Free Digital Resources for Bible Study
Compiled by Gregory Linton
Published in the Christian Standard February 2014

BibleGateway.com
Find and compare passages of the Bible based on keywords, phrases, or Scripture reference. Bible Gateway also provides an app that includes more than 90 different translations in more than 70 languages and offers reading plans, audio versions. note taking, and highlighting. It is available on iPad, iPhone, Android phones, and Kindle Fire.

BibleStudyTools.com
“The largest free online Bible website for verse search and in-depth studies.’. Search capabilities in 39 different versions of the Bible as well as access to commentaries, dictionaries. encyclopedias, concordances, historical books, and Greek and Hebrew interlinears and lexicons.

BlueLetterBible.org
More than 20 Bible commentaries plus devotionals, timelines, images, maps, and audio and video sermons from 32 speakers. For each verse, tabs at the top link to original language resources, translation comparisons, cross-references, commentaries. audio sermons, charts, and other tools such as maps and music, Apps are available for iPhone and iPad.

e-Sword.net
A free, downloadable program that allows users to take notes, view maps, check cross-references, and compare translations. The base program includes the King James Version and the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, but users can download free and paid additions, such as dictionaries, commentaries, devotionals, maps, and other translations.

GloBible.com
Glo Lite, a free version, includes the New International- Version, King James Version, and additional media content such as HO videos and documentaries, zoomable maps, high-resolution images, historical animations, and virtual tours. For a fee, Glo Premium adds The Message and the English Standard Version and thousands more photos, videos, articles, and tours. It can be installed on up to five devices. Glo is noted for its stylish, well-designed user interface, and it offers simple, intuitive ways to browse biblical content through five lenses: Bible, Atlas, Timeline, Media, and Topical. It is available for Windows, Mac, and iOS.

Logos Bible
Logos Bible Software is a robust system that can be purchased in various packages. For those who do not want to invest hundreds of dollars in Bible software, Logos offers services for free. Bible+ is a free app that includes 40 free Bibles and other books. Signing up for a free Logos account offers access to devotionals, reading plans, favorites, highlighting.. and note taking. Biblia.com, a website featuring free access to many Bibles and an extensive library of free reference works, is based on Logos’s powerful search engine and Bible software. Those who own the software can access their complete library by logging in at Biblia.com.

NTGateway.com
NTGateway.com is a directory of Internet resources on the New Testament. Maintained by Mark Goodacre, professor of New Testament at Duke University, the site recommends resources mostly academic or scholarly in nature. The links are grouped in categories, including Bible translation, the canon, Greek resources, historical Jesus research, textual criticism, and tools and resources. Each book of the New Testament is listed separately with its own links leading to articles, books, dissertations, maps, audio and video resources, and websites.

STEPBible.org
A free, downloadable program provided by the Tyndale House of Cambridge University and aimed primarily at believers in the developing world. It can run on low-spec hardware with intermittent Internet connection and is available in numerous language interfaces. The Bible is also available in many languages, and hundreds more will be added.

TextWeek.com
Provides links to articles, artwork, music, sermons, and other lectionary aids. It was created and is operated by Jenee Woodard of Jackson, Michigan, who is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology. The website is so popular with preachers, worship planners, and educators that it receives 2 million hits a month. The site offers indexes for scripture passages, movies, art, and daily leectionary resources.

theWord.net
Offers free, downloadable software that can also be stored on a USB flash drive as a portable version. This highly customizable program allows users to alter the interface, indexes, windows, and preferences. Users can also highlight and take notes within the program. It includes four translations, but more can be downloaded. Add-on modules can also be downloaded free or for a fee,

WORDSearch Basic
Available at WordSearchBible.com, it’s a free, downloadable program that enables comparison of passages in multiple translations and versions, It also provides commentaries and analyses of passages, Users can highlight and take notes in the program, and they can also participate in online discussion groups. The initial program includes the Holman Christian Standard Bible. two devotionals, and a reference work, but more than 200 books and translations are available for free and 3,000 more are available for purchase, Apps are also available for iOS and Android,

YouVersion
With more than 115 million downloads, YouVersion is the world’s most popular Bible app. It provides hundreds of versions of the Bible in more than 100 languages, and it is available on any mobile device for free. The app offers multiple features: audio versions, navigation and search tools, social media connectivity, reading plans. highlighting, and storage of notes in private or public platforms.

Gregory Linton serves as professor of New Testament at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee.