We are using PrismaColor Premier Color Pencils. The color names are the actual names of the PrismaColor pencils from the 48 count pack. There are over 60 colors available to buy individually for $1.50 each from Hobby Lobby (which is probably the best way to buy pencils for Bible marking).

Many years ago I started with around six colors. I’ve added colors over the years and developed my current color code, which consists of 12 colors. Here is my latest color code, which consists of 18 colors.

Canary Yellow – Godhead

Crimson Red – Salvation

Ultramarine – Holiness

Violet – Healing

Grass Green – Defending the Faith/Study the Word

Orange – End Time Prophecy

Black – Wrath of God/Judgment

Pink - Faith

Peach – Works of the Flesh

Yellowed Orange – Creation

Burnt Ochre – Science

Lilac – Gifts of the Spirit

Light Cerulean Blue – Fruit of the Spirit

Spring Green –Miracles

Dark Brown – Archaeology/Chronology

Light Aqua – Prayer

Tuscan Red – War

Process Red – Promises of God

There are plenty more topics to mark in the scriptures, but this will be enough for now.  Other topics I would like to mark include money, music, and vocations. Not everything needs to be marked with a color, and many of these colors will not be used that often. Also, some of these topics overlap, which can make Bible marking difficult. My goal isn’t to mark every verse in the Bible and it isn’t to make my Bible look cluttered.

The purpose of this color code is so that my Bible study can become more involving and inductive. With my new marking system I am color-coding more verses than before, and the coding is part of my study process. This forces me to think more deeply about what is going on within each book, chapter, passage, and verse.  

Some of the latest additions to my marking system are Creation, Science, Archaeology, War, and Promises of God.

Creation will cover every creative act of God.

Science will include scientific facts that the Bible proclaims. For example, the stars can’t be numbered.

Archaeology is the topic with the most diversity. I will mark anything that can be used in an archaeological study. This includes names, dates, places, and events. It will answer the questions: who, where, what, and when. For example, in the book of Daniel it talks about King Nebuchadnezzar, tells who he conquered, and when. This topic can actually be broken into several topics, but for my first time marking it I will just use one color. Later if I determine that it should be broken into more topics for my own study, I will change it when I go to another Bible. In my current Bible I will use marginal notes or symbols.

I constantly find that I want to mark a verse where God is promising something to someone, so adding Promises of God will be a nice addition.

I like pointing out the wars in scripture, so marking War will be a good addition, but it will overlap with Archaeology to some degree.

My wife has marked Prayer for years. It’s worked for her, so I added it to my list.

I’ve already started marking with this system and I have to say that I’m impressed that the colors are easy enough to tell apart.

Most people only use a small handful of colors, but 18 colors really aren’t too many. Color-coding is my version of inductive study. I’ve seen inductive study systems where people are using around 100 symbols. It’s far easier for me to remember 18 colors than 100 symbols. This marking system will last for several years’ worth of study, and will be a great benefit for going through the Bible and interacting with the text. The purpose of this marking system and color code is to promote good Bible study.

Using my old system I simply colored the whole verse a single color (the color of that particular topic). The more I studied it became obvious that I needed to highlight specific phrases within each verse because many verses contained more than one topic. That was in my Dugan Topical Study Bible.

For my current system I went from the Dugan (one of my favorite Bibles of all time) to a Thompson Chain Reference (another of my favorite study Bibles). I then modified my system by only highlighting the phrases according to their specific topics. That’s worked for me for 15 years. Now I want to add some topics. The problem is I’ve already highlighted those verses because I highlighted the complete phrase, even though it could have been broken down a little more. For example, in Genesis 1:1 I highlighted “God created” in yellow (my Godhead color). Now I want to highlight Creation as a separate topic. That by itself really not enough reason to buy a new Bible, but since I want to do more than just highlight (I want to add LOTS of notes that I can’t add without a wide margin), a new Bible is required. Since I’m getting a new Bible anyway…

Enter the Note Taker’s Wide Margin Bible from Local Church Bible Publishers. I will write a separate review of this Bible, but I got it because it has a single column of text and has a 2.5 inch margin on the outside column- plenty enough room to do what I want. It comes in calfskin leather (it’s a premium-quality Bible) and sells for only $55.00 (they sale it at cost). I couldn’t help myself, so I ordered the Bible, printed the sample page from their site and started developing my new note-taking system.

Pencils

I’m using PrismaColor coloring pencils. They are available for $1.49 each at Hobby Lobby. I chose 12 colors that don’t look alike and started experimenting. The color code is mostly the same as before, but I will be modifying it slightly. The pencils are used for highlighting the text. Before, I highlighted the whole phrase of the topic. Now, I underline the phrase and highlight the key points. This gives me the advantage of being able to quickly scan the page. Before, I could know quickly which verses were Godhead topics. Now, I can quickly know the key points of each Godhead topic.

