MARBLE: Modular Aggregation of Resources on the Bible

 

I just came across this MARBLE site, but it appears to be the successor of SemanticDictionary.org, a project by the United Bible Societies headed by Reinier DeBlois. When I first reported on this back in 2008 (!), it was a new resource for Old Testament study linked to the Semantic Dictionary of the Hebrew Bible. It has now been greatly enhanced and has New Testament Greek resources as well. From the website:

 MARBLE stands for Modular Aggregation of Resources on the Bible 

This website, published by the United Bible Societies (UBS), gives free access to a number of important Bible background resources, including: 

• The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) 
• The UBS Greek New Testament (5th edition, UBSGNT5) 
• The Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (SDBH, edited by Reinier de Blois) 
• The Semantic Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (SDGNT, based on Louw and Nida's lexicon) 
• Thousands of Bible images and video clips linked to Bible passages 

Along with the Hebrew and Greek texts, it is cross-linked and has cross-highlighting with the 1952 RSV. (I.e., when working with a biblical text, clicking on either the Hebrew/Greek or English word, it will bring up the original language dictionary entry.)

The inclusion of images and videos (which can be accessed either through an image / video search or when working on the Bible text and clicking on a link bringing up images / videos associated with that chapter of the Bible.

Probably the most helpful aspects of this site that integrates information that takes a bit more work to access even in Accordance or Logos are the Semantic Dictionaries. I'm guessing that its initial roots in the Hebrew, there is more information provided for Hebrew lexemes, but for both Hebrew and Greek, not only is lexical meaning provided, but there is also information on the lexical domain. (For the Hebrew, there is also information on Contextual Domain and Collocations.) If you have used Louw-Nida, you will be familiar with what is being done here, but the MARBLE site makes it very easy to use, see lexical relationships, and navigate around.

E.g., here is just a portion of the kind of information provided for a word like אב.

 And here is just a portion of the information for χάρις.

It's definitely worth checking out this site, and it serves as a great supplement to something like the STEP Bible site if you don't have Accordance or Logos.

(HT: I learned about MARBLE through a DataDrivenBiblicalStudies video on YouTube. I think it's by Dirk Roorda, and he also uses a Text-Fabric web app that is quite impressive.)

English Bible Versions: Literal, Dynamic / Functional, Paraphrase

I have previously posted on the range of English versions of the Bible and noted the range of so-called "literal / word-for-word" translations through "dynamic / functional equivalent / thought-for-thought" translations and on to paraphrases. 

 

I have now (2021.06) updated the list. I had started with a helpful list I found online by Bruce Terry which provides an approximate rating of each version from literal (or using formal equivalence) to dynamic or paraphrase. I edited this list and added a few evaluations of my own. The scale used is where a "1" would be an interlinear Hebrew/Greek to English and a 10 would be a loose paraphrase. (The Cotton Patch Version gets a "10.") I have made some adjustments to his rankings in light of my experience and added some notes. Most of these translations are available online at BibleGateway, and further information is linked there.

HERE is a link to the updated downloadable document that organizes 50 of the most common English versions. It provides:

• An alphabetical list of the versions
• A ranking of the versions from literal to paraphrase
• My suggestions on the best versions to consult across a range of translation approach.

My point in organizing English translations this way is to help readers get a sense of the difficulties and choices that must be made when translating. Viewing a range of translations gives a sense of the possibilities, but translation will always be both an objective, scholarly task as well as a subjective process that attends to audience and intent.

Original Bibles: An online collection of old printed Bibles and more

The Original Bibles site intends to give "you Holy Bibles the way they were originally printed." And that they do! It looks like most (all?) the books are coming from Google Books and rendered as individual pages. It's rather clunky since you can't scroll or click to go to the next page but need to use a dropdown box to get to the next page.
OTOH, the value is that someone has collated the Bibles that are available. Search for Greek and choose to look at Erasmus' 1516 Greek NT. Or use the Categories dropdown and pick a language, type of resource, or century. How about the 1524 Second Rabbinic Bible?

Have fun browsing around!

HT: John Linebarger on FB

Y'all Version online!

When reading the Greek New Testament, there are separate forms for the second person singular and plural. In English, "you" can be either singular or plural. How can someone who doesn't know Greek tell the difference? Different parts of the world and of the United States have addressed the matter with various colloquial forms of the plural such as "you all" or "y'all." Wouldn't it be nice to have an English version that could help an English reader be aware of the distinction?
To the rescue is the Y'all Version! It's a version of the "Bible Web App (3.0): Online Bible study application with bonus study features for studying Greek and Hebrew" ... Developed by Digital Bible Society with major contributions from John Dyer and Michael Johnson."
As you can see in the graphic above, you (singular) get to choose various forms of the second person plural to highlight or use including "you all," "y'all," "youse guys," "yinz," and more! It may seem a little silly, but it is significant. E.g., in the graphic above is Matthew 20.20-23. James and John's mother asks a favor of Jesus for her boys, but in 20.22, Jesus replies to her using the second person plural, i.e., to James and John, not to their mother.
Check it out!
(Thanks to one of my students, NP, for pointing this out to me.)

