Bible Charades Ideas

Press Play a 1-minute round and act in silence: 168 Bible scenes, each listed with its chapter and verse.

Bible Charades Ideas

A blind man washing mud off his eyes and seeing

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All 168 Bible charades ideas

Genesis: the beginning 19

  • A dove coming back with an olive leaf Genesis 8:8-11. Noah sends out a dove, and in the evening it returns with a fresh olive leaf in its beak.
  • A rainbow in the clouds Genesis 9:12-16. After the flood a rainbow is set in the cloud as the sign of a promise.
  • Abraham trying to count the stars Genesis 15:5. Abram is taken outside and told to count the stars if he can.
  • Adam looking after the garden of Eden Genesis 2:15. The man is put into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
  • Adam naming the animals Genesis 2:19-20. Adam gives a name to every animal and bird that is brought to him.
  • Animals going into the ark two by two Genesis 7:7-16. Pairs of every kind of animal walk up into the ship with Noah and his family.
  • Building the tower of Babel Genesis 11:1-9. People bake bricks to build a tower that reaches the sky, then find they can no longer understand each other.
  • Esau trading his birthright for a bowl of stew Genesis 25:29-34. Esau comes in starving and swears away his birthright for bread and lentil stew.
  • Eve picking the fruit Genesis 3:1-6. Eve takes fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, the one they were told not to eat from, eats it and gives some to Adam.
  • Jacob dreaming of a stairway to heaven Genesis 28:11-12. Jacob sleeps with a stone for a pillow and dreams of a stairway with angels going up and down.
  • Jacob wrestling until daybreak Genesis 32:24-31. A man wrestles with Jacob all night, and Jacob walks away limping.
  • Joseph and his coat of many colors Genesis 37:3-4. Jacob gives his favorite son a tunic of many colors, and the brothers are jealous.
  • Joseph thrown into a pit by his brothers Genesis 37:23-24. The brothers strip off the tunic and throw Joseph into an empty pit.
  • Lot's wife looking back Genesis 19:17-26. Told not to look behind her, she does, and becomes a pillar of salt.
  • Noah building the ark Genesis 6:14-22. Noah is told to build a huge ship of gopher wood and seal it with pitch. The World English Bible says ship where most people say ark.
  • Pharaoh dreaming of seven thin cows Genesis 41:1-4. In the dream seven thin, ugly cattle come up out of the river and eat seven fat ones.
  • Rebekah drawing water for a stranger's camels Genesis 24:15-20. At the well Rebekah gives a stranger a drink, then keeps drawing water until all his camels have finished.
  • Sarah laughing at the tent door Genesis 18:9-15. Sarah overhears that she will have a son in her old age, laughs to herself, then denies it.
  • The snake in the garden Genesis 3:1-14. The serpent talks Eve into eating, and is told it will crawl on its belly from then on.

Moses and the Exodus 14

  • A walking stick turning into a snake Exodus 4:2-4. Moses throws his rod on the ground, it becomes a snake, and he runs from it.
  • Aaron and Hur holding up the arms of Moses Exodus 17:10-12. While his hand is up his side wins, so Aaron and Hur sit him on a stone and hold his hands up, one on each side, until sunset.
  • Baby Moses in a basket on the river Exodus 2:3-4. His mother hides him in a papyrus basket among the reeds, and his sister watches from a distance.
  • Dancing around a golden calf Exodus 32:2-19. Aaron shapes the people's gold earrings into a calf, and Moses comes down the mountain to find the calf and the dancing.
  • Gathering manna off the ground every morning Exodus 16:14-21. Something small and round, fine as frost, lies on the ground each morning, and everyone gathers just enough for the day.
  • Looking up at a bronze snake on a pole Numbers 21:8-9. Moses sets a bronze serpent on a pole, and anyone bitten who looks at it lives.
  • Miriam dancing with a tambourine Exodus 15:20-21. Miriam takes a tambourine and all the women follow her, dancing.
  • Moses and the burning bush Exodus 3:1-5. Moses turns aside to look at a bush that is on fire but does not burn up.
  • Moses carrying two stone tablets down the mountain Exodus 32:15-16. Moses comes down the mountain with the two tablets in his hands, written on both sides.
  • Moses striking a rock to get water Exodus 17:5-6. Moses is told to take his rod and strike the rock so that water comes out for the people to drink, and he does.
  • Painting the doorposts for the first Passover Exodus 12:21-23. Each family dips a bunch of hyssop in the basin and marks the lintel and the two door posts.
  • Parting the Red Sea Exodus 14:21-22. Moses stretches out his hand over the sea and the people walk through on dry ground, with a wall of water on each side.
  • Taking off your sandals on holy ground Exodus 3:5-6. At the burning bush Moses is told to take off his sandals, and he hides his face.
  • Two spies carrying one giant cluster of grapes on a pole Numbers 13:23. The spies cut a cluster of grapes so big that two of them carry it on a staff between them.

