The Bible Reader · Complete Guide
Every feature explained: from your first verse to deep scholarly study.
Getting to the Reader
- From the homepage, click Bible in the top navigation or tap the Bible button on mobile. The reader opens to Genesis 1 by default.
- The URL updates as you navigate, every chapter has its own address. Bookmark
wsb.bible/bible/john/3to return directly to any chapter. - Your last-read position is saved automatically in your browser. Return to the site and the reader opens where you left off.
Choosing a Book and Chapter
The narrow rail on the left edge opens four panels. Books lists the Old and New Testament: pick a book, then a chapter. Contents shows the current book's best-known verses and its chapters by title. Search finds a verse or a word. Bookmarks holds the verses you have saved, kept in this browser on this device.
Tap the book and chapter at the top of the reader (☰ John 3). A sheet opens with the Old and New Testament. Tap a book, then a chapter, and the chapter loads.
On any screen, the buttons at the end of each chapter take you to the previous or next one, and they cross from one book into the next.
Reading and Selecting Verses
Tap any verse to select it. A small menu opens beside it: Commentary, Cross-refs, Words, Threads and Share. Each appears only when the verse has something behind it. Pick one and the verse panel opens at that section. On desktop the panel sits on the right; on a phone it rises from the bottom as a sheet, with the same choices along its top.
The panel gathers everything the site has on the verse: its words, the doctrine pages and audits that cite it, answers, threads, cross-references, commentary, plates, studies and memory cards. Each row says how many it holds. Tap a row to open it.
The verse reference updates in the URL, wsb.bible/bible/john/6/44 links directly to John 6:44. Share it and recipients land on that exact verse.
When commentary covers a passage that spans multiple verses, e.g., Genesis 1:1–5, every verse in the range highlights together and the commentary reads VERSES X–Y. Click any verse inside the range to keep the same passage open.
The Toolbar
Tap ⋯ for reading settings, LISTEN, DICT, READ WITH COMMENTARY, PARALLEL and search, in a sheet from the bottom.
Aa sets the text size and line spacing, and turns the words of Christ in red and the verse numbers on or off. READER clears the controls away for a verses-first page. READ WITH sets a commentary beside the text, chapter after chapter. As you scroll down, the toolbar slides out of the way; scroll up and it comes back.
13 Commentary Sources
Choose Commentary from a verse's menu for the commentary on that verse. Open the panel with no verse selected and it starts with the Book Overview, then the commentary on the whole chapter, then the verses that carry doctrine, answers, threads and more, each one tap away. The sources appear as coloured chips under the Commentary line; tap one to read it. Only sources with something on the current chapter appear, and the chips stay the same whether the commentary is open or shut.
Bible Dictionary
Open a verse's Words and tap Look up a name or place in Easton's Bible Dictionary, or on a phone tap DICT in the ⋯ sheet. The dictionary automatically searches for the verse's first meaningful proper noun: a name, place, or theological term, and shows matching entries from two sources:
Type any term in the search box to override the auto-search. Results show the source badge (EASTON'S or NAVE'S), the term, and the definition with a Read More toggle for longer entries.
Strong's Lexicon
On any screen, a verse's Words lists its Hebrew or Greek words with their Strong's numbers. On desktop you can also turn STRONG'S on in the toolbar: select a verse and its words become clickable, each opening its Strong's number, the Hebrew or Greek original, transliteration, pronunciation, and definition. The lexicon covers the full KJV vocabulary: every Hebrew word in the OT and every Greek word in the NT.
Cross-References (TSK)
Select a verse and choose Cross-refs. The panel shows the twelve passages most closely linked to it in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Above them, a strip of the whole canon marks every book the verse reaches. Tap a book on the strip to see all of the verse's references in that book. Click any reference to jump to it. TSK is the most comprehensive cross-reference system available: essential for tracing themes and types across the canon.
Book Overview
The verse panel carries an overview of the current book: author, date, historical context, cultural background, canonical note, and which of the Seven Threads run through it. Tap its title to open it. It changes each time you change books. Read it before starting a new book to orient yourself to what you're about to study.
Audio (LISTEN)
Click LISTEN to hear the KJV read aloud. Audio is provided free by Faith Comes By Hearing (Bible Brain). The audio plays the current chapter automatically. Use the audio player controls to pause, resume, and adjust speed.
Thread Markers
Some verses are tagged with Thread markers, colored chips showing which of the Seven Threads runs through that verse. T1 through T7 each have a distinct color. Select a verse tagged with a thread to see the thread description and its canonical connections. The threads run from Genesis 3:9 to Revelation 22:17 without breaking. Learn more at wsb.bible/threads.
The THREADS bar along the foot of the reader shows which threads run through the current chapter. Choose Threads from a verse's menu for the threads in that verse.
Parallel Translation
Toggle PARALLEL to show a second translation alongside the KJV. Select the parallel translation from the picker that appears. Both translations display side by side for comparison. Useful for checking word choices and seeing how different translators handled difficult passages.
Search
The search box in the toolbar has two modes. KEYWORD finds verses containing a word or phrase. AI searches the commentary by meaning: type an idea, such as ‘God's patience with Israel’, and it finds the passages that discuss it. Click any result to jump to it.
Tips for Deep Study
Questions
Something not working? A commentary source missing for a book you're studying? Reach out through the Connect page.