• Keys to Understanding Scripture
• Keys to Using the Notes
• Key to Abbreviations & Symbols

1. Seek God's Face. As His Spirit moved holy men of God to record the words of Scripture, only the Holy Spirit can make hearts holy to receive them. Only He can breathe into us Life and understanding. (1Cor 2:9-14; John 16:13,14; Dan 9:3)
2. Search the Scriptures. No scripture is of "private interpretation". Scripture must be compared with scripture. Therefore, do not neglect the cross references in the notes that follow. The scripture references form the text of this commentary. (They should not be set aside as mere footnotes). All notes supplied by this compiler should be regarded simply as links from one scripture to another. (John 5:39; 2Pet 1:20,21)
3. Set Your Heart to Obey His Word. (John 7:16-18; John 14:21; Luke 6:46-49)

These notes have been assembled from personal Bible study. They are not meant to be a polished product. Rather the notes are meant to provide you with a resource which will help you come to your own understanding of the scripture text.

Normally, the Notes will display in the large upper window.

Generally, the displayed note page deals with one Bible chapter. At the top of the page, there is a link to the scripture passage under consideration. It is suggested that you Click this link to display the text in the Lower Left window. You should read carefully through the scripture passage more than once. If questions or insights come to mind as you read, write them down with pencil & paper. When you finish reading the scripture passage, study the Notes. Look for answers to your questions. Compare your insights with the Notes discussion. You can scroll through the scripture text as needed during the study.

In the notes, each Bible verse (in the chapter under study) is shown in bold italics to set it apart from other text.

The note following each verse will point out and discuss important words and phrases from the verse.

Since the best Bible commentary is the Bible itself, you should consider the notes as a framework by which to compare Scripture with Scripture. The frequent scripture reference links are the heart of this study. When you click on these links, the linked passage will usually display in the Lower Right window (if the link is to a verse in the chapter under study, it will display in the Lower Left window). You may scroll the text to see the context.

Bold/Italics - Text in this format is

Scripture upon which a given note is commenting.

A.V. - Authorized Version of the Bible

(also called the King James Version)

c. - Circa, at about the time of...

(Example: c. 1800 AD means "about 1800 AD")

cf. - Contrast...

ch. - Chapter(s)

CEMason - Alluding to or quoting from

class notes by Clarence E. Mason, professor, Philadelphia College of Bible, Phila, PA.

CJEllicott- Alluding to or quoting from

"A Layman's Commentary on the Bible: Titus, Philemon, Hebrews & James", CJ Ellicott, Zondervan, 1957

CHM - Alluding to or quoting from

the works of C.H.Mackintosh (eg. "Notes on Genesis" or "Notes on Exodus", Fleming H. Revell Co., 1873.

CHS - Alluding to or quoting from

the works of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (eg. "The Treasury of David" on the Psalms)

cp. - Compare...

eg. - For example...

ff. (or, f.) - When used after a scripture reference,

means "and the following verses" (eg. Rom 5:1 ff.).

ie. - That is...

JBS (or JBSmith)- Alluding to or quoting from

"A Revelation of Jesus Christ: A Commentary on the Book of Revelation" by J.B. Smith.

JVMcGee- See "McGee" below

KJV - King James Version

LXX - Septuagint, see below.

GK - Greek (usually followed by

transliteration and/or definition of a Greek word). Example:

GK=agape, self-sacrificing costly love, the type of love with which Christ loves us.

The Greek word "agape" is written in English characters and followed by a definition.

GWms - Alluding to or quoting from

"A Student's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures", George Williams, Kregel Pub., 1960

HB - Hebrew (usually followed by

transliteration and/or definition of a Hebrew word). See example of usage at "GK" above.

lit. - Literal, literally

McGee - Alluding to or quoting from

the edited transcipts of "Thru the Bible" radio broadcasts by Dr. J. Vernon McGee

MSS - Manuscript(s), ancient copies

of the Scriptures.

OT - Old Testament

NASV - New American Standard Version

NIV - New International Version (1984 edition)

NT - New Testament

re: - Regarding, Relates to

ref. - Reference, Refers to

R.V. - Revised Version of the Bible

RSV - Revised Standard Version

Ryrie S.B.- "The Ryrie Study Bible", Moody Press, 1978

ScofRB. - Alluding to or quoting from the

"Scofield Reference Bible", Oxford University Press, 1917.

Septuagint - An early translation of the OT

into Greek, often abbreviated "LXX"

Stifler - Alluding to or quoting from

"The Epistle to the Romans", James M. Stifler, Moody Press, 1967.

TBKC - The Bible Knowledge Commentary,

John F. Walvoord & Roy B. Zuck, Victor Books, 1983.

ThomCRB- Thompson Chain Reference Bible,

B.B.Kirkbride Bible Co. and Zondervan Corp., 1983.

trans. - Translated

v. or vs.- Verse(s)

Vine- See WEVine

WEVine- a reference from

"Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words", Thomas Nelson Pub., 1985.

Wuest - As translated by

Dr. Kenneth Wuest, "The New Testament, an Expanded Translation"

WWiersbe - Alluding to or quoting from

"Be Hopeful, 1Peter", by Warren W. Wiersbe, Victor Books, 1983

x - times ( 7x = seven times)

# - Number (#1 = number one).

= - Equals, Is, The meaning is...

Example: GK=agape

[ ] - When occurring in line of

Scripture text, encloses words which are italicized in the KJV text. Elsewhere, used as parenthesis, often identifying a reference source.

Note: The translators of the KJV, attempted to render the original languages into English as faithfully and literally as possible. When, in their judgment, they needed to supply a word to adequately convey the thought in English, this word was italicized.

{ } - When occurring in line of

Scripture text, encloses a note or alternate reading.

^ - Therefore, It follows that...

Scripture Reference format:

[book] [chapter]:[verses]

1Cor 15:1-5 [verses 1 through 5]

Joh 3:16-18,36 [vs.16 though 18, and v. 36]

Book abbreviations are usually the first two or three letters of the complete book name.

Multiple chapter/verse references in the same book are usually separated by a semi-colon. Example:

Joh 3:16,17; 6:35-40 (John chapter 3 verses 16 and 17, and chapter 6 verses 35 through 40)