Bible Study Tools

[rita727]

Hello,

When studying the Bible, what have you found helpful? For instance, do you use any apps that help with cross references or original translations?


Thanks

 

[d taylor]

-​

Analogy of faith

Condition and Consequence: A Key to Correct Interpretation – Grace Evangelical Society

What is Meaning of Analogy of Faith? How Should Scripture Interpret Scripture? – Grace Evangelical Society

 

[B Griffin]

Hello,

When studying the Bible, what have you found helpful? For instance, do you use any apps that help with cross references or original translations?


Thanks

I use Logos Bible Software. It is very helpful, but it's not cheep. I know some people use Blue Letter Bible software and like it. It's free.

 

[AlexB23]

Hello,

When studying the Bible, what have you found helpful? For instance, do you use any apps that help with cross references or original translations?


Thanks

AI is a tool for analyzing verses. I copy and paste the verse into the AI (Mistral 7B, run privately on my laptop), and viola, verses analyzed. Be sure to double check the responses by comparing with other Bible studies that others have done.

Prompt:
Explain 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23, which states "Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Response:
1 Thessalonians 5:22-23 is a powerful passage that encourages believers to live holy and righteous lives, avoiding anything that may appear evil or give the impression of sin. The first part of the passage, "Abstain from all appearance of evil," means that we should not only avoid actual sin, but also anything that might look like sin or could lead us into sin. This includes not only overtly evil actions, but also attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors that are not in line with God's will.

The second part of the passage, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," emphasizes the importance of being sanctified, or set apart for God, and being preserved blameless until the return of Christ.

 

[Hawkins]

I used to use WordSearch. However, Christianity turned into commerce and it's ended when acquired by Logos. Logos is not bad, but just not as good as WordSearch. They should care more about God's business than human business.

 

[Always in His Presence]

Blueletterbible.org is one of the most comprehensive study sites you can find. From Strongs to Vines, to a plethora of Commentaries.

 

[HopeSings]

I use biblegateway..com and Google. If I can't remember a verse I goodle a few words that I do remember in hopes of finding it. Or I search by word to learn. I study the word holiness for example by studying scriptures about holiness and being holy. Symbolism is important i think. I study that. I've used scripture4all in the past but not now. It's an inrerlinear Bible.

 

[The Liturgist]

Hello,

When studying the Bible, what have you found helpful? For instance, do you use any apps that help with cross references or original translations?


Thanks

Biblehub.com is my favorite web based collection of Bibles for quick lookups. Scribd, the PDF sharing site, and its sister ebook site which used to trade under the same name but is now called Everand, the two being split in an annoying manner, but not annoying enough to make me cancel my subscription, has the Orthodox Study Bible and several other interesting editions (I also have the Orthodox Study Bible as an eBook and in print).

Also, ChatGPT, especially ChatGPT 4, is really very good I have found when I can’t recall the chapter and verse of a particular text, where I remember approximately what Scripture says. Now Google can do this as well, but only if one remembers the text precisely, whereas if one only recalls what the text is about, but not where it is or what precisely it says, one can simply ask chatgpt for verses pertaining to the subject, and it can provide a list.

If one is concerned about it potentially distorting scriptural verses, which I don’t think is a risk, given the safety protocols built into chatgpt, one can of course readily verify its output. But I myself have not seen it do this. I have seen erratic output in chatGPT 3.5; I also once somehow glitched out chatGPT 4’s image generator, but nothing that distorts texts that it quotes. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to double check the output of chatGPT, since it does have known malfunctions that can be induced in some cases accidentally.

 

[BNR32FAN]

Hello,

When studying the Bible, what have you found helpful? For instance, do you use any apps that help with cross references or original translations?


Thanks

Biblehub.com is pretty good as a lexicon source.

