The Ready Answers Bible Memorization Program is designed to help you
memorize Bible passages easily and quickly. It is based on many
well-proven strategies for memorizing. From this page you can get our material designed to
help prepare for tests on the Biblical book of Isaiah chapters 1-33. This should be helpful for tests such as the 2026 Pathfinder
Bible Experience or Bible Bowl events. It is also helpful for any study
of these chapters. On other web pages at this site, we also have memorization guides for other books of the Bible.
We supply unofficial study guides. For the official rules and instructions to register a team, please go the the official PBE site for your division. Searching the web, the following SDA division-level pages:
If you are in another division, consult them for their official information and send us an email with your division's official web site.
Help for PBE Coaches
If this is your first time coaching a PBE team, you will want to learn from the success of others. If
you have been a successful coach, you can help other teams overcome their challenges by participating in
PBE Coach discussion groups. Please join a discussion group:
Some teams plan for success by raising the funds early to ensure they will be able to go the the final NAD testing level. One very successful fund-raising idea is to have a 30-day verse memorizing event. Students can ask sponsors to contribute $2 per verse for 30 verses that they learn within those 30 days. Some people even pledge to give $4 per verse if they learn 60 verses. This not only funds the trips, it also can be a great incentive to get ready for the tests.
Team Organization
You will probably want to consider carefully who on the team should be responsible for which portions of this year’s material. Since some chapters are smaller than others and some books are smaller than others. This year there is very little similarity between verses, but if there are, they can be difficult for one person to be ready to answer questions on both. Assigning students to each learn the same number of chapters might not be the best strategy. The tables below show our recommended assignments. The goals we had were:
Each assignment should be about the same size as the other assignments. This is to help spread the effort equally across the team members.
To simplify remembering who is responsible for which verse, each student should generally be responsible for as few blocks of verses as possible. This is often in conflict with the other goals so a balance must be selected.
We consider if the content of two verses is similar. We try to assign these verses to different team members, because many people have difficulty memorizing two passages that are nearly identical. An example of this in Isaiah is Isaiah 41:8 and Isaiah 44:1. They have almost the same message and use almost the same words, but they are not identical.
In this situation, before the NAD PBE leaders removed these chapters from this years tests, I chose to reduce the number of verses in this student's section because this wasn't the only difficult pair of verses in the last few chapters of Isaiah before chapter 46.
Each verse should be assigned to one student as a primary responsibility and to a second student as a secondary responsibility. This enables the students to consult with each other during the tests and help each other remember the details required to answer the questions. Also, if one student unexpectedly is not able to participate, the remaining team members are prepared to answer the questions.
Each student should have a study partner that leverages the primary and secondary responsibilities. This way, pairs of students can study more of their own verses in a study session than they could studying as a full team for the same amount of time.
Suppose the team members are Alex, Adam, Lexi, Jordan, Jeffrey, and Noah. Also suppose that
Alex and Lexi
will be partners,
Jeffrey and Adam
will be partners, and that
Jordan and Noah
will be partners. The table below shows that Alex has the primary responsibility for Isaiah 1-5, and Lexi has secondary responsibility for these same chapters.
Team Member Assignments
Segment
Verses
Alex
Jeffrey
Adam
Jordan
Lexi
Noah
Isaiah 1-5
115
Alex's Primary
Lexi's Secondary
Isaiah 6-10
115
Jeffrey's Primary
Adam's Secondary
Isaiah 11-16
99
Jeffrey's Secondary
Adam's Primary
Isaiah 17-23
112
Jordan's Primary
Noah's Secondary
Isaiah 24-28
98
Alex's Secondary
Lexi's Primary
Isaiah 29-33
110
Jordan's Secondary
Noah's Primary
Primary Verses
115
115
99
112
98
110
Secondary Verses
98
99
115
110
115
112
Total
213
214
214
222
213
222
The verse numbers on this page are using the verse number used in NKJV excpet when specifically indicated otherwise. In the verses for this year's PBE, the verse
numbers are basically the same in each of the languages except for Isaiah 8:23-Isaiah 9:21. English and Spanish agree however,
Hebrew and French translation begins chapter 9 one verse later resulting in one additional verse in chapter 8 and one fewer verses in chapter 9. The position of the verse divisions in some verses are a little different also. These are listed below.
The first several words of Isaiah 2:7 in English, Spanish, and Hebrew are the last words in Isaiah 2:6 in French.
The first several words of Isaiah 8:7 in English, Spanish, and Hebrew are the last words in Isaiah 8:6 in French.
Isaiah 9:1 contains the Hebrew word הִכְבִּ֑יד which can mean grievous, weighty, honorable, or glorious. NKJV translated it as "heavily oppressed", but in contrast RVR1995 uses "llenará de gloria" (filled with glory) and LSG uses "couvriront de gloire" (will cover with glory).
In Isaiah 8:7, the phrase "Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up" is at the beginning of Isaiah 8:7 in NKJV, RVR1995, and WLC but at the end of Isaiah 8:6 in LSG.
Isaiah 17:8 contains the Hebrew words "וְהָאֲשֵׁרִ֖ים וְהָחַמָּנִֽים" which can mean wooden images and incense alters like it is translated in NKJV and in the septuagint or it can be translated indicating specific false gods like it is translated in both RVR1995 "ni a los símbolos de Asera ni a las imágenes del sol." and LSG "Les idoles d'Astarté et les statues du soleil.".