Heroes, kings and queens 23

  • Anointing a shepherd boy as king with a horn of oil 1 Samuel 16:10-13. Seven older brothers pass in front of Samuel first. Then David, the youngest, is fetched from keeping the sheep and anointed.
  • David and Goliath 1 Samuel 17:48-49. David runs to meet the giant, takes a stone from his bag and slings it.
  • David dancing in front of the ark 2 Samuel 6:14-15. David dances with all his might as the ark is brought up with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
  • David fighting a lion to save a lamb 1 Samuel 17:34-36. David tells Saul how he rescued lambs from the mouth of a lion and a bear.
  • David playing the harp for King Saul 1 Samuel 16:23. When David plays the harp, Saul feels better.
  • David trying on armor that is too heavy to walk in 1 Samuel 17:38-39. Saul dresses David in his own armor, but David cannot move in it and takes it off.
  • Gideon wringing a bowl of water out of a fleece Judges 6:36-38. Gideon leaves a fleece out overnight and wrings a bowl full of dew out of it in the morning.
  • Gideon's army smashing jars and waving torches Judges 7:16-20. Three hundred men blow trumpets and break the pitchers that hid their torches.
  • Goliath the giant in his bronze armor 1 Samuel 17:4-7. Goliath is six cubits and a span tall, with a bronze helmet, a coat of mail, bronze shin armor and a spear like a weaver's beam.
  • Hannah praying silently with only her lips moving 1 Samuel 1:12-13. Hannah speaks in her heart. Only her lips move and no voice is heard, and the priest Eli, watching her mouth, gets the wrong idea.
  • Jonathan shooting arrows as a secret signal 1 Samuel 20:35-40. Jonathan shoots past a boy and calls out that the arrow is beyond him. Only Jonathan and David know what it means.
  • King Solomon building the temple 1 Kings 6:7. The house is built of stone shaped at the quarry, so that no hammer, ax or iron tool is heard on the site.
  • Marching around the walls of Jericho Joshua 6:12-20. The people march around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh, then shout.
  • Nehemiah's builders working with a sword in one hand Nehemiah 4:17-18. Each builder works on the wall with one hand and holds a weapon in the other.
  • Queen Esther touching the king's golden scepter Esther 5:1-2. Esther stands in the inner court in her royal clothing. The king holds out his golden scepter, and she comes near and touches the top of it.
  • The Queen of Sheba arriving with camels full of gifts 1 Kings 10:1-2. She comes with camels carrying spices, gold and precious stones to test Solomon with hard questions.
  • Rahab hiding two spies under the flax on her roof Joshua 2:6-15. Rahab hides the men under stalks of flax on her roof, and later lets them down by a cord through her window in the city wall.
  • Ruth gathering leftover grain in the field Ruth 2:2-7. Ruth follows the harvesters and gleans what they leave behind, from morning on.
  • Samson carrying off the city gates on his shoulders Judges 16:3. At midnight Samson pulls up the doors of the city gate, posts and bar and all, and carries them up a hill.
  • Samson getting a haircut in his sleep Judges 16:19. Samson falls asleep on Delilah's lap, his seven locks are shaved off and his strength goes.
  • Samson pushing apart two pillars Judges 16:29. Samson takes hold of the two middle pillars that the house rests on, one with each hand, and leans on them.
  • Soldiers lapping water from their hands like dogs Judges 7:5-7. Gideon keeps only the three hundred men who lap water from their hands.
  • Young Samuel hearing his name called in the night 1 Samuel 3:3-10. Samuel hears a voice call him, goes to Eli three times, and is told to lie down again and answer.

