Have you ever paused over a word in your Bible and wondered what it meant in the original language? You don’t need to be fluent in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek of the Bible to begin exploring that question.
Bible Gateway’s Reverse Interlinear feature (available exclusively to Bible Gateway Plus members) connects the English text you’re reading with original-language words and dictionary entries, giving you a starting point for a closer look.
What Is a Reverse Interlinear Bible?
An interlinear Bible lines up words in the original language with their English equivalents. A traditional interlinear follows the original-language word order. A reverse interlinear follows the English order, making it easier to start with the translation you already read.
On Bible Gateway, the Reverse Interlinear displays transliterations of the original-language words beneath the New International Version (NIV). Selecting a word opens its entry in the NIV Exhaustive Concordance Dictionary.
You may notice that the words don’t line up neatly one for one. That’s expected! Biblical languages are very different from modern English, making Bible translation a complex process. It involves much more than substituting an English word for each original-language word. Sometimes a whole English phrase is needed to express a single word. That process is how we end up with so many Bible versions.
How Can the Reverse Interlinear Help Your Bible Study?
Bible Gateway’s reverse interlinear gives you a way to follow your curiosity while staying close to the passage. You might use it to:
- Explore a word’s meaning. Look up a word that interests you and read its definition. Observe how differently that word might be translated in different passages.
- Notice repetition. Investigate whether a repeated idea is expressed with the same original-language word.
- Consider translation choices. See the different English words the NIV uses to translate a particular Hebrew or Greek word (and compare them to other translations).
Think of these discoveries as prompts for closer reading. Does a repeated word help connect two thoughts? Does the definition raise a question you could investigate in a commentary?
Keep the surrounding passage in view. A dictionary may list several possible meanings, but they don’t all apply every time a word appears. The goal is to better understand what the biblical writer is saying in this particular context.
How to Access and Use the Reverse Interlinear
The Reverse Interlinear is included with Bible Gateway Plus. To use it on the Bible Gateway website:
- Sign in to your account with an active Plus membership.
- Open a Bible passage and choose the New International Version (NIV).
- Select the Settings icon above the text and enable Reverse Interlinear. Or, you can toggle the Greek/Hebrew slider at the top of the Resources tab to the right of the passage.
- Select an original-language word beneath the English text to open its dictionary entry in the right-hand sidebar.
On desktop, hovering over a word also highlights all its occurrences in the passage you have open, helping you spot repetition or see how many English words are needed to convey its meaning.
How to Read the Dictionary Entries
The entries pack a lot into a small space. This annotated diagram explains their parts:
Start with three elements:
- Transliteration: The original-language word written using familiar letters.
- Definition: An explanation of the word’s meaning.
- NIV translations and counts: The English renderings used in the NIV and how often each occurs.
The G/K number identifies the dictionary entry. Other details include the part of speech, related words, and the word’s total frequency count throughout the Bible. The diagram also explains special notation, including “NDT” for occurrences not directly translated.
You don’t need to master every element of these entries before using the tool. Begin with the definition and translation information, then explore the other details as questions arise.
Get Started With Bible Gateway Plus
To get started with the Reverse Interlinear in Bible Gateway Plus, choose a familiar passage and investigate just one word. Then reread the passage: What do you notice, and what would you like to explore further? If you don’t already have access, learn more about Bible Gateway Plus and the study resources available alongside your Bible reading.
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