About ten years ago, I downloaded my first e-Bible called, e-Sword.
It was amazing.
You could search, take notes and read commentaries, all in one place. No more flipping through that huge concordance, and the software was free.
Good times.
Ten years later, e-Sword has been downloaded over 15 million times in 228 countries and has never been advertised. It supports 12 different selectable UI languages and continues to be downloaded, today.
I used e-Sword for years! It was the best thing since sliced bread.
And then I stopped using it (unlike sliced bread).
I found other e-Bibles — online e-Bibles – like YouVersion and MyStudyBible.com.
If I wanted an installed e-Bible, e-Sword would be my first choice, hands down.
How about you?
What was your first e-Bible? Do you still use it? Why or why not?
Learn more and download e-Sword from the e-Sword website.
[Image via Matt Burns]
Youversion for iPhone
Woot!
Look for a new NIV Stidy Bible app this Fall.
I agree. For a free installed bible that punches WELL above it’s weight it is a must install. In this case you certainly do not get what you pay for.
True story.
I used e-Sword for years! While working at a youth camp, I even downloaded e-Sword and all the Bible versions, commentaries, etc and burned them to CDs for all of the campers to take home.
Now my e-Bible of choice is YouVersion. Both web and mobile.
I remember installing e-Sword on a USB key to make it portable – LOL!
Eh, im biased to YouVersion since I do work for them. It’s THE BEST! No other apps out there can compete!
That doesn’t sound biased at all
HyperBible — not the current Web site, but the “HyperBible Thompson Chain Reference on Hypercard Beacon Technology” application, which was a set of HyperCard stacks that I modified extensively as I used it over the years. I still occasionally use it by running a copy of Mac OS 9 in a virtual machine. Yes, I’m a total, irretrievable geek, but that software served me very well for a long time.
That’s awesome!
I think OliveTree was my first download for my Dell Axim PDA. I used esword too, but I have never liked using a computer based bible. If I need access now I just type in the chapter and verse and use what pops up.
On ipad and android phone I alternate between olive tree and Youversion. Both have some good things about them.
I think I am much less concerned these days with what program I use. It used to be that there was a lot of difference and one was a lot better than another. But now, they all work fairly well. So I tend not to pay much attention to the basic program and just read or look for what I need.
I know what you mean. When my wife wants to look up a scripture on her computer, she just Google’s it. I usually go to YouVersion for quick lookups.
Good old BibleGateway.com. I still use it several times a week for quick lookups.
Classic! They own the Google Juice for Bible verses, too.
I think the first one I ever used was back in Windows 3.1 / 95 days on CD-ROM (remember those?!) on a single speed CD drive (it was also HUGE).
For a portable one, when I got my iPod I put a Bible on it where it lived in the ‘notes’ feature (and due the notes limits you could only get the NT and Psalms on…).
Online, ebible.com was the first Bible site I really used.
Now I have YouVersion app on my iPhone and Android tablet.
WOW! EPIC history, James. Very cool.
I started with BibleGateway.com and E-Sword. I still remember doing word studies with Strong’s numbers in E-Sword when taking some Bible classes.
These days, I’m loving Logos Bible Software, and if I need something browser based, I use Logos’ biblia.com. I can do more now in Logos with a right mouse click than I ever imagined was possible back in those days.
I’ve heard a lot of great things about Logos stuff.
Mine was the Bible on my Palm Pilot V. Very few people I knew had PDAs back then and everyone thought I was playing Solitaire in Sunday School.
Of course, some still think it, as I live tweet the sermons for my church and people around me probably think I’m texting friends. Then they look at my daughter and husband on their iPhone/Droid, both of whom use YouVersion.
I’m so proud of you. AWESOME!
I’ve been known to tweet an insight or two during a service, much to the chigrin of my wife, who hews to a fairly strong “no devices in church” philosophy.
In all honesty, I’ve been known to get distracted by it during choir rehearsal on Wednesday nights (I *swear* on a stack of e-Bibles that I’m mostly looking up musical terminology that I don’t grok), so her philosophy is not entirely off-base.
“I swear on a stack of e-Bible” — amazing.
Dating myself. Bible Reader for PalmOS was my first that wasn’t BibleGateway. Went from Bible Reader to Bible+ and Olive Tree on PalmOS. Those were the days when you could “roll your own” bibles. Ah… life before DRM fears changed things.
Roll your own.
Am I the only person who reads this blog who hasn’t actually downloaded an e-Bible?
(the horror!)
Okay. Wait a minute. Do you use a Bible online? (Answer carefully.)
I used the laridian MyBible software and man was it expensive! Compared to the cost of YouVersion today, people complain about $6 apps these days but i remember when “apps” were easily $20.
Totally agree. $20 used be the low end.