Explore the full depth of Scripture through the Amplified Bible — the translation that unlocks original Hebrew and Greek meaning with bracketed expansions. Each verse includes a KJV comparison.
“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose — I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace].”
Philippians 4:13
KJV for comparison
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Most Bible translations face an impossible choice: when a single Hebrew or Greek word contains multiple layers of meaning, which English word do you use? The translator picks one. The Amplified Bible refuses to pick just one — it gives you all of them.
The AMP uses brackets to insert synonyms, clarifications, and expansions directly into the verse text. These additions are not commentary added by the translator; they are attempts to show the semantic range of the original word — the full field of meaning that ancient readers would have understood. Reading an Amplified verse is like reading a verse and its word study at the same time.
This makes the AMP uniquely powerful for meditation. When you read Philippians 4:7 in the AMP — “the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding” — you are not just reading a translation; you are absorbing the translator's wrestling with what the original Greek word for “peace” (eirene) actually means at its fullest depth.
One of the most powerful Bible study methods is reading the same verse in both the King James Version and the Amplified Bible. The KJV, translated in 1611 from the Textus Receptus, gives you the verse in its most majestic, traditional form. The AMP shows you what the underlying words contain. Together, they create a rich dialogue: the KJV gives you the form; the AMP gives you the substance.
For example, the KJV renders Isaiah 40:31 as “they shall mount up with wings as eagles.” The AMP expands this to “they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun].” The bracketed additions are not additions to Scripture; they are attempts to capture the full Hebrew image in the original. That is the AMP's core mission.
The famous "I can do all things" verse — the AMP shows what "through Christ who strengthens me" actually entails.
"All things work together for good" — the AMP adds that God is "deeply concerned about us" and works according to a plan.
"Trust in the Lord" — the AMP expands "trust" to mean actively relying with confidence, not just intellectual acknowledgment.
"A sound mind" in the KJV becomes "sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind]."
Waiting on the Lord — the AMP expands "wait" to "expect, look for, and hope in Him," three distinct postures of faith.
"Be transformed" — the AMP unpacks this as progressive, maturity-driven change through renewed focus on godly values.
The Amplified Bible is a unique English translation that expands verses with bracketed explanations, synonyms, and clarifications drawn from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Rather than choosing a single English word to render a rich original-language term, the AMP provides multiple English words and phrases that together capture the full range of meaning. For example, where a standard translation might render a verse with "strength," the AMP might expand it to show the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of that word. The AMP was first published in 1965 by the Lockman Foundation in collaboration with Zondervan. A thoroughly revised edition was released in 2015, which modernized the language and improved accuracy while retaining the core amplification method.
The Amplified Bible uses brackets [ ] to insert additional words, phrases, and synonyms that expand on the meaning of a key word in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek text. These amplifications are not additions to Scripture but explanations of what the original-language word already contained. When reading the AMP, the brackets function as a built-in mini-commentary — they reveal dimensions of meaning that a single English word cannot fully convey. Some readers read the amplifications as part of the verse; others read the base text first and then the bracketed expansions as a second layer of meaning.
The Amplified Bible excels for word studies and devotional depth. Because it surfaces the range of meaning in original-language words, it effectively provides a first layer of linguistic commentary without requiring knowledge of Hebrew or Greek. Many Bible teachers use the AMP alongside a literal translation (like the NASB or ESV) and a readable translation (like the NIV or NLT) for a three-Bible study method: the literal for accuracy, the readable for flow, and the AMP for depth. The AMP is less suited as a primary reading Bible because the brackets can interrupt narrative flow, but for meditation on individual passages it is exceptionally rich.
The 1987 Classic Amplified Bible (AMPC) is the version many older readers grew up with — it retains more archaic language and some traditional Shakespearean phrasing ("thee," "thou") in places. The 2015 Amplified Bible (AMP) was a thorough revision that modernized the vocabulary, updated the textual basis, and streamlined many of the bracketed amplifications for clarity and readability. Both versions maintain the core amplification methodology. The 2015 edition is generally recommended for new readers, while the 1987 Classic remains beloved by those who prefer its more traditional tone. Both are published by the Lockman Foundation.
The King James Version (KJV) is a formal equivalence translation from 1611, prioritizing word-for-word accuracy in Elizabethan English. The New International Version (NIV) is a dynamic equivalence translation that prioritizes natural readability in modern English. The Amplified Bible takes a different approach entirely: it is an expansion translation that sacrifices readability for depth, surfacing the semantic range of original-language words through bracketed additions. A single verse in the AMP can be two or three times longer than the same verse in the KJV or NIV. For direct comparison, pairing an Amplified Bible verse with the KJV shows how much additional meaning the AMP unpacks from the same source text.