Pens

I’m using Pigma Micron from Sakura in 005 for taking notes. I am starting with three colors: black for taking notes, blue for writing the name of the topic (or a symbol such as a circle, square, letter, or number if I don’t want to take up as much room- the same symbol would be drawn at the beginning of the word or phrase in the text), and red for the references. I also bought green, just in case. After seeing the sample page, the blue and the red are a touch bright. I like darker colors, so I might go with burgundy and brown. I’ll try a few other colors before I write in my Bible. I’ll be adding a few things later on, so I might add some colors later. PrismaColor also makes a set of markers that work well with Bibles, but I’m supporting Sakura because they have at least two sets of pens that are marketed as Bible marking pens. As long as Sakura is promoting Bible study, I will support Sakura.

PIGMA Micron Bible Marking Kit

PIGMA Inductive Bible Marking Kit

Ruler

I decided to use a ruler for making straight lines. This way I don’t write crooked(er). I had gotten a 6 inch Bible ruler with the names of the books of the Bible on it. This ruler doesn’t bend very well so I looked for something else. I use to have an underling ruler that was flimsy enough to follow the bend of the paper. I can’t find that ruler anymore, so I went with a 6 inch sheet magnifier/ruler.  I wanted to make one out of stencil material. I planned to cut symbols into the stencil so I could use it to mark my Bible with symbols, but I don’t want to develop a symbol system right now. This ruler has the added benefit of being a magnifier (handy for those of us after 40).

Once I throw in an organizer Bible case and a notebook (don’t put a premium leather Bible in a canvas case… that would be wrong) I will have a complete study kit.

My note-taking system will change. I still want topics in the margins like my Thompson, but I want to add my own topics and references, so I will make a system similar to Thompson’s for the topical chain reference. Also, I have lots of study Bibles that have some key features that I want to incorporate into my new Bible (I already have some of these features in my Thompson – the Promise Keepers Men’s Study Bible devotionals and the Full Life Study Bible Pentecostal studies). Here are some of the items that will go in my margins:

• Notes – Black pen
• Topical heading for chain references (similar to Thompson) – Blue pen
• Chain References (similar to Thompson) – Red pen
• Parallel passages
• Translation notes, variant readings – (maybe in green)
• Definitions – English, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic (including terms like monotheism, eschatology, etc)
• Chapter headings
• Subject headings
• Fulfilled prophecies
• OT quotes
• Time chart, timeline
• Alleged scientific mistakes
• Alleged contradictions
• Updated names (Esias = Isaiah, Noe = Noah, etc)
• Study helps from other study Bibles – Full Life, Greek-Hebrew Key Word, Prophecy, Promise Keepers, Defender’s, etc
• Apologetics – Oneness (one God, salvation, holiness, gifts of the Spirit), the Bible (science, archaeology, etc), Creation, also- Angelology (Angels), Bibliology (The Written Word), Critical Thinking, Ecclesiology (The Church), Eschatology (The Last Things), Hermeneutics (The Science of Interpretation), Pneumatology (The Spirit), Soteriology (Salvation), Theology Proper (The Person of God), Hamartiology (Sin)
• Arguments against false doctrine
• Doctrinal rebuttals
• General facts
• Commentary from other authors
• Note at beginning of each book showing chronological order
• References, sources, and citations
• Drawings, charts, diagrams
• Controversial topics (including archaeological, etc)
• Popular sayings (by preachers, etc)
• Helps – daily devotions, building good habits (including 7 habits of highly effective people), one year reading plan, etc.
• Timeline of Church Fathers
• Notes from “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist”
• Important dates and timelines (book of Acts, gospels, etc)

I’m sure I left something out. I know I can’t get a lot of details in the margins, but that won’t stop me from trying. I’ll just have to write small and succinct. This is a multi-year project, so I’m not getting in a hurry.

Here’s some pictures of the sample page I downloaded after I’ve marked it up with my new system (mostly just as an example). I’ll be tweaking it a little until I’m sure of what I want before I start writing. The actual notes will be several years’ worth of Bible study.

This type of note system will work with any wide margin and the coloring system will work for almost any Bible (just make sure you include a key to the color code somewhere – I like using the pages in the front of the Bible). I’ll be ironing out the details for a while. I will print practice pages before I start in my Bible (something I recommend highly). I wanted to share this because I was surprised at how difficult it is to find information about how to use a wide margin Bible. It does little good to have those awesome margins if you don’t know how to use them. If no one else has claimed this method then I will call it the “Studies in Scripture Bible Marking Method” :-D. Now, my new Study Bible just arrived…