5 Step Bible Highlighting System – How to Color Code Your Bible

Bible Study Tips, How to read the Bible

I’m always looking for simple ways to make my Bible Study more effective and the Bible Highlighting System has been a game-changer! It helps me to focus on particular themes, identify patterns and much more. Keep reading to download my free Bible Highlighting Guide and find out how to colour-code your Bible.

The Bible Highlighting System

Benefits of using the Bible Highlighting System

Bible highlighting has become really popular recently, especially with the introduction of Bible Journals and pens designed for use in Bibles (more about that later).

How to Color Code Your Bible

Step 1: Choose your categories

The first thing you need to work out is the different categories or themes you want to highlight. So grab a pen and paper and get brainstorming! Here are some that you will want to consider:

  • God, Holy Spirit
  • Jesus (including prophecies and symbolism in the Old Testament)
  • Prayer, Praise and Worship
  • My identity in Christ, Characteristics of Godly living
  • Names, places, numbers, times
  • Sin, wickedness, warnings and judgement

You will also want to think about any particular themes that are important to you, like marriage, women, parenting, money.

I also like to take note of particular words or phrases in the passage of Scripture I am studying.  This method really helps me to dig deeper into the text. 

  •  The main point of the passage
  • Key Words
  • Repeated Words
  • Contrasting words or ideas
  • Linking words (for, but, so that, therefore, etc.)

Step 2: Choose your colours, marking system

Now it is time to decide upon your marking system. Which colour will you use for each theme? Will you highlight, underline or draw circles around the words?

I have chosen to use highlighters for the themes and to use a pen to underline or circle the specific words.

Step 3: Gather Your Materials

The next stage is to collect your resources! There is a great variety of pens and highlighters specially designed to use on Bible paper without bleeding through. I’ve chosen the Peter Pauper Bible Highlighters, the Mr Pen Fineliners (currently the 12 pack is unavailable but I would recommend it as if you are like me you will need more colours!) and the Mr Pen No Bleed Pens. I also needed something to keep everything together and purchased this Bible Bag which was big enough to hold my ESV Women’s Study Bible.

If you are thinking of purchasing a new Bible then check out my post on Journal Bibles for some great options.

Step 4: Make a key

Once you have finalised your Bible Highlighting System you will need to make a key so you can remember it! Use the form below to download my key and one for you to customize. Then print them and keep it with your Bible and pens.

Bible Highlighting System

Download your Bible Marking Guide

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    Step 5: Read Your Bible

    Now it is time to put your Bible Highlighting System to use!

    Before you go crazy with the pens it is a good idea to read through the passage first and take in what it says. Then you can start to highlight and colour code different themes. If the whole passage is a prayer you might want to draw a box around it in your chosen colour rather than highlighting every word, as you may spot other themes within the prayer that you want to highlight.

    As I read through the passage again I ask myself questions like ‘Who is in this story?’, ‘What does it say about God?’, ‘Does it have anything to say about how I should and shouldn’t be living my life?’. These type of questions help me to identify what I want to highlight.

    Then I will look for repeated words, contrasting themes (like behaviours without Christ and with Christ) and linking words. You can find out more about these in my post How to read the Bible effectively.

    By now you should have an idea of the main point of the passage. Mark it and then read through the passage again with your newly gained knowledge in mind. Maybe you will notice some new themes or patterns.

    Through this process you will dig deeper into the Scriptures, and maybe find some hidden treasures that you hadn’t noticed before!

    I pray that as you use this Bible Highlighting System your enjoyment of studying the Bible, your knowledge of the Scriptures, and your love of God, will grow.

    Bible Highlighting System