For quiz writers
How to Write Bible Quiz Questions
A good Bible quiz question asks what the passage records, has exactly one answer that the passage supports, does not depend on one translation’s wording, and comes with the reference so anyone can check it. Before you print, read the verse before and after the one you used, and ask whether any wrong option could be defended from Scripture; if it could, change the option, not the rules. Below are eight rules drawn from fact-checking 2,416 questions, real failed questions with their rewrites, a two-minute check and a template to print.
What we learned from checking 2,416 questions
Before any question from the Kingdom Bible Quiz bank goes on this site, it is checked against the passage and given a verdict with a reason. Of the 2,416 questions checked so far, 838 were rejected: about one in three.
The reasons repeat. Counting the words in the reviewers’ notes, 188 of the 838 call the question interpretive, 127 say a second option is defensible, 113 fault the explanation, 35 complain of strawman wrong options, and 16 question the premise. The eight rules below are those reasons turned around. Each comes with a real rejected question from the bank, quoted as it stood, the reason it failed, and a rewrite checked against the World English Bible.
The eight rules, with real questions rewritten
1. Ask what the text records, not what it means
Questions about symbolism or “what this teaches” turn a quiz into a debate, and the answer is whatever the writer believed.
| Before | What does the rebuilding of the walls symbolize in the theological themes of Nehemiah? |
|---|---|
| The problem | Subjective symbolism question with no plain textual answer. |
| Rewrite | In how many days was the wall of Jerusalem finished? (52 days) Nehemiah 6:15 |
2. One answer, and read the next verse
The verse you remember is often not the whole story. One verse later, a wrong option can become right.
| Before | What did David use to kill Goliath? (A sword / A sling and a stone / A spear / An arrow) |
|---|---|
| The problem | 1 Samuel 17:50 says a sling and a stone, but verse 51 says David took Goliath’s sword and killed him with it. “A sword” is defensible. |
| Rewrite | With what did David strike Goliath down, while there was still no sword in his hand? (A sling and a stone) 1 Samuel 17:50-51 |
3. Do not say “the” when the Bible has fifteen
A question that names one member of a group is wrong whenever another member is among the options.
| Before | Which psalm is often called the ‘Psalm of Ascent’…? (Psalm 120 / 122 / 130 / 139, answer 122) |
|---|---|
| The problem | Psalms 120 to 134 are all Songs of Ascents, so Psalm 120 and Psalm 130 are equally correct. |
| Rewrite | Psalms 120 to 134 all begin with which title? (A Song of Ascents) Psalms 120-134 (titles) |
4. Ask for the fact, not one translation’s word
Your group reads different Bibles. A question that hangs on a word marks a correct reader wrong.
| Before | True or false: Joseph was sold into slavery for twenty pieces of silver. (Marked false: “twenty shekels”.) |
|---|---|
| The problem | Translation-dependent: the KJV and the World English Bible both say twenty pieces of silver. |
| Rewrite | For how many pieces of silver was Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites? (Twenty) Genesis 37:28 |
5. Check the premise
If the question assumes something the Bible never says, every option is wrong, including the “right” one.
| Before | Who was the Roman procurator who authorized the crucifixion of Paul? (Answer: Felix) |
|---|---|
| The problem | False premise: Paul was not crucified, and Felix authorized no execution. |
| Rewrite | Which governor heard Tertullus accuse Paul, then left Paul in bonds for two years? (Felix) Acts 24:1-3, 27 |
6. Read the reference you cite
Memory merges scenes. Open the chapter and find the words before you write the answer key.
| Before | Which mountain is associated with Moses’ final address in Deuteronomy? (Answer: Mount Nebo) |
|---|---|
| The problem | Moses gave the address beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab (Deuteronomy 1:5); Nebo is where he went up to see the land (34:1). |
| Rewrite | Where did Moses begin to declare the law in Deuteronomy? (Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab) Deuteronomy 1:5; 34:1 |
7. Do not put the answer in the question
If the stem names the answer, the question tests reading, not the Bible.