The prophets 18

  • A hand writing on the wall Daniel 5:1-6. During a great feast the fingers of a hand write on the plaster of the wall, and the king's knees knock together.
  • A potter reshaping a spoiled pot on the wheel Jeremiah 18:3-4. Jeremiah watches a potter whose pot goes wrong, so he makes it again into another.
  • A whole city putting on sackcloth Jonah 3:5-8. Everyone in Nineveh, from the king down, puts on sackcloth, and the king sits in ashes.
  • A widow filling every borrowed jar from one pot of oil 2 Kings 4:1-7. She borrows empty containers from all her neighbors, shuts the door and pours, and the oil keeps flowing until the last one is full.
  • Daniel in the lions' den Daniel 6:16-22. Daniel spends the night with the lions, and in the morning tells the king their mouths were shut.
  • Daniel kneeling to pray at his open window Daniel 6:10. With his windows open toward Jerusalem, Daniel kneels and prays three times a day, as he did before.
  • Elijah pouring water on the altar before the fire falls 1 Kings 18:33-38. Elijah has four jars of water poured over the wood three times, until it fills the trench, and the fire still burns it all up.
  • Elijah swept up in a whirlwind beside a chariot of fire 2 Kings 2:11-12. A chariot and horses of fire part Elijah and Elisha, and Elijah goes up by a whirlwind.
  • Elisha making an iron axe head float 2 Kings 6:5-7. A borrowed axe head falls into the river. Elisha throws in a stick and the iron floats.
  • Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones Ezekiel 37:1-10. With a noise the dry bones come together, bone to its bone, and stand up on their feet as a great army.
  • Isaiah and the burning coal Isaiah 6:6-7. A seraph touches Isaiah's lips with a live coal taken from the altar with tongs.
  • Jonah sulking under a withered vine Jonah 4:5-9. A vine grows up to shade Jonah, a worm chews it the next day, and he is angry about it.
  • Jonah swallowed by a huge fish Jonah 1:17. A huge fish swallows Jonah, and he is inside it three days and three nights.
  • Jonah thrown overboard in a storm Jonah 1:12-15. The sailors throw Jonah into the sea, and the sea stops raging.
  • King Nebuchadnezzar eating grass like an ox Daniel 4:33. The king is driven away from people and eats grass like oxen until his hair grows like eagle feathers.
  • Naaman dipping seven times in the Jordan 2 Kings 5:10-14. The army commander is insulted by the cure, then dips seven times and comes up healed.
  • Ravens bringing bread to Elijah 1 Kings 17:4-6. Elijah hides by a brook, and ravens bring him bread and meat morning and evening.
  • Three friends walking around in the fiery furnace Daniel 3:23-25. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown in tied up, and are seen walking free with a fourth figure.

The life of Jesus 24

  • A poor widow dropping in her last two small coins Mark 12:41-44. Rich people throw in large sums. A poor widow puts in two small brass coins, all she has.
  • An angel rolling the stone away from the tomb Matthew 28:2-4. An angel rolls the stone away and sits on it, and the guards shake with fear.
  • Baby Jesus laid in a manger Luke 2:7. Mary wraps her firstborn in bands of cloth and lays him in a feeding trough, which is what the World English Bible calls the manger.
  • Breakfast of grilled fish on the beach John 21:9-12. The disciples come ashore to a fire of coals with fish and bread, and Jesus says, "Come and eat breakfast."
  • Breaking bread at the Last Supper Luke 22:19. Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to them.
  • Children coming to Jesus Mark 10:13-16. The disciples try to turn the children away. Jesus takes them in his arms and blesses them.
  • Crowds waving palm branches as Jesus rides in on a donkey John 12:12-15. The crowd takes branches of palm trees and goes out to meet him, and he sits on a young donkey.
  • Fishermen dropping their nets to follow Jesus Matthew 4:18-20. Peter and Andrew are casting a net into the sea, and they leave their nets at once.
  • Jesus being baptized in the Jordan Matthew 3:13-16. Jesus comes up from the water and the Spirit comes down on him like a dove.
  • Jesus washing the disciples' feet John 13:4-5. Jesus wraps a towel around his waist, pours water into a basin and washes their feet.
  • John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey Matthew 3:4. John wears camel hair and a leather belt and eats locusts and wild honey. The World English Bible calls him John the Baptizer.
  • Martha rushing around serving while Mary sits and listens Luke 10:38-42. Martha is distracted with much serving and asks Jesus to tell her sister to help.
  • Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem Luke 2:4-5. Joseph goes up from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be enrolled, with Mary, who is expecting.
  • Mary pouring perfume on the feet of Jesus and wiping them with her hair John 12:3. Mary pours a pound of expensive ointment on his feet and wipes them with her hair. The house fills with the fragrance.
  • Matthew getting up from his tax booth Matthew 9:9. Jesus says "Follow me" to a man sitting at the tax collection office, and he gets up and follows.
  • Nicodemus visiting Jesus by night John 3:1-4. A ruler comes to Jesus at night with questions and is puzzled by the answer about being born anew.
  • Peter hearing the rooster crow Luke 22:59-62. Peter says he does not know what the man is talking about, and at once a rooster crows. He remembers the warning, goes out and weeps.
  • Shepherds in the field at night, startled by an angel Luke 2:8-10. An angel stands by the shepherds, and they are terrified.
  • Thomas refusing to believe until he sees John 20:24-28. Thomas says he will not believe unless he can touch the marks himself.
  • Turning over the tables in the temple Matthew 21:12-13. Jesus overturns the money changers' tables and the seats of those who sold doves.
  • Twelve-year-old Jesus found among the teachers in the temple Luke 2:42-47. After three days of searching, his parents find him sitting among the teachers, listening and asking questions.
  • Wise men following the star Matthew 2:1-10. Wise men from the east follow the star until it stands over the place where the child is.
  • The woman at the well John 4:6-7. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water, and Jesus, tired from the road, asks her for a drink.
  • Zacchaeus climbing a sycamore tree Luke 19:1-6. Zacchaeus is short and cannot see over the crowd, so he runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree.