 

[AlexB23]

Biblehub.com is my favorite web based collection of Bibles for quick lookups. Scribd, the PDF sharing site, and its sister ebook site which used to trade under the same name but is now called Everand, the two being split in an annoying manner, but not annoying enough to make me cancel my subscription, has the Orthodox Study Bible and several other interesting editions (I also have the Orthodox Study Bible as an eBook and in print).

Also, ChatGPT, especially ChatGPT 4, is really very good I have found when I can’t recall the chapter and verse of a particular text, where I remember approximately what Scripture says. Now Google can do this as well, but only if one remembers the text precisely, whereas if one only recalls what the text is about, but not where it is or what precisely it says, one can simply ask chatgpt for verses pertaining to the subject, and it can provide a list.

If one is concerned about it potentially distorting scriptural verses, which I don’t think is a risk, given the safety protocols built into chatgpt, one can of course readily verify its output. But I myself have not seen it do this. I have seen erratic output in chatGPT 3.5; I also once somehow glitched out chatGPT 4’s image generator, but nothing that distorts texts that it quotes. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to double check the output of chatGPT, since it does have known malfunctions that can be induced in some cases accidentally.

Yeah, newer AI from 2023 and beyond tend to work better, compared to older AI from 2022. Mistral AI 7B is free, from late 2023, and outperforms bigger paid AI models from the early part of this decade (say, 2021). It is not on this graph, but Mistral 8x7B is, and it out performs AI from mid-2022 and can be run offline, if your computer is beefy enough. Mistral 8x22B outperforms AI from early 2023 and can also be run on a beefy PC or Mac.

 

[The Liturgist]

Yeah, newer AI from 2023 and beyond tend to work better, compared to older AI from 2022. Mistral AI 7B is free, from late 2023, and outperforms bigger paid AI models from the early part of this decade (say, 2021). It is not on this graph, but Mistral 8x7B is, and it out performs AI from mid-2022 and can be run offline, if your computer is beefy enough. Mistral 8x22B outperforms AI from early 2023 and can also be run on a beefy PC or Mac.

View attachment 347494

Indeed, I am planning on setting up my own Mistral server either at home or in a datacenter, because I am not happy about some of the annoying built-in limitations of chatGPT. I am presently working on spec’ing out what it would need to consist of. And also figuring out whether or not I could get it to work using a rackmount 1U or 2U system (I particularly like 1Us, as they are less heavy to carry around than 2U servers, and in many colocation centers, if you are just placing a single server, they are less expensive.

But I am skeptical as to whether or not that would work, because the systems I’ve seen running Mistral look like workstation / tower servers which are loaded with PCIe cards that I assume are running AI accelerator and GPU hardware, and a 1U server does not have a lot of room for those (the Sun x4140 and newer x86 servers were groundbreaking when they first came out around 2008 in that they could fit an unusually large number of full size PCIe cards while still having dual redundant power supplies, and they also had four ethernet ports by default, and full remote management, features which were upgrades on equivalent Dell, HP and Supermicro hardware of the time; then when Cisco entered the rackmount server business, they offered similar functionality, which was nice).

 

[Hammster]

E-sword had been my go-to for years. Plenty of free Bible versions, commentaries, and dictionaries.

 

[AlexB23]

Indeed, I am planning on setting up my own Mistral server either at home or in a datacenter, because I am not happy about some of the annoying built-in limitations of chatGPT. I am presently working on spec’ing out what it would need to consist of. And also figuring out whether or not I could get it to work using a rackmount 1U or 2U system (I particularly like 1Us, as they are less heavy to carry around than 2U servers, and in many colocation centers, if you are just placing a single server, they are less expensive.

But I am skeptical as to whether or not that would work, because the systems I’ve seen running Mistral look like workstation / tower servers which are loaded with PCIe cards that I assume are running AI accelerator and GPU hardware, and a 1U server does not have a lot of room for those (the Sun x4140 and newer x86 servers were groundbreaking when they first came out around 2008 in that they could fit an unusually large number of full size PCIe cards while still having dual redundant power supplies, and they also had four ethernet ports by default, and full remote management, features which were upgrades on equivalent Dell, HP and Supermicro hardware of the time; then when Cisco entered the rackmount server business, they offered similar functionality, which was nice).