| Before | Who was the wise woman of Tekoa who negotiated peace for David and Absalom? (Answer: Woman of Tekoa) |
|---|---|
| The problem | The answer is given away in the question, and the explanation mixed her up with the wise woman of Abel (2 Samuel 20). |
| Rewrite | Who sent for a wise woman from Tekoa to persuade King David to bring Absalom back? (Joab) 2 Samuel 14:1-3, 21 |
8. Options: one idea each, all plausible, all reverent
Overlapping options make two answers right; silly options make the question a giveaway and can mock God.
| Before | In Joel, what is the main call to repentance? (Fast, pray, and mourn / Build new temples / Fast / Pray, and mourn) |
|---|---|
| The problem | Overlapping options; and Joel 2:12 says fasting, weeping and mourning, not prayer. |
| Rewrite | In Joel 2:12, the LORD says to turn to him with all your heart and with what? (Fasting, weeping and mourning) Joel 2:12 |
The ten rewrites, ready to use
Here are the rewrites as a quiz you can play or print, plus two more: the Habakkuk question without its flippant option, and the ark question with the text’s own wording. Tap an answer to see the explanation and the passage.
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In how many days was the wall of Jerusalem finished in Nehemiah’s time?
Show answer
Answer: B. 52 days
Nehemiah 6:15: the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
Nehemiah 6:15 -
With what did David strike Goliath down, while there was still no sword in his hand?
Show answer
Answer: C. A sling and a stone
1 Samuel 17:50: David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and there was no sword in his hand. Verse 51: he then took Goliath’s sword and cut off his head with it.
1 Samuel 17:50-51 -
Psalms 120 to 134 all begin with which title?
Show answer
Answer: B. A Song of Ascents
Each of Psalms 120 to 134 opens with the title “A Song of Ascents”; four of them add “By David” and one adds “By Solomon”.
Psalms 120-134 -
For how many pieces of silver was Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites?
Show answer
Answer: B. Twenty
Genesis 37:28: the Midianite merchants drew Joseph out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Some translations say twenty shekels; the number is the same.
Genesis 37:28 -
Which governor heard Tertullus accuse Paul, then left Paul in bonds for two years?
Show answer
Answer: C. Felix
Acts 24:1-3: Tertullus accused Paul before “most excellent Felix”. Acts 24:27: after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and Felix left Paul in bonds.
Acts 24:1-3, 27 -
Where did Moses begin to declare the law in the book of Deuteronomy?
Show answer
Answer: B. Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab
Deuteronomy 1:5: beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law. Mount Nebo comes at the end (34:1), where he went up to see the land.
Deuteronomy 1:5 -
Who sent for a wise woman from Tekoa to persuade King David to bring Absalom back?
Show answer
Answer: B. Joab
2 Samuel 14:1-3: Joab saw that the king’s heart was toward Absalom, sent to Tekoa for a wise woman and put the words in her mouth. In verse 21 David tells Joab to bring Absalom back.
2 Samuel 14:1-3, 21 -
In Joel 2:12, the LORD says to turn to him with all your heart and with what?
Show answer
Answer: B. Fasting, weeping and mourning
Joel 2:12: “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”
Joel 2:12 -
Where does Habakkuk 2:20 say Yahweh is?
Show answer
Answer: A. In his holy temple
Habakkuk 2:20: “But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!” The bank’s version of this question had an irreverent wrong option; these four are all places, and only one is in the verse.
Habakkuk 2:20 -
Where did the ark come to rest after the flood?
Show answer
Answer: B. On the mountains of Ararat
Genesis 8:4: the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat (World English Bible: “on Ararat’s mountains”). The text names a range, not one peak, so the option says “mountains”.