Miracles 15

  • A blind man washing mud off his eyes and seeing John 9:6-7. Jesus makes mud, puts it on the man's eyes and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
  • A man picking up his mat and walking after 38 years John 5:5-9. By the pool Jesus tells a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years to pick up his mat and walk.
  • A net cast on the other side of the boat, suddenly full John 21:4-6. From the shore Jesus tells them to cast the net on the right side, and they cannot haul it in.
  • A woman reaching through the crowd to touch the edge of his cloak Luke 8:43-46. She comes up behind him and touches the fringe of his cloak, and he asks who touched him.
  • Collecting twelve baskets of leftovers John 6:12-13. After the meal the disciples fill twelve baskets with broken pieces.
  • Feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish John 6:9-11. A boy has five barley loaves and two fish, and everyone eats as much as they want.
  • Finding a coin in a fish's mouth Matthew 17:27. Peter is told to cast a hook, open the mouth of the first fish that comes up and find a coin there, enough to pay for two.
  • Fishing nets so full that the boats begin to sink Luke 5:4-7. After a night of catching nothing, the nets start to break and both boats begin to sink.
  • Four people lowering a man on his mat through the roof Mark 2:3-4. Four people carry a man who cannot walk. The crowd blocks the way, so they break up the roof and let his mat down.
  • Jesus calming the storm Mark 4:37-39. Jesus is asleep on a cushion in the stern. He wakes, tells the sea to be still, and there is a great calm.
  • Jesus walking on water Matthew 14:25-27. In the night Jesus comes to the boat walking on the sea, and the disciples think he is a ghost.
  • Lazarus walking out of the tomb still wrapped up John 11:43-44. Lazarus comes out bound hand and foot with wrappings, with a cloth around his face.
  • Peter stepping out of the boat and starting to sink Matthew 14:28-31. Peter walks on the water, sees the wind, begins to sink and is caught by the hand.
  • Ten men healed and only one coming back to say thank you Luke 17:12-18. Ten are healed on the road. One turns back, and he is a Samaritan.
  • Turning water into wine at a wedding John 2:6-10. Six stone water pots are filled to the brim, and the head of the feast tastes wine.