You don't need a Sun. You can build a gaming PC that can run Mistral, using NVIDIA 4090 GPU. Mistral 8x22 should do the trick.

 

[rita727]

AI is a tool for analyzing verses. I copy and paste the verse into the AI (Mistral 7B, run privately on my laptop), and viola, verses analyzed. Be sure to double check the responses by comparing with other Bible studies that others have done.

Prompt:
Explain 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23, which states "Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Response:
1 Thessalonians 5:22-23 is a powerful passage that encourages believers to live holy and righteous lives, avoiding anything that may appear evil or give the impression of sin. The first part of the passage, "Abstain from all appearance of evil," means that we should not only avoid actual sin, but also anything that might look like sin or could lead us into sin. This includes not only overtly evil actions, but also attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors that are not in line with God's will.

The second part of the passage, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," emphasizes the importance of being sanctified, or set apart for God, and being preserved blameless until the return of Christ.

Oh wow, I never thought of that

 

[AlexB23]

Oh wow, I never thought of that

Yeah, it works pretty well.

 

[B Griffin]

AI is a tool for analyzing verses. I copy and paste the verse into the AI (Mistral 7B, run privately on my laptop), and viola, verses analyzed. Be sure to double check the responses by comparing with other Bible studies that others have done.

Prompt:
Explain 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23, which states "Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Response:
1 Thessalonians 5:22-23 is a powerful passage that encourages believers to live holy and righteous lives, avoiding anything that may appear evil or give the impression of sin. The first part of the passage, "Abstain from all appearance of evil," means that we should not only avoid actual sin, but also anything that might look like sin or could lead us into sin. This includes not only overtly evil actions, but also attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors that are not in line with God's will.

The second part of the passage, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," emphasizes the importance of being sanctified, or set apart for God, and being preserved blameless until the return of Christ.

Thank you for confirming my suspicion that AI is driving some of the crazy dialogue I have been having in chats lately. I'm not saying you have been doing it, but I believe others have. The hallmark of those chats is a certain disconnect to reality that only comes from not understanding spiritual things.

 

[jas3]

Thank you for confirming my suspicion that AI is driving some of the crazy dialogue I have been having in chats lately. I'm not saying you have been doing it, but I believe others have. The hallmark of those chats is a certain disconnect to reality that only comes from not understanding spiritual things.

Agreed, the AI-only posts are obvious, low-effort, and honestly obnoxious. I try to avoid engaging with them as much as possible, and I wouldn't be surprised if a forum rule is put in place in the future banning things like AI exegesis of Scripture.

 

[AlexB23]

Thank you for confirming my suspicion that AI is driving some of the crazy dialogue I have been having in chats lately. I'm not saying you have been doing it, but I believe others have. The hallmark of those chats is a certain disconnect to reality that only comes from not understanding spiritual things.

You are welcome. I do not use AI for dialogue in chats, but some of the others seem to be using AI, or people have been indoctrinated by certain things such as Twitter (X).

 

[AlexB23]

Agreed, the AI-only posts are obvious, low-effort, and honestly obnoxious. I try to avoid engaging with them as much as possible, and I wouldn't be surprised if a forum rule is put in place in the future banning things like AI exegesis of Scripture.

Another guy here might use AI, as he asked me to bet on scripture propositions (P1 and P2), which goes against my beliefs.

But, AI can be used as a tool, as long as people do not fully rely on it. Remember, stuff are double edged swords, so we can use it for good, or for bad. Sadly, most people use AI for bad.

 

[B Griffin]

Agreed, the AI-only posts are obvious, low-effort, and honestly obnoxious. I try to avoid engaging with them as much as possible, and I wouldn't be surprised if a forum rule is put in place in the future banning things like AI exegesis of Scripture.

I hope so, but it might be hard to prove or to stop.