Assuming you’ve done your work with the <<preliminaries>>, here’s the next step to putting your Bible study on steroids: doing a sentence flow diagram. I know, I know: totally unsexy. But, seriously, this is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE tool for studying the Bible(lots of exclamation points!!!!!!!!) because everyone who has a basic knowledge of English grammar truly can get a much clearer picture of a scripture passage with some very simple diagramming.
Most translations are written, intentionally, in paragraph and verse form. By diagramming sentences according to grammar rules, you get to see how words, phrases, sentences, and even whole sections relate to each other. You see comparisons and contrasts at a glance. You see cause and effect in a second.
This post is part of the following (still-being-written) series:
Supercharge Your Bible Study Series: Simple (But F’Real, Bona Fide) Bible Interpretation for Newbies
Interpretation Preliminaries:
- Reading the Passage (in one sitting)
Going with the Flow, Part 2 – Putting the Horse in front of the Cart: Basic Grammar Rules (or, “Ninth Grade English, Revisited”)
Going with the Flow, Part 3 – A New Artistry: Sketching a Sentence Flow