Parables and sayings 17

  • A camel squeezing through the eye of a needle Matthew 19:24. Jesus says it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom.
  • A father running to hug his lost son Luke 15:20-24. While the son is still far off his father sees him, runs, falls on his neck and kisses him.
  • A shepherd sorting the sheep from the goats Matthew 25:32-33. Sheep go to the right hand and goats to the left.
  • A tiny mustard seed growing into a tree full of birds Matthew 13:31-32. The smallest seed becomes a tree, and the birds come and lodge in its branches.
  • Building one house on rock and one on sand Matthew 7:24-27. The rain and wind beat on both houses. The one on the rock stands and the one on the sand falls.
  • Burying a bag of money in the ground Matthew 25:14-18. Two servants trade with what they were given. The third digs a hole and hides his one talent.
  • Finding treasure in a field and buying the field Matthew 13:44. A man finds hidden treasure, hides it again and joyfully sells all he has to buy that field.
  • The good Samaritan Luke 10:30-35. A priest and a Levite pass by on the other side. A Samaritan stops, bandages the man and takes him to an inn.
  • Hiding a lamp under a basket Matthew 5:15. Nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a measuring basket. It goes on a stand.
  • Kneading yeast into a big batch of dough Matthew 13:33. A woman hides yeast in three measures of meal until it is all leavened.
  • The lost sheep carried home on the shepherd's shoulders Luke 15:4-6. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine, finds the one and carries it home rejoicing.
  • Pointing out a speck while a plank sticks out of your own eye Matthew 7:3-5. The World English Bible says speck and beam: take the beam out of your own eye first.
  • The prodigal son wishing he could eat the pig food Luke 15:13-16. With his money gone he is sent to feed pigs and would gladly eat their pods.
  • Scattering seed on the path, the rocks and the good soil Matthew 13:3-8. Some seed is eaten by birds, some is scorched, some is choked by thorns and some gives a crop.
  • Selling everything to buy one pearl Matthew 13:45-46. A merchant looking for fine pearls finds one of great price and sells all he has for it.
  • Sweeping the whole house for one lost coin Luke 15:8-9. A woman with ten coins loses one, lights a lamp and sweeps until she finds it.
  • Ten young women waiting up with oil lamps Matthew 25:1-10. Five bring extra oil and five do not, and everyone falls asleep before the bridegroom comes at midnight.

Acts and the early church 16

  • A lame man leaping at the temple gate Acts 3:6-8. Peter takes him by the hand, and he goes into the temple walking, leaping and praising God.
  • An angel waking Peter and the chains falling off Acts 12:6-8. Peter is asleep between two soldiers. An angel strikes his side and the chains fall from his hands.
  • Eutychus falling asleep in a window during a long sermon Acts 20:7-12. Paul talks until midnight. A young man sitting in the window sinks into a deep sleep and falls from the third floor, and is brought in alive.
  • Lydia the seller of purple cloth Acts 16:14-15. Lydia, a seller of purple, listens to Paul and then persuades the travelers to come and stay at her house.
  • Paul and Silas singing in prison at midnight Acts 16:24-26. With their feet in the stocks they pray and sing, and an earthquake opens every door.
  • Paul lowered through the city wall in a basket Acts 9:23-25. With the gates watched day and night, his disciples let him down through the wall by night in a basket.
  • Paul making tents Acts 18:2-3. Paul stays and works with Aquila and Priscilla, because they are tent makers by trade like him.
  • Paul shaking a snake off his hand into the fire Acts 28:3-5. Paul gathers sticks, a viper fastens on his hand, and he shakes it off unharmed.
  • Peter's vision of a sheet full of animals Acts 10:9-12. Hungry on a rooftop, Peter sees a great sheet let down by its four corners.
  • Philip running to catch up with a chariot Acts 8:29-31. Philip runs up to the chariot, hears the man reading Isaiah and is invited to sit with him.
  • Putting on the armor of God Ephesians 6:13-17. The belt of truth, the breastplate, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.
  • Rhoda leaving Peter knocking at the gate Acts 12:13-16. Rhoda knows his voice and is so glad that she runs in to tell everyone without opening the gate.
  • Running the race with endurance Hebrews 12:1. Lay aside every weight and run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
  • Saul blinded by a light on the road to Damascus Acts 9:3-8. A light from the sky flashes around Saul. He falls to the ground and has to be led by the hand.
  • Shipwrecked and swimming for shore Acts 27:41-44. The ship runs aground and breaks up, and everyone reaches land by swimming or on planks.
  • Tongues of fire at Pentecost Acts 2:1-4. A sound like a rushing wind fills the house, and tongues like fire rest on each of them.

