THE most popular Bible verse in the world is John 3.16, a digital survey by the children’s charity World Vision, conducted via the Bible Gateway platform, reveals.
It describes the verse — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” — as “a summary of Christianity’s central tenets, highlighting God’s love for people, Jesus as the Father’s Son and the connection between becoming a Christian and everlasting life.”
The study reviewed Google search data for the 100-most-read Bible verses on a country-by-country basis. With 2.1 million monthly searches around the world, and 6500 in the UK, the verse was also revealed to be the most used across social media, appearing in more than 250,000 posts on Instagram, and viewed more than 55.9 million times on TikTok.
Second in the UK, with 2000 monthly searches, and joint second across the 172 countries, was Jeremiah 29.11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” Around the world, the verse had 82,000 searches, matching Philippians 4.13, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”
The Old Testament features more than the New in the UK list. Genesis 1 appears three times among the UK top ten, including the opening verse. Isaiah comes in twice, at number 6 (41.10), and number 9 (40:31). John, the only New Testament book in the UK top ten, and lone among the Gospel writers, is placed third with 14.6: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me,’” and eighth with 16.33.
But the position is reversed in the world list, where the Old Testament gets just two placings in the top ten, both from Proverbs 3.5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”, and 3.6. Romans appears twice (8.28 and 3.23). The survey discovered, however, that Central and South American countries favoured verses from Genesis, of which the most popular was 1.26, beginning, “Then God said let us make mankind in our image. . .”
Genesis “stands head and shoulders above other verses from other books of the Bible in terms of popularity”, the charity says, observing Latin America to be a strongly religious part of the world with a large Christian population.
“Genesis is about beginnings and creation, a message that appears to resonate strongly with those living in Central and South America,” it suggests. “The two most popular consecutive verses detail the moment God created man in his own image, putting man in charge of the natural world. It details the intimate connection between human beings and God and the significance of the relationship between the two from mankind’s very origins.”
And aside from Philippians 4.13, Paul’s letter also comes in at six and seven in the world list, with verses 4.8 and 4.6 garnering 79,000 monthly searches between them; 4.8 reads, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”