Survey reveals world's most popular Bible verses online

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash

A new digital survey by the global children's charity World Vision reveals the world's most popular Bible verses by country. The charity researched internet searches to find out which verses are the most sought after online.

The findings revealed that globally, and in the UK, John 3:16: "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," is the most popular verse, with over one million searches every month.

Richard Frost, Lay Minister, author and the writer of the blog Work Rest Pray said: "As I have reflected on these words over the years, I've moved into an understanding not just about God's love for the world and everyone in it (including me) but what it meant for the first person who heard those words: Nicodemus.

"Nicodemus was a leader of the Jews. It's possible that, throughout his life, he may have simply accepted all that was taught to him by the Jewish rabbis. But now, as he visits Jesus in the darkness (and afraid of his fellow Pharisees for doing so), Nicodemus encounters someone who challenges that received and perceived wisdom. It's a time of confusion and Nicodemus realises that there was more to God than he had ever thought."

Not only is the verse the most searched for on the web, but it's also used across social media. On Instagram, the hashtag #John316 has been used on over 250,000 posts. On TikTok #John316 has been viewed over 55.9 million times.

Jeremiah 29:11 is the joint-second most searched Bible verse: "'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.'" The other joint-second most searched Bible Verse is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who gives me strength."

Meanwhile, the survey discovered that Central and South American countries favour verses from Genesis. One of their most popular searches was Genesis 1:26: "Then God said 'let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'"

Another was Genesis 1:27: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

The study reviewed Google search data for the 100-most-read Bible verses at Bible Gateway on a country-by-country basis to uncover which were the most searched for from nation to nation.

The most popular Bible verses searched for online in the UK:

John 3:16 - 6,500 monthly searches
Jeremiah 29:11 - 2,000 monthly searches
John 14:6 - 1,900 monthly searches
Joshua 1:9 - 1,800 monthly searches
Genesis 1:1 - 1,600 monthly searches
Isaiah 41:10 and John 10:10 - 1,500 monthly searches
Genesis 1:27 - 1,100 monthly searches
John 16:33 - 700 monthly searches
Isaiah 40:31 and Philippians 4:13 - 600 monthly searches
Genesis 1:26 - 500 monthly searches

The most popular Bible verses searched for online in the world:

John 3:16 - 2,100,000 monthly searches
Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13 - 82,000 monthly searches
John 10:10 - 73,000 monthly searches
Proverbs 3:5 - 58,000 monthly searches
Matthew 28:19 - 50,000 monthly searches
Philippians 4:8 - 42,000 monthly searches
Philippians 4:6 - 37,000 monthly searches
Romans 8:28 and James 1:3 - 33,000 monthly searches
Proverbs 3:6 and Ephesians 2:8 - 32,000 monthly searches
Romans 3:23 - 27,000 monthly searches

For more information see: www.worldvision.org.uk/about/blogs/most-popular-bible-verses-in-every-country/