A Few Words of Caution About Romans and James

Sometimes it seems unfair that Memory Verses are only worth 20 points. After all, those quizzers who decide to invest their time memorizing 130-or-so Bible verses are competing for only 3 questions a game. Because of so few opportunities each game, fast pre-jumping at higher levels of competition results in a bit of guesswork, further suppressing a quizzer's individual points potential. At that level of quizzing, risk is simply part of the game. Additionally, if Memory Verses were worth more than 20 points more students would be incentivized to memorize God's Word!
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To help reduce (but not eliminate!) the guesswork involved in pre-jumping of Memory Verses this season, the following deep dive into the 92 Memory Verses of Romans and James revealed a few words of caution: Do, For, Let, and Therefore.

​Before we begin, let’s analyze a couple of other risks inherit in the 92 Memory Verses that span 127 of the 540 total verses in Romans and James (that's 24% of the material!):

#1: Only 32% of the single-verse memory verses are unique at the first word.

​This is the lowest rate of unique word starts for memory verses in the last 7 seasons of Youth Bible Quizzing. The lesson here is that caution is warranted when jumping on a single-verse memory verse. You will know if it is a single-verse memory verse when the Quizmaster starts reading the question with “Finish this verse…” If it were a multiple-verse memory verse, the Quizmaster would instead say, “Finish these verses…”.

That being said, I still encourage quizzers to jump as the Quizmaster starts reading the first word of the verse portion of a single-verse memory verse. This is because there is typically a fraction of a second between the quizzer’s jump, the equipment beep, and the Quizmaster’s recognition to stop reading the question. In that fraction of a second the Quizmaster will likely reveal the entirety of the first word and perhaps begin reading the second word.   

​In Romans and James, an additional 37 (62%) single-verse memory verses are unique at the second word. That means 94% of the single-verse memory verses are unique by the second word.
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As for the multiple-verse memory verses, 53% are unique at the first word and 34% are unique at the second word. So, if you are comfortable with a 53% chance of knowing the verse at the first word (hint: you should be), then jump before the Quizmaster starts reading the verse portion of the question.

94% of the single-verse Romans & James memory verses are unique by the second word

#2: Three memory verses contain 60 or more words.
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According to the National Center for Voice and Speech, the average conversation rate for English speakers in the United States is 125-150 words per minute. If you take up to 5 seconds before you even begin reciting the memory verse, at a normal speed and without pausing you only have time to recite 57 words. Thus, it is to your advantage to ensure you know the 3 longest memory verses very, very well:
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• Romans 1:16-17 (“For I am not ashamed…”, 60 words = 26 seconds at normal speed)
• Romans 8:3-4 (“For what the law was…”, 69 words = 30 seconds at normal speed)
• Romans 11:30-32 (“Just as you who were…”, 62 words = 27 seconds at normal speed)

Fortunately “Just” is a unique starting word, so you don’t need to think too much before you begin.
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Now, on to the words of caution:

Word of Caution: “Do”

There are four single-verse memory verses that begin with “Do”. To complicate matters, they are not unique until the third word!

• Romans 12:2 - “Do not conform…”
• Romans 12:19 - “Do not take…”
• Romans 12:21 – “Do not be…”
• James 1:22 – “Do not merely…”

The good news is that these do not show up until Romans 12. My advice here is to stick to the single-verse plan and jump at the start of the first word. "Do not" is such a short phrase that the Quizmaster will likely “bleed” some or all of the next word. If not, then at least you have a 25% chance of guessing correctly.

Word of Caution: “For”

I predict a lot of quizzers will be saying “ugh!” this year when they jump on a verse that begins with “For”. This season there are 8 single-verse and 7 multiple-verse memory verses that begin that word:

• Romans 1:20 – “For since…”
• Romans 2:11 – “For God…”
• Romans 2:13 – “For it…”
• Romans 6:14 – “For sin…”
• Romans 6:23 – “For the…”
• Romans 7:18 – “For I…”
• Romans 11:36 – “For from…”
• James 2:10 – “For whoever…”

 

• Romans 1:16-17 – “For I am not…”
• Romans 3:23-24 – “for all…”
• Romans 8:3-4 – “For what…”
• Romans 8:24-25 – “For in…”
• Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am convinced…”
• Romans 12:4-5 – “For just…”
• Romans 14:7-8 – “For none…”

Fortunately these single-verse memory verses are unique at the second word. So if you are following my advice and are waiting to jump as the Quizmaster starts reading the first word of the verse portion of a single-verse memory verse you may be fine.

Word of Caution: “Let”

There are three single-verse memory verses that begin with “Let”:

• Romans 13:1 – “Let everyone…”
• Romans 13:8 – “Let no…”
• Romans 14:19 – “Let us…”

Again, with a little patience and perfect timing with single-verse memory verses this season you should be able to hear enough from the Quizmaster to guess which ones of these are correct.

Word of Caution: “Therefore”
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“Therefore” is a long word. Therefore (ha!) you will not likely get a second word from the Quizmaster when pre-jumping on these verses. This season there are 4 single-verse verses of which to be aware:

• Romans 3:20 – “Therefore no…”
• Romans 12:1 – “Therefore, I…”
• Romans 14:13 – “Therefore let…”
• James 5:16 – “Therefore confess…”

Until you reach Romans 12 in your season you do not have to worry. And there are no memory verses that begin with “there” to confuse you. Once you reach Romans 12, however, I would still jump as normal as you still have a 25% or greater chance of guessing the correct verse being asked. Remember, risk is part of the game. Don't be afraid of making an error!

Recap

In summary, my recommendation regarding jumping on memory verses this season of Romans and James:

• Single verses – Jump as the Quizmaster starts reading the first word of the Bible verse. The only real risks (other than getting out-jumped) are the four “Do” and four “Therefore” memory verses which account for only 13% of the single-verse memory verses.
• Multiple verses – Jump just before the Quizmaster starts reading the first word of the Bible verse. The seven “For” verses could be an issue, but a fast-talking Quizmaster may utter a portion of the second word before they recognize the buzzer.
• Memorize Romans 1:16-17, 8:3-4, and 11:30-32 extremely well and practice reciting them quickly.