Isaiah 19:9 includes a rarely used Hebrew word "חוֹרָֽי" which indicates a type of fabric or net, but the specific of the type of fabric is not certain. The NKJV calls the material "fine fabric" which matches the septuagint "τους εργαζομένους την βύσσον" which means something like "the workers in the viscose". In contrast RVR1995 says "los que tejen redes" which means something like "those who make nets", while LSG says something in between "qui tissent des étoffes blanches" which means something like "who weave white fabrics".
Isaiah 19:10 has several words that are rarely used in the Bible; so the meaning is uncertain and the translations are different from each other.
Isaiah 21:5 in NKJV says "Set a watchman in the tower". RVR1995 says "extienden tapices" which means "spread tapestries". LSG says "la garde veille" which means "the guard watches". LXX does not translate these words. WLC says "צָפֹ֥ה הַצָּפִ֖ית" where the first word is a command saying "cover". The second word is closely related cover but the meaning is uncertain. Suggested meanings are "carpet" or "watch". Different perspectives of the meaning of this word has resultied in different meanings in the translations.
Isaiah 21:7 NKJV says "chariots". RVR1995 says "montados" which means "riders". LSG says "cavalerie" which also means "riders". LXX says "αναβάτας" which means "rider", WLC says "רֶ֥כֶב" which means "chariot"
Isaiah 22:17 in NKJV says "Oh mighty man". This is not present in RVR1995 or LSG, but it is present in LXX as "άνδρα" and WLC as "גָּ֑בֶר"
Isaiah 19:13 in LSG does not include the phrase "Those who are the mainstay of its tribes." The WLC, LXX, and RVR1995 include at least the concept of "tribes".
Isaiah 23:2 in KJV says "Be still"; in RVR1995 "Callad" which means "be quite"; in LSG "Soyez muets d'effroi" which means "be speachless with fear"; in WLC "דֹּ֖מּוּ" which is used about 1 time in the Bible and the dictionary says means "wail"; in LXX "τίνι όμοιοι γεγόνασιν" which means something like "be like one"
In Isaiah 26:19, the phrase "Together with my dead body" is not present in RVR1995 but is present in LSG and WLC.
In Isaiah 27:4, the phrase in NKJV "Who would set briers and thorns Against Me in battle?" is similar to the phrase in RVR1995 "¿Quién pondrá contra mí en batalla espinos y cardos?" but it is different from LSG "Mais si je trouve à combattre des ronces et des épines" which means something like "But if I find brambles and thorns to fight"
In Isaiah 27:6, the phrase in NKJV "Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob" matches WLC but in RVR1995 it is "Días vendrán cuando Jacob echará raíces" and in LSG it is "Dans les temps à venir, Jacob prendra racine". Both RVR1995 and LSG means something like "Days will come when Jacob will take root". Maybe these more closely match the septuagint.
In Isaiah 27:8, the phrase in NKJV "You contended with it" comes from the Hebrew word תְּרִיבֶ֑נָּה which means "you will (contend, strive, quarrel) with it or with her" the septuagint represents this idea with the word μελετών which means meditate, plot, think about. In RVR1995 it is translated as "en sus vástagos" which means something like "in their offspring." in LSG it is " tu l'as châtié " which means something like "you have chastised him".
In Isaiah 27:9, the phrase in NKJV "Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand." is translated in RVR1995 and LSG as something like "The idols of Astarte and the statues of the sun will never rise again." In RVR1995 it is "que no se levanten más los símbolos de Asera ni las imágenes del sol". In LSG it is "Les idoles d'Astarté et les statues du soleil ne se relèveront plus."
In Isaiah 28:8, the phrase in NKJV "No place is clean" is similar to RVR1995 "no quedar lugar limpio." But this is different in LSG "Il n'y a plus de place." which means something like "There is no more room." The concept of "clean" is missing from LSG and WLC.
In Isaiah 29:16, the words in KJV "Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;" is a little different in LSG and a little more different in RVR1995. In RVR1995 it is "Vuestra perversidad ciertamente será reputada como barro de alfarero." which means something like "Your wickedness will surely be reputed as potter's clay." LSG says "Quelle perversité est la vôtre! Le potier doit-il être considéré comme de l'argile, " meaning something like "How perverse is yours! Should the potter be considered as clay," These differences mostly come from the way הֶ֫פֶךְ is translated. This word is used only a few times in the Bible: here and twice in Ezekiel 16:34. The dictionary says it means "contrary, opposite, a difference, reversed, contrariness, perversity". These translations have chosen to emphasise different aspects of the original Hebrew.
Study Guides in English, Spanish, and French
If the hyperlinks in these study guides don't work, please try using Acrobat reader. This is often necessary on phones.
The "initials" study guides provide the initial letter of each word to help students confirm they are correctly recalling the verses.
Once students have mastered reciting the verses using this, they will want to advance to using the "blanks". These study guides have
a blank for each word of the verses except for the most commonly used words. These very common words like "an", "the", "of" are
provided as clues. We hope this will help students who have mastered reciting the verses using the Initials to speed their process
in completely memorize the verses.
Please contact us if you have any questions on how to get these materials on your device. Please let us know if you find any errors so we can correct them and notify our mailing list.
