How to Take Bible Notes: A Simple System for Margins, Notebook or Phone

Bible notes are the short things you write while you read Scripture: what you noticed, what you didn't understand, which other verse it reminded you of, and what you want to do about it. You can keep them as margin notes in your Bible, as Bible study notes in a notebook, or on your phone. Below is a simple system that works in all three, with an annotation key, a color-coding option, cross-references and two examples you can copy.

The Bereans in the book of Acts are often held up as the model for this kind of reading:

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:11, KJV)

Searching the Scriptures daily is easier when you write things down. A note turns a verse you read into a verse you thought about, and it gives you something to come back to next month.

What to write in your Bible notes

You don't need to write a lot. Most good Bible notes are one of these six things:

1. What you notice. A repeated word, a contrast, a promise, a command. "Notice: 'renewing' — the change happens in the mind first."
2. Questions. Anything you don't understand. "What does 'reasonable service' mean here?" Questions are not a sign you're doing it wrong; they're what makes you look closer.
3. Cross-references. Another verse that says something similar or explains this one. More on this below.
4. Key words. A short definition or the meaning of a name or place, if you look it up.
5. Application. One thing to do or change. Keep it specific enough that you'll know if you did it.
6. The date. A small date next to a verse tells you, years later, when it spoke to you and what you were going through.

If that feels like too much, start with just two: one thing you noticed and one question. That alone will change how you read.

Where to keep Bible notes: margins, notebook or phone

Bible margin notes. Writing right next to the verse is the fastest way to connect a thought to the text, and every time you reread the passage your note is there. The downside is space. Margins fit a word or a reference, not a paragraph. Bible paper is also thin, so choose a fine-tip pen or a pencil that is sold as safe for thin paper, and test it on a blank page at the back first. Wide-margin and journaling Bibles exist for exactly this.

Bible study notes in a notebook. A notebook has room for longer thoughts, lists of cross-references and whole-passage summaries. Write the reference and the date at the top of every entry so you can find it again. A notebook also keeps your Bible clean, if that matters to you. If you like a structure, a method like SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) gives each entry four parts.

On your phone. Phone notes are searchable, backed up and always with you. Most Bible apps let you highlight a verse and attach a note to it, and a plain notes app works too if each note starts with the reference. The risk is distraction: one notification and the reading is over. Turn on Do Not Disturb before you start. We compare the options in the best Bible notes apps.

Many people combine them: a pen mark in the margin while reading, and a few longer lines in a notebook or app afterward.

A simple Bible annotation key

There is no official set of symbols for annotating the Bible. The best system is one you can remember without a key, so keep it small. Here's a starter set of seven that covers most of what you'll want to mark:

Mark	Meaning	Example
△	Something about God: who he is, what he does	"his compassions fail not" (Lamentations 3:22)
✝	Something about Jesus	"the Word was made flesh" (John 1:14)
□	A promise	"it shall be given him" (James 1:5)
✓	A command to obey	"seek ye first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33)
?	A question to look into	Anything you don't understand yet
→	A cross-reference, with the verse written next to it	→ Eph 4:23
♡	A verse that spoke to you personally, plus the date	♡ 10/30

A Bible highlighting system with colors

Some people use colors instead of symbols. A simple color-coding system uses only four:

• Yellow: God's character and promises
• Blue: commands and things to do
• Green: verses about growth and new life
• Pink: prayers and verses to pray back to God

Colors look lovely, but they're harder to keep consistent and bleed more easily through thin paper, so choose highlighters made for Bible paper and test them at the back first. Symbols work with any pen. Whatever you choose, write your annotation key on the inside cover so you never have to guess.

How to add cross-references

A cross-reference is a note that says "this verse connects to that one". It's the single most useful note you can make, because the Bible is its best commentary on itself.

There are three easy ways to find them:

• Your Bible's own references. Many Bibles print related verses in a center column or at the bottom of the page, marked by small letters in the text.
• Repeated words. When a word stands out, like "renewed", search for it in a Bible app and see where else it appears.
• Your memory. If a verse reminds you of another, write it down, then check that it really says what you remember.

Write cross-references in the margin with an arrow and a short reference: "→ Eph 4:23". If you're not sure how references are written, our guide on how to read Bible references explains the numbers and all the book abbreviations.

Bible notes ideas and examples

Here are two examples to show the format. We wrote them for this post; they are not anyone's personal notes.

Example 1: margin notes on Romans 12:1–2.

Example 2: a notebook entry on Acts 17:11.

Neither example is long. A few marks in the margin or five lines in a notebook are enough to make you slow down and think.

A free printable for Bible notes

If a blank page slows you down, a template helps. Our free SOAP Bible study template is a one-page printable with room for the verse, what you observe, how you'll apply it and a short prayer. It works well as a notebook page for Bible notes. For notes during church, use the free sermon notes template instead.

Where sermon notes fit in

Bible notes are what you write when you read on your own. Sermon notes are what you write when someone else teaches you. The two belong together: Sunday's sermon gives you a passage, and your Bible notes during the week are how you dig into it yourself.

A simple way to join them: after church, write the main passage of the sermon at the top of a fresh notebook page, and read it again on Monday with your own notes. If you take sermon notes on paper, our guide on how to take sermon notes has five methods.

If you'd rather keep your sermon notes on your phone, this is where our app comes in. Sermon Keeper records the sermon while you tap short notes, each saved at the moment you wrote it. After the service you get a transcript and a summary that lists every Bible passage the pastor named, which gives you your reading list for the week. When you type a reference like "Romans 12:2" into a note, the verse appears as a card, in any of seven translations that work offline. Transcription needs an internet connection; the verse cards don't.

Tips to keep the habit

• Keep it short. Two notes a day beat a page you write once and never again.
• Follow a plan. A Bible reading plan gives you the next passage every day, so you spend your time on notes, not on choosing.
• Read a whole passage, not a single verse. Notes make more sense in context.
• Use the same Bible or notebook. Notes spread across five places get lost.
• Reread old notes. Once a month, flip back through. You'll see what God has been teaching you.
• Pick a method when you're stuck. SOAP, inductive study, verse mapping: our guide to Bible study methods compares eight of them.

Taking notes isn't about having a beautiful Bible. It's about reading slowly enough to notice something, and writing it down so you don't lose it.

Frequently asked questions