, in whatever way lets you clearly see how beautiful and amazing our God truly is.