Animals of the Bible 12

  • A deer panting for a stream Psalm 42:1. As the deer pants for the water brooks.
  • A hen gathering her chicks under her wings Matthew 23:37. Jesus says he has longed to gather the city the way a hen gathers her chicks.
  • A swarm of locusts covering the land Exodus 10:13-15. Locusts cover the whole land until it is dark, and eat every green thing.
  • A wolf living peacefully with a lamb Isaiah 11:6. The wolf lives with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the young goat, and a little child leads them.
  • An ant storing up food in summer Proverbs 6:6-8. Go to the ant: with no chief or ruler she gathers her food in the harvest.
  • Balaam's donkey refusing to move Numbers 22:23-30. The donkey turns off the road, crushes his foot against a wall, then lies down under him. Then it speaks.
  • Foxes have holes and birds have nests Matthew 8:20. Jesus says the foxes have holes and the birds have nests, but he has nowhere to lay his head.
  • Frogs everywhere in Egypt Exodus 8:3-6. Frogs come up into the houses, the beds, the ovens and the kneading troughs.
  • The huge fish spitting Jonah out onto the beach Jonah 2:10. The fish vomits Jonah out on the dry land.
  • Quail falling all around the camp Numbers 11:31-32. A wind brings quail from the sea, and the people gather them all day and all night.
  • Sheep following the voice of their shepherd John 10:3-4. The shepherd calls his own sheep by name, and they follow because they know his voice.
  • Soaring on wings like eagles Isaiah 40:31. Those who wait will mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary.

Objects and word pictures 10

  • A lamp lighting the path at your feet Psalm 119:105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
  • A shepherd's rod and staff Psalm 23:4. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
  • Blowing a ram's horn trumpet Joshua 6:4. Seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark.
  • Carrying the ark of the covenant on its poles Exodus 25:10-15. The ark is an acacia wood box overlaid with gold, with four gold rings, carried on poles that stay in the rings.
  • Choosing five smooth stones from the brook 1 Samuel 17:40. David takes his staff, picks five smooth stones from the brook and puts them in his shepherd's bag.
  • Eating a scroll that tastes like honey Ezekiel 3:1-3. Ezekiel is handed a scroll and told to eat it, and in his mouth it is as sweet as honey.
  • Hammering a sword into a plow blade Isaiah 2:4. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
  • Praising with trumpet, harp, tambourine and cymbals Psalm 150:3-5. The last psalm calls for the trumpet, harp and lyre, tambourine and dancing, strings, flute and loud cymbals.
  • Pruning a grapevine John 15:1-2. Every branch that bears fruit is pruned so that it bears more.
  • Putting on a yoke that turns out to be light Matthew 11:29-30. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

How it works

Bible charades ideas to act without a word: 168 scenes, from Noah building the ark to Rhoda leaving Peter knocking at the gate. Each is listed below with chapter and verse, so a disputed guess can be looked up.

Read the full guide

Easy cards for children, hard ones for adults

For easy Bible charades ideas, set Easy: Daniel in the lions' den, Zacchaeus climbing a sycamore tree. Bible charades ideas for adults sit under Hard: Gideon wringing a bowl of water out of a fleece, Balaam's donkey refusing to move, Eutychus falling asleep in a window during a long sermon.

A reference on every line

The full Bible charades list under the tool runs in 10 parts, from Genesis: the beginning to Acts and the early church. Each line gives the verses and a short summary. Cards use the familiar name, and the line says where the World English Bible differs: ship for Noah's ark, feeding trough for the manger.

  • Printable Bible charades words: pick a level, then Print on the end card. Slips carry no verses; the list does.
  • As Christian charades ideas for a youth group, match the lesson: Parables and sayings holds Luke 15's three parables.
  • Act the verb, not the person: nobody can mime Zacchaeus, but anyone can be too short and climb a tree.

Questions and answers

Which Bible translation are the cards checked against?

The World English Bible, a public domain translation. Every card was compared with its chapter in September 2026, and details the verses lack were taken out: four people lowered the man through the roof, not four friends.

Are these cards suitable for children?

Yes, with Easy for the youngest. The deck leaves out the crucifixion and asks nobody to act a killing: the Samson card stops at the pillars. Two cards to know sit outside Easy: Lot's wife looking back and Turning water into wine at a wedding.

Can the actor point at a Bible or mouth a name?

No. Charades is acted in silence, and mouthing words, spelling and pointing are generally banned, though rules vary widely. One signal worth agreeing before the first card: one finger for the Old Testament, two for the New.

Do players have to act Jesus?

He is in many scenes under The life of Jesus and Miracles, such as Jesus calming the storm. Agree first whether your group is comfortable acting him. If not, play another part, such as Parables and sayings, where no card names him.

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