THE QUEST

In 2020, before a pandemic began reshaping our lives, I set out on a quest to find the best Bible app for me (and maybe for you too).

Today, I resume that quest.

For my digital Christian studies, I really want one solid app to handle all of my needs and keep everything in one place regardless of the device I'm using. I don't want clutter nor do I want an app that only works in some places. I really need something universal.

I also have many desires I'd like a Bible app to satisfy, such as highlighting, side by side reference, multiple Bible versions, etc.

So this unfulfilled need leaves me with a valiant quest: finding that one Bible app that is my digital everything.

But does such a rare gem in this dense forest of apps even exist?

I'm pretty confident that I will find something that meets at least some of my requirements (as I've already started testing for future ChristianBytes articles), but finding an app that meets all my requirements, even in part, is a very tall, perhaps impossible, order.

I'm also sure that as I venture on this quest I will find Bible apps that are good/great for certain uses and I will happily write articles about them as well (see below).

THE REQUIREMENTS

Ok, let's get down to what I'm looking for.

My preferred "ecosystem" is Apple, which means I want a Bible app that works with iPhone, iPad and Macs.

However, I don't want to limit myself and potentially miss out on a great app, so I'm very open to something that's in the Android world.

And I especially want to keep this Bible app quest wide open because of you, which is why I'll be factoring in Windows and Android into my research.

Because I'm writing this article in hopes of helping you and I don't know what operating system(s) you use, I think the ideal Bible app solution should work everywhere.

First, let's talk about all of the requirements that revolve around our chosen content, the Bible.

DEEP OFFERINGS

Just as you wouldn't view a store with one product on the shelf as the best store ever, we're going to cut out all Bible apps that only have one Bible translation available, even if it's the best translation.

To become a central fixture of digital Christian studies on a deeper level it needs to have multiple Bible translations.

While it would be easy to just say more is better, it's really about the quality of the offerings.

This is a personal choice, but I'm looking for multiple Bible translations, good commentaries and maybe even books on faith to add to my library.

And at the end of the day, all that matters is that the Bible app offers the translations and commentaries you want.

But since I'm the one writing, let's jump over to my desired Bible translations.

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

I like reading at least a couple Bible translations at the same time so I can see how verses have been translated.

Sometimes a verse just really hits you good in a particular translation.

For me, Psalm 23:1 is a great example.

In many translations, the verse will read something like:

"The Lord is my shepherd and I "shall not want.""

This is a great verse, but the "shall not want" feels a little too passive to me.

But in the Complete Jewish Bible translation it reads:

"Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing."

It's far more direct & powerful. And I love it.

So a great Bible app needs several Bible translations.

And the cherry on top would be allowing me to quickly see any Bible passage in multiple translations at the same time or with a simple click—websites do this function, but I want everything contained in one app.

My shortlist of mandatory translations would be: NKJV, NASB and CJB (Complete Jewish Bible).

I also would hope it has others, such as NIV, as I like seeing how different versions word things.

STUDY BIBLES, LETTERING, COMMENTARIES, ETC

Aside from reading the Bible verse by verse, I also read commentaries on the verses (Ryrie, MacArthur, etc).

The Bible app I'm going to commit to needs to have either complete study Bibles or the commentaries I'm after.

Also, I'd like red lettering for the words of Jesus. I'd go as far to say if the app was missing this feature in its Bible or Bibles, it's a no-go for me.

Usually the red lettering, blue lettering or lack of anything is going to be a product of the Bible you're reading. So I just expect the Bible app to pass along the Bible's presentation.

An example of an acceptable lack of red lettering is the Complete Jewish Bible, which doesn't have red lettering. While it would be nice the Bible app I'm using would colorize the words of Jesus, I don't expect it.

Being able to read devotional Bibles or time-organized ones, such as the Chronological Study Bible, would be a huge plus.

And now let's move into all of the requirements that are more technical in nature—how the app looks, behaves, etc.

APP COST

Given the requirements/demands, there's a good chance that the app will probably cost money somehow—perhaps an upfront cost or a free app where you buy the Bibles/books.

Any app that is "free" but has ads and/or intrusive elements, is disqualified. I'm using the app to study the Bible and get closer to God. I don't want distractions.

Keep in mind, we are after the best Bible app on this particular quest.

