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.
#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. 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 |
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:
- 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)
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…”
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…”
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…”
Word of Caution: “Therefore”
“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…”
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.