Genesis 8:4
Your score
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Answer key
- B. 52 days
- C. A sling and a stone
- B. A Song of Ascents
- B. Twenty
- C. Felix
- B. Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab
- B. Joab
- B. Fasting, weeping and mourning
- A. In his holy temple
- B. On the mountains of Ararat
The two-minute check
Run each question through these eight lines before you print. If any box stays empty, fix the question or drop it. A quiz of twelve sound questions is better than twenty with three arguments in them.
| Done | Check |
|---|---|
| ☐ | 1. The answer is something the passage records, not an interpretation of it. |
| ☐ | 2. I read the verses before and after, and no wrong option is true there. |
| ☐ | 3. If the answer is one of a group (a psalm, a judge, a plague), no other member of that group is an option. |
| ☐ | 4. A reader of a different translation would give the same answer. |
| ☐ | 5. Everything the question assumes is in the Bible. |
| ☐ | 6. I opened the reference and it says what my answer key says. |
| ☐ | 7. The question does not contain its own answer. |
| ☐ | 8. Each option is one idea, none overlaps another, every one is plausible, none is flippant. |
A template to write on
Print this page (the button is under the quiz) and use the table below, one copy per question, or copy its rows into your own document. The last three rows are the ones that catch mistakes.
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Option A | |
| Option B | |
| Option C | |
| Option D | |
| Answer | |
| Reference (and the verse after it) | |
| Translation I checked | |
| Could a wrong option be defended? Where? |
Writing the wrong options
Wrong options do most of the work. Take them from the same story or book (other governors for Felix, other mountains for Ararat), so the question tests knowing the passage, not spotting the joke. Keep them the same length and form as the answer. The University of Waterloo’s guide to designing multiple-choice questions adds rules that apply here too: make the options mutually exclusive, avoid “all of the above” and “none of the above”, and avoid negatives such as “which of these did NOT happen”, which people misread. Then check each wrong option against the Bible: it must be false in this passage, and not true in a parallel one. Matthew 12:40 says Jonah was in the belly of the whale in both the King James and the World English Bible, so “a whale” cannot be the wrong option for Jonah 1:17. Small words differ too: the plant God prepared in Jonah 4:6 is a “gourd” in the KJV and a “vine” in the WEB, so ask what God prepared to shade Jonah and accept either word.
Writing the explanation
Write one sentence that says what the verse records, then give the reference. Write it from the verse open in front of you, not from memory: in the bank, 113 rejection notes fault the explanation, and at least 38 of those say it was inaccurate, misstated the passage or contradicted its own answer. One question said Isaac was “promised to be the father of many nations”; Genesis 17:4-5 says that to Abraham. If the passage needs a sentence of context, say where it comes from, not how a tradition reads it.
When this is not the page you want
If you write for competitive Bible quizzing (a league with jumps, point values and a set book for the season), your league’s rules come first; Teen Bible Quiz writers, for example, follow the question writer’s tips on BibleQuiz.com, which set answer lengths by point value. If you would rather not write questions at all, the Bible trivia game night page has forty checked questions in five rounds with an answer sheet, and the Bible quizzes page has a quiz on every book. For children, start from the Bible quiz for kids, which also shows what simple wording looks like.
Kingdom Bible Quiz, the app behind this site, puts an explanation and a reference after every answer, and its rejected questions are on a fix list for the app’s bank. It is optional; everything on this page works with a Bible and a pen.
Questions people ask
How many options should a multiple-choice Bible question have?
Three to five. The University of Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence notes that three options work about as well as four or five, mostly because good wrong options are hard to write. Four is the usual quiz format, and it is what the Kingdom Bible Quiz app uses. Three honest options beat four with a silly one.
Which translation should I write from?
The one your group reads most, and say so before question one. Then write each question so its answer does not depend on that translation’s wording: ask for the person, place, number or event, not the word. If someone answers with another translation’s word that means the same thing, give the point.
Are true or false questions easier to write?
They are quicker but riskier. A statement can be half true, and a false statement made by changing a word can be true in another translation, as the twenty-shekels example above shows. Write the false ones by changing one checkable fact (a number, a name), and put the reference with the answer.
How do I check my questions quickly?
Two ways. Run the eight-line check on this page against each question, which takes about two minutes for ten. Then read the questions without the options to someone who knows the Bible: if they can answer without seeing the options and give the same answer as your key, the question works.