After I have reviewed several apps and made a decision, I'm planning on writing an article that will be all about crowning the best free Bible app for those interested in solely free digital experiences.

WHERE & HOW CAN I USE THE APP?

For the best experience, I need the chosen Bible app to sync centrally (cloud service for example) so I can use it on multiple devices.

For example, I'm reading John 3 in the NKJV on my phone in the morning but later that day I open up the app on my iPad. I should see John 3 in the NKJV—Kindle and Apple Books do this.

If it doesn't do this, it's probably a singular-instance app, which I don't like. With these type of apps, your actions are tied directly to the device itself and whenever you switch devices, you'll need to recreate wherever you left off on the previous device.

The gold standard for me will be an application that I can use on phone, tablet and desktop/laptop. Using the Apple ecosystem as an example, I want to use the app on my iPhone, iPad and Mac machines fluidly.

For this requirement, I've broken up the "score" into three levels:

1. Silver: My data (books owned, highlights, etc) follows me from device to device.
2. Gold: My data not only follows me, but syncs as if I'm still using the app as I left it. For example, I'm reading John 3:16 in a particular Bible translation on my phone. I then go to open the app on my tablet. The app should now be at John 3:16 in the same Bible translation I had opened on my phone.
3. Ultimate: All of the above features and the app also works on iOS/Android/Mac/Windows.

Let me illustrate these levels with a real-world non-Biblical example: Pocket Casts, which is an app to listen to podcasts.

Pocket Casts works on mobile devices and has a web interface for desktops/laptops.

It syncs data and works on all of the mentioned platforms, which means it's an example of an Ultimate "score" for this requirement.

Conversely there's another podcast app in the Apple ecosystem called Overcast. This app is very good and it will sync data (so gold level), but it only works for Apple-based devices.

Since I love "best in breed" choices, I picked Pocket Casts (despite being heavily in Apple's ecosystem) and never looked back.

So at the end of the day the more ways I can use an app the better score I apply.

These days having a universal app isn't about any technical limitation. It's just a matter of desire by the app creator and often the amount of funding the creator has available.

HIGHLIGHTING

Pretty simple requirement here.

I want to be able to highlight scriptures and to have a way to see all my highlights.

Ideally, I'd get pick my colors and the visual display of the highlighted text would look great.

A bonus would be the app grouping highlights by color (as color usually has meaning).

NOTES

The Bible app should have the ability to take some kind of note because many of us tend to take some kind of notes as we study the Bible.

And the notes taken should be linked to the Bible verse(s). Also it would be great if the notes used tags for grouping.

Of course, there's a sub-requirement for me, which is the ability to export data.

I NEED MY DATA

While I listed note taking as a requirement, I currently take my notes in a centralized place (Evernote, Apple Notes, One Note, etc) because having control over my data is mandatory.

I've seen apps that allow for notes, but since I can't export them, I'm now beholden to the app creator forever unless I manually type out my notes elsewhere.

A Bible app that allows for note taking, but not note export is not as valuable to me—at least as far as note taking goes.

And further, if I add data, such as highlights, bookmarks, notes, etc, then I need to be able to get all of that data out of the app.

To me this is not negotiable. I don't want my data stuck in an app or with a third-party service (especially a smaller developer).

Basically, if an app has features, such as highlighting/bookmarks/etc, but provides no way to export the data, I treat/score the app as not offering those features.

There's no reason you should be forced to keep your data in someone's system.

For all apps in my life, I expect one simple rule to be followed: if I can enter data then I must be able to export data. Apps that break this rule only get used if I have no other choice (I don't care if they are free/low cost).

SEARCHING FOR WISDOM

It's vital that the app has a search feature.

I can't tell you how many times I just search for a common word/phrase, proper name, etc. Sometimes I'm just curious how many times an word or phrase shows up or where it shows up in the Bible and other times I've forgotten where a verse or partial verse resides.

At a bare minimum, I'd like to be able to search for words or phrases in the opened Bible/book. Even better is to be able to search in any Bible/book that the app contains.

A more ultimate app would also include topical searching.

For example, I type in something like "What does Jesus say about" and I get:

1. What Jesus says about being rich
2. What Jesus says about being baptized
3. What Jesus says about giving to the poor
4. And so on.

