You Can Solve Bible CryptoVerses!
A Solution Example
by Ken Stiles
© 1997 Ken Stiles
Bible CryptoVerses are Bible verses in code (technically, a simple letter substitution cipher). Learn how to decipher Bible CryptoVerses from this example. Use logic and reason to unravel the hidden Bible verse. Pick away letter by letter more and more of the verse until you can guess the whole verse. Every clue is an important one, each one gradually revealing the answer. If you haven't a clue where to start, this example is for you!
Helpful hints for solving Bible CryptoVerses
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Bible CryptoVerses
Bible CryptoVerses are simple letter substitution ciphers of Bible verses. Each puzzle uses one of these three Bible translations: King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV), or New International Version (NIV). Letter frequency tables are provided for each puzzle for your convenience. Use these common frequency tables of the English language to help you solve the Bible CryptoVerses:
* Order of usage of letters:
ETAONRISHDLFCMUGYPWBVKXJQZ.
* Order of two-letter groups (bigrams):
TH, HE, AN, RE, ER, IN, ON, AT, ND, ST, ES, EN, OF, TE, ED, OR, TI, HI, AS, TO.
* Order of double-letter combinations:
LL, EE, SS, OO, TT, FF, RR, NN, PP, CC.
* Order of three-letter groups:
THE, ING, AND, ION, ENT, FOR, TIO, ERE, HER, ATE, VER, TER, THA, ATI, HAT, ERS, HIS, RES, ILL, ARE.
* Order of most-common two-letter words:
OF, TO, IN, IT, IS, BE, AS, AT, SO, WE, HE, BY, OR, ON, DO, IF, ME, MY, UP, AN.
* Order of most-common three-letter words:
THE, AND, FOR, ARE, BUT, NOT, YOU, ALL, ANY, CAN, HAD, HER, WAS, ONE, OUR, OUT, DAY, GET, HAS, HIM.
* Order of most-common four-letter words:
THAT, WITH, HAVE, THIS, WILL, YOUR, FROM, THEY, KNOW, WANT, BEEN, GOOD, MUCH, SOME, TIME, VERY, WHEN, COME, HERE, JUST.
* More than 50% of all English words begin with:
T, A, O, S, or W.
* More than 50% of all English words end with:
E, S, D, or T.
* When F is the final letter of a word, the letter before it is usually O.
* When H is the final letter of a word, the letter before it is often G.
* When G is the final letter of a word, it is frequently part of ING.
Trial and error and logic will be needed to solve these Bible CryptoVerses. Happy deciphering!
| A= 4 |
| B= 4 |
| C= 0 |
| D= 7 |
| E= 4 |
| F= 0 |
| G= 24 |
| H= 3 |
| I= 17 |
| J= 5 |
| K= 5 |
| L= 1 |
| M= 0 |
| N= 1 |
| O= 8 |
| P= 15 |
| Q= 19 |
| R= 3 |
| S= 11 |
| T= 0 |
| U= 6 |
| V= 0 |
| W= 14 |
| X= 16 |
| Y= 2 |
| Z= 1 |
| Total
letter count = 170 |
| Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg ; , uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg . ( dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp .) jiw uxwq.) ( 18:10-11 ) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
Give this Bible Crypto Verse a try. Use the helpful hints on page 2 to guide you. After giving it a try, follow the logic on the next few pages to see one way this puzzle could be solved.
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| ee e e e e e e Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg e e ; , uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os e ve e e e e pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg e e e ve . ( dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa e e ve qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp .) jiw uxwq.) ( e 18:10-11 V) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
The final string IWE stands for either King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV), or the New International Version (NIV). Because of its position, the E stands for V. Let's replace all the e's with v's; The string wieg might stand for "have" (third on the most common 4-letter word list), or in a Bible verse might stand for "live" or "love". We'll guess that the g stands for e (g has the highest frequency count and e is the most used letter of the alphabet). Let's replace all g's with e's.
