World Emoji Day 2018 is the fifth anniversary celebrating this mode of global visual communication which, according to Wikipedia, began in Japan in 1999. The Oxford Dictionaries selected the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ emoji as the ‘word’ that best reflected the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015; the first time a pictograph was chosen Word of the Year.

In 2016, Bible Gateway made it possible to use 330 emoji to search the Bible. For example, when the emoji for “strong” 💪 and “pray” 🙏 are entered into Bible Gateway’s keyword search box using the NIV translation, the search result displays 2 Corinthians 13:9 — “We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.”

Searching the Bible using “all the 🌲🌳 of the field will 👏” returns the verse: Yes, you will go out with celebration, and you will be brought back in peace. Even the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you; all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12 (CEB).

Searching using “🌈⛅” returns the verse: I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. Genesis 9:13 (NLT).

Searching using “💃💃💃” returns the verse: Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. Psalm 149:3 (NIV).

Searching using “🙌” returns the verse: Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! Psalm 47:1 (ESV)

Bible search using emoji on Bible Gateway can be achieved by using the emoji keyboard on your iPhone or Android smartphone while accessing Bible Gateway’s website or mobile app (when connected with the Internet).

The most-common emoji associated with Bible verses on Twitter are 🙏, ❤, and 🙌.

People generally use emoji to express an emotional response. At the same time, some emoji do have specific meanings: a 🐎 can mean a literal horse in addition to any emotional associations you have with horses. The Bible Gateway search engine focuses on these representational emoji—for example, it translates ❤ as heart, not love, even though people generally use ❤ to express love for someone or something.

Have fun using emoji to search for Bible verses on Bible Gateway.

🙏   ❤   📖   👏   🙌

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