e-Sword LT: Bible Study to Go

First, as a preface, I have used almost every other Bible reference app out there, some other apps have more features (logos for instance) but as far as all-around Bible apps, this one is hands down the best. What makes this bible app so great is the accessibility of everything. All of your options are right in front of you, it is extremely easy to learn and quickly navigate. One of the best features is the (free!) downloadable KJV+ bible. It incorporates all of the Strong’s numbers into the KJV, so that you can simply click the number and see the definition of that word in Strong’s, Thayer’s, or whatever other Lexicon you would like. It is only two clicks to switch to another translation for comparison purposes, it works perfectly fine without internet connection, has no loading times like the more popular apps, no ads and has a multitude of free downloadable Bible translations, (KJV+, ESV, Darby, LEB, etc.) as well as reference materials such as concordances and lexicons, and other beneficial literature. To have all of this on one app without it slowing down to load, or getting confusing to navigate is quite a feat. I would highly, highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have the tools to study your bible in-depth at arms reach all the time, whether in the city or in the middle of nowhere.

I’ve been studying the Word since I was young so I’ve come across many Bible tools, and I can confidently say this is my FAVORITE Bible app, hands down! I LOVE that the Greek/Hebrew references are clickable—right there next to each word, which makes it very easy to quickly look up an original meaning and then return to my reading. I do think navigating the other features takes a little getting used to, but once I figured it out, I was hooked. I love the Bible dictionary feature and downloaded one that works for me. I was even able to download my favorite commentary (David Guzik) which I was THRILLED about, so now I don’t have to leave the app to look that up. The compare feature (to compare translations) is cool. One thing that some may find as a downside is that you may have to pay for a translation that you like. (You basically are buying the e-Sword compatible version of that bible, then downloading it.) But I didn’t mind spending money on a Bible—I got NKJV and NLT and I feel it was well worth it which made my studying easier, so I can read them within e-Sword. But if you don’t want to spend money, there are a lot of free translations you can choose from. A great app!

The commentaries (esp. Matthew Henry) are hard to follow and find the verse you are interested in. An enhancement would be to try to break the commentaries down somewhat to specific verses, where possible. The commentaries are basically a cut and paste of the authors work, so it’s no different than having the commentary book in front of you. A value-added feature of e-Sword would be to break down the commentaries a little more. Additionally, it would be nice if you highlight a verse in the daily reading material, that it would highlight the same verse in your default bible. Right now it doesn’t. So if you highlight several verses in your daily devotional reading material, they are not highlighted in your electronic “bible”. You have to do it twice. In fact, why not highlight the verse in all the Bible versions / translations you have loaded into e-Sword. I often switch between multiple bible versions / translations.

I have a couple free Bible apps and this is definitely my favorite. I really like the different translations with the compare feature. The Strongs numbers come in very handy when I need to study the Greek and Hebrew meanings to understand the original meaning of the text. I am also using the compare feature to teach myself to read and understand a second language. The format for the search and verse look-up is also better than some of my other apps. There are always areas for improvement in any app, but this is good enough for 5 stars. I would like to get some Bible maps, like the ones in the back of my printed Bible but I don’t remember if they cost money (some features require payment but due to my budget I don’t use those features).

with lots of bible translations and additional references that are free downloads. But there are purchaseable (newer and/or not in public domain) commentaries for which e-sword automatically displays the bible verse that you are on. There are many other reference works for sale too that load directly in the App. You can create your own choice of 3 parallel bible translations and many other features. One click displays the Hebrew or Greek word and definition. Really amazing tool!!! We are so blessed to have this. I thank Rick Meyers and the volunteers for keeping the App up to date.