| ee e e i e o o e of e e Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg i e o e ; fo I o o , i uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os e ve ei e o e o e pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg f e of F e o i i e ve . (Fo dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa e o of e o ve i qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp o .) jiw uxwq.) ( e 18:10-11 V) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
The O (capitalized in the middle of a sentence) stands for either I or O. The string xd occurs 3 times. Let's try i for o; o for x and f for d ("of" is the most common 2-letter word) Let's try to replace o's by i's; x's by o's; and d's by f's.
| ee th t e e i e ot o e of the e Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg itt e o e ; fo I to o , th t i uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os he ve thei e o eho the pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg f e of F the ho i i he ve . (Fo dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa the o of e to ve th t hi h qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp o t.) jiw uxwq.) ( tthe 18:10-11 V) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
The second most used letter is q in code corresponding with t on the letter usage list. Also note how often the combination qp occurs in the puzzle. Notice "TH" is the most common bigram (2-letter group on the 2-letter group list). Let's try to replace all q's with t's and all p's with h's .
| See that e es ise ot o e of these Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg itt e o es; fo I sa to o , that i uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os heave thei a e s o a a s eho the pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg fa e of Fathe ho is i heave . (Fo dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa the So of a a e to save that hi h qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp as ost.) jiw uxwq.) ( atthe 18:10-11 ASV) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
Looking at the strings Wgg and IWE (since IWE stands for either "KJV" "ASV" or "NIV"), W must stand for either J, S, or I. Since "Jee" and "Iee" are not words, but "See" is, let's try replacing w's by s's. Since IWE stands for "ASV", let's replace all i's with a's. We confirm this guess with qpiq in code (occurring often) with "that" (a common 4-letter word from the most-common 4-letter words list). Let's try replacing w's by s's and i's with a's .
| See that e es ise not one of these Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg itt e ones; for I sa nto o , that in uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os heaven their an e s o a wa s eho the pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg fa e of m Father who is in heaven. (For dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa the Son of man ame to save that whi h qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp was ost.) jiw uxwq.) (Matthew 18:10-11 ASV) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
Looking at the string pqiegs we have "heave_". How about "heaven"? Therefore s stands for n. Notice in Diqpga ("Fathe_"), how about "Father"? Look at the book reference Biqqpgj ("_atthe_"). How about "Matthew"? So now we can replace s's with n's; a's with r's; b's with m's; and j's with w's .
| See that ye es ise not one of these Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg little ones; for I say nto yo , that in uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os heaven their an els o always ehol the pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg face of my Father who is in heaven. (For dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa the Son of man came to save that which qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp was lost.) jiw uxwq.) (Matthew 18:10-11 ASV) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
Looking at the strings uoqqug ("_itt_e") and uxwq ("_ost"), we can replace u's with l's and we have "little" and "lost". Looking at jporp ("whi_h"), maybe "which"? We can now replace r's with c's. Looking at the phrase bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs we have so far "m_ Father who is in heaven". How about "my"? So we can replace k's with y's. Let's see what we now have.
| See that ye despise not one of these Wgg qpiq kg hgwnowg sxq xsg xd qpgwg little ones; for I say unto you, that in uoqqug xsgw; dxa O wik ysqx kxy, qpiq os heaven their angels do always behold the pgiegs qpgoa islguw hx iujikw zgpxuh qpg face of my Father who is in heaven. (For dirg xd bk Diqpga jpx ow os pgiegs. (Dxa the Son of man came to save that which qpg Wxs xd bis ribg qx wieg qpiq jporp was lost.) jiw uxwq.) (Matthew 18:10-11 ASV) (Biqqpgj 18:10-11 IWE) |
Looking at the string islguw ("an_els"), maybe "angels"? Let's replace l's with g's. Looking at the phrase for I say _nto yo_, perhaps "for I say unto you"? Let's replace y's with u's. Looking at the phrase that in heaven their angels _o always _ehol_ the face of my Father... Perhaps, "do always behold"? Let's replace h's with d's and z's with b's. This leaves the only unconquered word in the puzzle hgwnowg ("des_ise"). Context yields "despise" and the puzzle is solved.
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