What is Paul's Handkerchief?

Paul's Handkerchief is Bible study with a difference — going word-by-word through Scripture to reclaim the Ancient Near East context, romance, and mystery that modern translations often leave behind.

What is the cover-to-cover Bible Challenge?

Few people who start reading the Bible ever finish it. The cover-to-cover challenge is for those ready to break that cycle — reading the entire Bible at their own pace, backed by community and tools built to make finishing not just possible, but inevitable. You will also get a certificate to celebrate your achievement.

Bible Cafe isn't just Bible study — it's a personal, intimate conversation with Him. Think less classroom, more kitchen table. It combines the original Coffee with Jesus experience with activities like quizzes, crosswords, journaling and more, all designed to let the Word shape your heart, not just your head.

What is the F.O.G. Bible Project?

Most English Bibles can't carry the full weight of what's in the original Hebrew and Greek. The F.O.G. Bible Project exists to change that — three new translations built publicly (a Study Bible, a Reader's Bible, and F.O.G.F. for younger readers), plus a word-by-word renewal of Strong's Concordance restoring the depths most translations leave behind. It is Jean Paul's lifelong work, unfolding in public — and you're invited in.

Jean Paul Joseph is the lead editor of the F.O.G. Bible Project. He works from a personal encounter with Jesus first, then draws on the scholarship of respected Jewish and Christian scholars — because the church was Jewish before it was anything else, and those roots change everything about how you read Scripture.

How do I get started?

Create your account, pick a Bible translation and a reading style that fits you, and you're in. From there, the app tracks your progress and helps keep you showing up — day after day, chapter after chapter.

What's the difference between the Café stamp and the Bible stamp?

Every day has two primary stamps to earn. The Bible stamp is awarded when you read at least one chapter of Scripture. The Café stamp is awarded when you complete any one Café activity — Coffee with Jesus, a Word Study, a Memory Verse, a Quiz, or a Crossword.

What is the Bible Immersion Bonus?

Complete all six activities in a single day — your Bible chapter plus all five Café experiences — and you earn the Immersion Bonus: 555 XP, the highest single-day reward on the platform. It's designed for days when you want to go deep, not just check in.

How does the 6-Track reading system work?

The 6-Track system reads up to six chapters a day across different sections of Scripture simultaneously — an adaptation of Professor Grant Horner's method, designed to keep you in multiple parts of the Bible at once for deeper immersion. It's meant for reading six chapters a day ideally to complete one full cycle every eight months. If you choose this option, aim for at least two or three chapters a day.

How do XP and ranks work?

Every activity earns you XP, which advances you through seven Hebrew ranks: Talmid, Mechoker, Maskil, Sofer, Moreh, Chacham, and Zaken — each one a real biblical title for someone who goes deeper into the Word. Beyond Zaken, five gem tiers await: Pearl, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond.

How do I earn my Certificate of Completion?

Your Certificate is earned by finishing the Cover-to-Cover Bible Challenge — reading every chapter of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. When you reach the last page, your certificate is generated automatically. Members receive it digitally; patrons will have it mailed to their door.

What is the leaderboard and can I turn it off?

The leaderboard lets you compare XP progress with friends and fellow members — a little friendly accountability for those who want it. If you'd rather keep your journey personal, you can turn it off entirely in your profile settings. Either way, your ranks and XP are yours regardless.

Deuteronomy 25:9 Overview & Translations

Translations

F.O.G.MPrimary

F.O.G Message

his brother's widow shall step forward before the elders, pull the sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and proclaim: 'This is what is done to the man who refuses to build up his brother's family.'

F.O.GSecondary

The F.O.G

his sister-in-law shall approach him before the eyes of the elders, pull his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and declare: 'Thus is done to the man who will not build up his brother's house.'

KJV

King James Version

Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.

BSB

Berean Standard Bible

his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and declare, “This is what is done to the man who will not maintain his brother’s line.”

Footnotes

The *chalitzah* ("sandal-removal") ritual is rich with symbolic meaning. In the ancient Near East, the sandal represented a man's legal standing, property rights, and authority (cf. Ruth 4:7–8, where transferring a sandal seals a legal transaction). To remove it is to publicly strip that authority. *Yarqah befanav* ("spit in his face") is not casual insult but a formalised act of communal shaming — a legal gesture of censure administered by the wronged party herself. Crucially, this gives the widow judicial agency: she is the one who enacts the public rebuke. FOG renders *bayit* as "house" (physical and dynastic); FOG Message uses "family" to foreground the relational-covenantal dimension.

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Resources

Read Deuteronomy 25:9 in the Bible

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