Step 3 of 5

How to summarize a Bible passage in one sentence

The third step of the homiletics method asks you to state the whole passage in a single sentence of about 15 words. It is harder than it sounds, and that is the point. If you can summarize a passage accurately, you have grasped its content; if you cannot, you are not yet ready to say what it teaches.

Key question

What is the whole passage about?

What the summary is for

The summary - sometimes called the subject sentence - condenses your divisions into one statement of what the passage says. It is still a factual step: you report the content of the text rather than drawing lessons from it. But it forces you to decide what is central and what is detail.

Teachers of preaching often split this into two questions. What is the passage talking about (its subject)? And what is it saying about that subject (its complement)? A good summary answers both. “Two ways of life” is a subject. “Whoever delights in the LORD’s law flourishes; the wicked blow away” adds the complement.

The summary is also the bridge to the next step. The core truth grows out of it, so a vague summary usually leads to a vague truth.

How to write the summary

Start from your divisions.
Put your division sentences side by side. The summary should include the main idea of each one, in proportion.
Name the subject.
Ask: what is this passage about? Answer in a few words.
Add what it says.
Ask: what does the passage say about that subject? This turns a topic into a statement.
Write it long first.
Your first draft will probably run to 30 words or more. That is fine. Then cut repetition, merge clauses and drop details that are not essential.
Keep it recognisable.
Include a detail that sets this passage apart - a name, a picture, an event - so someone could tell which passage you studied.
Stop when it is clear.
Aim for about 15 words, but don’t spend an hour shaving off the last two. A clear sentence is better than a clipped one.

Good and weak summaries

Weak: Blessedness.
Better: Whoever delights in the LORD’s law flourishes like a tree; the wicked blow away like chaff.
Why:: A single word names a topic. The better version is a full sentence that says something about it.

Weak: This psalm is about two kinds of people.
Better: The righteous flourish and are known by the LORD; the wicked blow away and perish.
Why:: The weak version has a subject but no complement, and it could describe dozens of passages. The better one says what this psalm says about the two groups.

Weak: We should read the Bible every day so that God will bless us.
Better: Whoever delights in the LORD’s law flourishes like a tree; the wicked blow away like chaff.
Why:: The weak version is an application, and it adds a cause and effect the psalm does not state. The summary reports; application comes in step 5.

Common mistakes

Writing a topic instead of a sentence.
A word or phrase is a label. A summary has a subject and says something about it.
Leaving out part of the passage.
A summary of Psalm 1:1-3 alone misses half the psalm. Every division should be reflected.
Preaching in the summary.
Words like should, must, we and you usually signal application. Keep the summary descriptive.
Being too general.
“God is good” is true, but it is not a summary of this passage.
Packing in every detail.
A summary that lists everything is just your divisions again. Choose what is central.
Trimming forever.
The word count is a guide. Clarity matters more than hitting an exact number.

Worked example: Psalm 1:1-6

Start from the three division sentences written in step 2:

Division 1 (vv. 1-3)
The blessed man refuses the counsel of the wicked, delights in the LORD’s law day and night, and flourishes like a tree planted by water.
Division 2 (vv. 4-5)
The wicked are not like him: they are like chaff driven by the wind and will not stand in the judgment or among the righteous.
Division 3 (v. 6)
The LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

What is the psalm about? Two ways of life: the way of the one who delights in the LORD’s law, and the way of the wicked. What does it say about them? One flourishes like a fruitful tree and is known by the LORD; the other is blown away like chaff and perishes.

A first draft might read: “The man who avoids the counsel of the wicked and delights in the LORD’s law is like a fruitful tree, but the wicked are like chaff, will not stand in the judgment and will perish.” That is over 30 words. Keeping the two pictures and cutting what they already imply gives:

Summary

Whoever delights in the LORD’s law flourishes like a tree; the wicked blow away like chaff.

It is about 15 words, it covers both groups, and the tree and the chaff make it recognisably Psalm 1. It does not yet say why the two ways end so differently or what the psalm teaches about God. That is the work of step 4.

See the full homiletic on Psalm 1

Checklist

Before you move on, check that:

It is one complete sentence of about 15 words.
It says what the passage is about and what it says about it.
It reflects every division, in proportion.
It reports what the text says, with no should or must.
It includes a detail that makes the passage recognisable.
It could not be pasted onto a different passage unchanged.