Once you have your notebook in hand, you have chosen a passage to study, and you have read that passage every day for a week, you are now ready to study it. What does that study look like? First, pray for understanding. Humbly asking for the help of the Spirit rather than relying on our own understanding is the only way to truly grasp the full meaning of the Bible.
Now open your notebook, write the passage and date at the top of a new page. We recommend that you read the passage in two or three modern Bible versions other than your primary version. Note where the translations differ significantly. This probably indicates that something interesting is going on in the original language. Note those places in your study for later investigation. Then go through the Inductive Study questions described in the previous article. When it comes to the historical, cultural, and political context of the passage it may be useful to consult a commentary of Bible dictionary. However, we recommend that you only read the book overview/introduction of any commentary at this point.
Assuming you have time available, now is the time to consult additional resources. But these should be done only after you have completed your own study. Otherwise, your study is likely to simply end up being a report of what other people believe about the passage. The idea with an inductive study is to hear what the Spirit says to you through the Bible itself. Also, you are more likely to have questions if you read it and don't understand something. If you read a commentary first, for instance, you are more likely to simply adopt the viewpoint of the commentator.
Commentaries are the most generally useful resource to Bible study. They tend to be written by people who are learned about context - and issues related to the original language. Commentaries provide you with experts at your fingertips. They may answer questions you come up with as you study. They may bring things to light that you didn't know. And they may correct misinterpretations. But one must realize that commentators are humans with their own biases and blind spots. Therefore, it is useful to read a few different commentaries. At very least, you will be aware of different ways that a passage is understood when there is occasionally obscure text. Paraphrases also serve as a form of commentary and it may be helpful to read the passage in one of those Bibles.
Bible atlases are useful aids when the passage contains references to specific geological locations. However, some of the ancient cities have been lost to history and it is unclear where they were located. Bible dictionaries/encyclopedias can also be useful for understanding various viewpoints on certain doctrines, historical (and other) context, and even how there have been aberrant understandings of some passages. However, these resources are primarily useful in the context of topical studies.
Another useful tool is the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, which includes related verses for every phrase in the Bible. Since the Bible is the best commentary on itself, looking up these related verses can help you understand the text within the scriptural context. Similar tools include chain reference Bibles. These Bibles have extensive references to other verses. They are similar to the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, but not as exhaustive. Granted, looking up every verse related to every phrase in a chapter can be tedious, it can certainly be used for those verses or phrases for which you have questions.
Bible study software can be very useful in that it can provide you with an electronic theological library with many Bible versions, commentaries, encyclopedias, Treasury, etc. It can also provide a quick way to
Now, some warnings. There are a lot of online resources that can be useful. Sadly, there are also a lot of them which are heretical. If you are new to the faith, we recommend that you only visit well-respected sites such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, or the Navigators. Remember that just because a web site is popular, that does not mean it is respectable. Some are not. There is a temptation, among some, to use Artificial Intelligence such as chat bots. While these can provide good information, the fact is that you never know what data these AIs have been trained on. They very well may have been taught using heretical sources. Even if they are okay today, at any point they can change without warning or notice. Besides, the idea is for you to do the study - not to have AI do it for you. It is probably best to avoid online resources entirely unless you are knowledgeable, experienced, and discerning. And many people overestimate how knowledgeable, experienced, and discerning they actually are. We recognize the irony that you are reading this from an online resource, but we are only encouraging that people study the Bible - we offer little theological slant. Our recommendation is that you get a base-level Bible study app and stick with the reference works it comes with until you have grown to spiritual maturity. Most commercial Bible study apps, including erasmus, provide a decent and trustworthy beginning theological library for you - especially the free versions or the "entry-level" products. We only caution against the Verbum Study App, which is overtly sectarian. Also, realize that not all "Bible software" is useful for study. There are useful apps for devotions, prayer, community, etc. but what you want is something that provides a library of useful reference works including Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, lexicons, and so forth.
When have finished your study, there are a couple things to carry with you through the following week(s), even as you begin to read the next passage. First, consider the key and favorite verses you wrote down. You should memorize them. Memorizing one or two verses per week shouldn't be difficult for most people and by the end of a year, even with a couple weeks off, you will have up to 100 verses memorized! There are apps that can help you with memorization, including the erasmus Bible app. Finally, consider your application from the passage. Applying what you learn to your life is the best way to avoid being a Pharisee who is very familiar with the scripture without it actually affecting his heart.
Don't forget that your pastor is also a useful source of answers to questions you may still have. Most pastors will be excited to help you when you take a hand in your own spiritual growth rather than merely waiting for them to feed you on Sunday morning. After you have finished using these additional resources, you may want to go back and amend your own notes. You will often gain a deeper understanding of the passage by using these resources.
When you finish a book, you need to decide which one to study next. However, we recommend that after you study the last chapter of a book, you do a whole-book study. This is a chance to take a "40,000 foot look" at the text. Many books, especially the epistles, were written to be read in their entirety in one sitting. Intensive study of the chapters is useful, but reading the entire book may give you a different perspective. Some prefer to do a book overview before chapter studies. Doing so can help provide context into which each chapter fits. We recommend doing the overview afterwards because you can refer to your earlier chapter studies. The overview follows the same outline used for chapter study, but instead of a favorite and key verse, choose a favorite and key passage. Single chapter books obviously don't need a separate overview. Books like Psalms and Proverbs are collections of smaller components and an overview of them is probably of lesser value. Although reading through the entire Psalms or Proverbs in one sitting may still be a useful adjunct to chapter study.