And upon selecting one of those options, I'm given all the corresponding Bible verses.

So basically, the better the search, the better the app.

WORD LOOKUP

Another valuable ability to have in the Bible app is being able to lookup words for meaning, origin, etc.

For example, selecting the word "rapture" would give more information about what it means, the translated word, etc.

EASY TO SEE & VISUALLY PLEASING

This is a big one to me.

I need complete control over how the text is displayed to me. And so do people with any sort of issue with their vision, which is somewhat common.

Some user-controlled items would be:

1. Font
2. Text size
3. Text color
4. Background color

Being locked into whatever font/color/sizing/background the app creator wants is almost never a good experience.

CAN I COPY/PASTE/SHARE?

How easy is it to copy/paste a Bible verse or passage or some other piece of text?

Some of this will be handled via the operating system by default, but an app can help things along.

For example, can I just tap/click/etc on a Bible verse # (ex: John 3:16) and have a little dialog come up to perform actions (copy/highlight/share/etc)?

And I've love to be able to easily share scriptures, passages and partial verses easily with others.

DEVELOPER STABILITY

The more I need to rely on resources outside of whatever is on my device(s), the more stable the app's creator must be.

Let me give you a couple easy examples.

If the app doesn't offer additional content downloads (Bible translations, etc) and it doesn't require the Internet past initial download, then I'm less reliant on the app creator.

Even if the company goes out of business and/or stops updating the app, it may still work. And if not, then I've probably lost very little.

A good example might be a free no-frills Bible app out there. If it goes away, the loss is minimal. There are other apps out there.

However, if the Bible app is a centralized digital faith study app where I'm going to purchase several Bibles/books, keep notes and invest deeply, then I need it backed by a company that isn't going away tomorrow. And this also goes back to the ability to export data and why it's a deal breaker if it doesn't exist.

I also need to ask some questions, such as:

1. If the company were to close up shop, do all my purchases go away?
2. Do I actually own the book or is it a rental?
3. Can I export the books I purchased?
4. Can I download the books I purchased to a device so that it always works in the future regardless of being able to connect to the Internet (some services, like Spotify, "call home" every so often to verify your account and if it fails, downloaded music on your device no longer works).

One of the downsides of a digital "purchase" (really just a license to use) is the content is locked up in proprietary formats verses something more open where you have control.

It's a tradeoff and each of us needs to think about the value of a digital clutter-free lifestyle with a renter-like model vs physical ownership.

I do both. And that's why I ask the above questions and more. I'm looking to minimize potential headaches and "damage" for my digital side while maximizing the great benefits that the digital lifestyle provides.

So for this digital quest, we need a company that hopefully won't be going away soon unless there's a way that Bibles/books added aren't tied just to the app.

FOR THE BONUS POINTS

While not really required, here are some ideas I had that would add bonus points to any Bible app I was considering:

1. Gamification: Make reading the Bible a fun game of progress. Create quests and/or goals for reading. For example, read Proverbs 1-31 and unlock the Proverbs badge. This might help some people read and discover more.
2. Reading Plans: I want to read the entire Bible in 365 reading sessions. Tell me what I need to read for today (example: Genesis 1:1 - Genesis 3:12).
3. Self-Created Reading Paths: Maybe I want to read Proverbs & Psalms in 60 reading sessions. Tell me what to read each session and keep track.
4. Book Sales. If the app has the ability to buy Bibles/books, having sales from time to time would be good.

ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLIDER

With noble quest in hand and the requirements known, it's now time to start downloading & using Bible apps to find the best one.

Will I be able to find a Bible app that satisfies all my requirements?

Will I find one that even comes close?

And will I find good Bible apps for other uses along the way?

This list of requirements may not be complete, but it packs quite the punch and is a great guide for finding a good app.

What would you have added or removed from this list for your perfect Bible app?

Do you already have a perfect Bible app for your needs? What is it?

Over the coming months I'll be writing reviews for Bible apps as part of this series. You can see what's been written and what's on the way below.

NEXT

Bible App Review: YouVersion for Android & iOS

In this article I review YouVersion Bible App for Android/iOS on phones and tablets for each ecosystem. How does it stack up?

UPCOMING

Review: Olive Tree Bible App (release planned for November 2021)