You don’t have to be a Bible scholar or fluent in ancient Greek to experience the words of the New Testament in the language it was written. One of the best-kept secrets on Bible Gateway is that you have immediate free access to Mounce’s Reverse-Interlinear translation for the New Testament of the Bible. And it’s a great way to study the original language of the New Testament.

With a reverse-Interlinear translation you can find out information such as: the English word “record”— the second word in Matthew 1—is taken from the Greek biblos, meaning “the inner bark or rind of the papyrus, which was anciently used instead of paper; hence, a written volume or roll, book, catalog, account.” This is, admittedly, a somewhat whimsical example (seen from the video below), but once you start exploring the reverse-Interlinear text, it’s difficult to stop!

Bible Gateway’s interface makes this biblical exploration incredibly easy to do. Once you find the Mounce’s Reverse-Interlinear translation in the translation drop-down box, all you have to do to conduct a word study is to click on a word (either in English or in Greek) and the sidebar will automatically open with translation notes on that word. At the very least, it’s fun and strangely addictive. But if you happen to be a pastor or clergy member, or if you lead a Bible study, this is a very helpful resource. (You’ll notice that the side-bar annotations are complete with the Strong and GK numbers for each word.)

Watch the video below for a complete tutorial of where to find this translation in Bible Gateway:

In addition to Mounce’s Reverse-Interlinear translation, Bible Gateway also has Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary, which makes it even easier to conduct a word study of Scripture. Having a good understanding of the roots of a particular word in the Bible and how it’s used throughout can help you understand deeper concepts in Scripture.

Bible Gateway Plus offers you a unique way to do this. With Bible dictionaries, such as Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words, you can gain greater insight into the meaning of biblical words to enhance your Bible study—even if you have little to no knowledge of Greek or Hebrew. Click here to learn more about how you can upgrade your account to Bible Gateway Plus and trial it free for 30 days.