Top 3 Free Bible Applications For Your iPhone
August 20, 2008 by Ryan Ray
Jesus is everywhere, that’s what the Bible teaches, so when the iPhone was invented he knew all about it. He knew before Steve Jobs was even born that the iPhone would be his creation. Jesus had setup up Apple just for us tech nerds that love a great computer or gadget. So is it really any surprise that there are Bible applications for the iPhone? I think not, Jesus had it all planned out….:)
Now you might worry about which app is right for you, and even wonder if it’s wrong to read the Bible on your iPhone. Well I think Jesus is a modern guy, he’d love for you to read the Bible on the iPhone. With that said I’ve gone out and scoured the Earth for some great bible applications for your iPhone. I’ll present them here in a list from my least favorite to my favorite. These are the top 3 FREE Bible apps…
#3 – Mantis Bible Reader
This Bible reader for your iPhone is the simplest of them to me. It has a few core features obviously such as reading the Bible, choosing what books to read from, search, notes, etc… As a Bible app it performs beautifully. It let’s you easily find the scripture you want and doesn’t get in your way of reading. Looks as if you can even pick which version of the Bible you want to read such as KJV, NLT, etc… The developers are constantly updating their blog about the app which means they are always working on improving it, so this app will definitely keep getting better over time.
#2 – OliveTree Bible Reader
The second app that allows you to read the Word on your iPhone gets even better than the first one. It does all of the same things that Mantis does, I just happen to really like this ones interface over Mantis. Interface is a serious part of your app to consider, and if you don’t design the most usable interface it doesn’t matter how complex your app is. NO ONE is going to be able to use it. OliveTree offers some unique ways to browse the Bible by books and verses as you’ll see in the screenshot below. Of course it offers the usual books, verses, etc… Nothing unique except it’s take on the interface in this app.
#1 YouVersion’s Bible Reader
The developers of this app really outdid themselves on this one. Jesus probably already gave them a golden, one way ticket into heaven. This app has a beautiful interface and fantastic features. If you don’t know what youversion is this allows anyone across the whole world to add little notes, or YouTube videos to different passages or verses in this app. When I was browsing through it people would post excerpts to help you understand what this means. Or it atleast helped me understand what they thought this passage meant. It’s a great community around this Bible app that makes you feel like a part of something when you read the Bible with this app. Besides it’s YouVersion feature this also offers the Bible in Spanish, Dutch, French, and Chinese. No other free Bible app offers that. I think you can download packs to certain other apps that cost you a good $25. This app doesn’t quit there though, let me ask you this question. How many of you have tried to read the Bible in one year? MANY of us have and this app helps us complete that task by offering a feature called “Daily Read.” In Daily Read it offers up three passages that will help you read the Bible in one year! I love this feature, something they definitely got right in this app.
With all those features packed into the number one app, how can you not love it. They are all free and great ways to get into the Bible. Even if you aren’t “religious” per se, the Bible is one of Western Civilizations most popular books. It’s still a great read for Atheist if you look at it that way. If you want to understand the world a little more then read the Bible on your iPhone. By the way, my favorite translation is the Message, you tell me what’s yours? Also would you pay for a Bible application on your iPhone? They have those out there. Thanks for reading, come back soon!
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FYI, the library screen shot under YouVersion is from Olive Tree’s BibleReader
Thanks for pointing that out Stephen, it’s now fixed!