Passage lookups are useful when you want to find a specific passage in the Bible and you know the reference (i.e. John 3:16). Enter the reference in the text box, select one or more Bible versions to display from the list, and click "Lookup". Optionally, you may specify the following parameters:

Hide footnotes

Footnotes provide additional notes from the Bible translators, and are displayed by default. Check this box to hide them from the results.

Hide cross-references

When a verse refers to another verse elsewhere in the Bible, cross-references point to the other verse. They are turned on by default, but checking this box will hide them from the results.

The format of the passage should look like one of the following examples:

• Genesis 1
• John 3:16
• Exodus 20:1-17
• 1-Corinthians 10:23-11:1

You can also look up multiple passages in one pass by separating them with a semicolon. For example, you can enter a series of passages like "Gen 1:1-10; 2:3-9; Exo 1-2" and the Gateway will respond correctly.

Note:

• Books in a series can be specified using 1-book, 1book, or I book
• Books with only one chapter treat chapters as verses (eg. "Jude 1-5" returns Jude 1:1-5). To view the whole chapter in such a book, use the name of the book as the passage (eg. "Jude" will return Jude 1:1-25).
• You can use a variety of abbreviations for the name of a book (eg. "1 Samuel", "1-Sam", "I Sam", and "1Sam" will all work).

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Word searches are useful for finding verses or passages when you don't know the reference for where they can be found. In effect, word searches function as a high-powered concordance or index to the entire Bible. Enter the word(s) you wish to find in the text box, choose a Bible version from the list and then click "Search". Optionally, you may specify the following parameters:

Restrict search to

If you want to search only a portion of the Bible, select the appropriate option. The different groupings of books are explained here.

Start search at / End search at

As an alternate method of searching portions of the Bible, you can select the books to start and end the search.

Results per page

You can specify the number of search results that will display on a single page before a link is created to a second search results page. Some versions of the Bible have copyright limits upon the number of verses that can be displayed at one time. If you choose a results number higher than the copyright limit, only the number of verses specified by the copyright limit will be displayed.

Find whole words only

If you check this box, searches will be limited to whole words only. For example, if you put "laughter" in the search box, and leave "Find whole words" unchecked, it will find verses with both "laughter" and "slaughter". If you check the "Find whole words" check box, the search will only find verses with "laughter" in them.

Display results as references only

Check this box if you don't want to see the text of the verses themselves, but only where they can be found.

These books are included in each section of the "Restrict search to" field of the Word Search:

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What is WBSA?

WBSA is an online search that lets internet users lookup Bible verses by topic.

Where does the material in WBSA come from?

WBSA is based on The New Nave's Topical Bible, a revision of the classic reference work, Nave's Topical Bible, which was written in the later part of the 19th century by Dr. Orville Nave. The original Nave's was revised and expanded by James Swanson; the resulting New Nave's Topical Bible is Copyright 1997 Logos Research Systems, Inc.

How come the article on _____ is just a list of Bible references?

The primary goal of WBSA is to direct you to the Bible. Sometimes articles have headings within them to help you organize and understand the scripture passages they point to, but most articles consist primarily of scripture references.

I don't like the article on _____. Can you change it?

The goal of WBSA is to include every relevant scripture reference on the covered topics. (We know that there are some articles that are not complete, and are working on them.) WBSA is not intended to serve as a commentary or textbook on scripture. We understand, though, that the organization of the Bible by topic is itself a subjective process and welcome submissions of scripture references that may have been overlooked.

I'd like more information on _____. Where can I look?

We're investigating the possibility of putting links from WBSA to more in-depth articles. Your suggestions for topics to cover more thoroughly and/or links to Biblically-sound material are appreciated.

I can't find an article on _____. Any hints?

The search works by checking every article's title for the exact word or phrase you typed. If you can't find something you think should be covered, try searching on variations of the word or phrase. Also, searches for words are more likely to find results than searches for phrases.

Can I use wildcards in my search?

Everything sent to the search engine gets an implicit wildcard on the front and back. That means that a search for "love" will find Beloved, Beloved Disciple, Love, Lovefeasts, Lovers, and Steadfast Love. No other wildcards are supported.