It is a cross-reference from key English words in the Authorized King James Bible Version to the original words in the Greek texts of the New Testament. In his preface to the book Vine wrote
- "The present volumes are produced especially for the help of those who do not study Greek though it is hoped that those who are familiar with the original will find them useful."

It provides a concise meaning of the original Greek word often providing Bible verse references as examples. If there are several Greek words that may translate to the same English word Vine's distinguishes the shadings of meaning and connotation that may be lost in the English translation. For example there are a number of Greek words that may be translated by the English word love.

Vine's also provides the definition of a word (as used in the King James Version) more accurately than an English dictionary because it expands the Greek use of the word.