Designing for Agency in Bible Study

I didn't make it to this year's BibleTech in Seattle, but Stephen Smith at OpenBible.info posted the slides of his presentation. (Find them HERE.) Doubtless he provided more context for the slides, but it's fairly easy to follow his argument. Basically, he looks at Bible software and Bible reading from the perspective of game design which is concerned about agency. I'm greatly simplifying and making some assumptions from the slides, but he points out the importance of Competence, Relatedness, and Autonomy as motivating factors. Bible software marketing tends to promote competence and autonomy. (You can master the Bible on your own with our program!) But that's not what most people are concerned about when looking for something in the Bible. Here's where aspects of creating relationships come into play. (E.g., YouVersion's sharing options.) As Smith states,

Bible software, in general, supports competence across a narrow audience: mostly male Christians in some kind of leadership role. This narrow focus limits the market for Bible software because it doesn’t support life as lived by most Christians (slide 23)

Here's where Smith's previous work on a "Franken-Bible" comes into play. (Cf. my blog post here or go to his Adaptive Bible site.) He now has an Expanded Bible site which attempts to bring in Competence (you get to choose among translation options; the text includes sidebar notes with info and links; once you complete a chapter, you're rewarded by it generating an audio version you can listen to), Relatedness (you can share your created translation with others, something that can't easily be done at the Adaptive Bible), and Autonomy (you can do it on your own, and there is no wrong answer to discourage you).

I'm including a graphic of Smith's annotation of the print version (which is really inferior to the online, interactive version) so you can see how the Expanded Bible site was constructed, but you really just need to go play around at the site.

Smith, slide 32

I appreciate the various perspectives that Smith brings to bear on this project. They are certainly worth considering. Thanks to Steve Smith for sharing this!

Best Free Bible Resources: Online Sites and Downloadable Apps/Programs

List UPDATED HERE

I have previously commented on some of the main free and trial versions of Bible software available. I have now compiled an updated and more extensive list of the free Bible resources with which I am familiar. Some of these are capable of original language Hebrew and Greek work, but they are primarily oriented to English Bibles. (Some do feature an extensive collection of non-English Bibles.) Most of them offer basic search features, and some offer a variety of supporting resources. I like those that allow for viewing texts in parallel. If you know even a little Hebrew or Greek, the ones with sympathetic highlighting (Bible Web App, Lumina Bible) are especially helpful.

Online Bible Resource Sites

BibleGateway: There are too many English (and it does include the NRSV), non-English, Greek, and Hebrew versions to list. If you want to compare English versions, you can see a verse in every version they offer with a single click. There are quite a few linked resources, but many need you to subscribe for $4 USD/month.

Bible Web App: This site provides the ESV, KJV, NASB, NETi, OEB, and WEB English versions. The Hebrew OT is based on Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC), and the Greek NT is that of the SBL GNT. It offer two versions in parallel, so you can compare two English versions, but it is most helpful if you choose the WLC or the SBL GNT and pair it with the NETi, because it provides ‘sympathetic highlighting’ where a word in one version is highlighted in the other as you put your mouse over it. The NETi includes all it’s fine annotations. Clicking on a Hebrew or Greek word will give you lexical information and also parsing for the Greek

BibleHub: Among the English versions included in this site are the NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB, KJV, HCSB, NET, JPS (1917), Douay-Rheims, and ERV. It also includes Hebrew, and a collection of older Greek texts along with the SBL GNT. The greatest asset of this site is the integration of so many resources: an excellent collection of site maps, commentaries, lexicons, interlinear, parallel texts, and links to other sites.

FaithLife Study Bible: This site provides a broad collection of very helpful resources. Among the English versions are the Douay-Rheims, ESV,  KJV, NASB, NCV,  NLT, GNT, HCSB, KJV, LEB, Message, NET, NIV, NKJV, and NRSV. There are a number of non-English language Bibles, the Vulgate, and a number of Greek texts including Textus Receptus and SBL GNT. (Oddly, no Hebrew text is offered.) In addition to the abundance of English versions, a key attraction to this site is the FaithLife Study Bible itself with its excellent Infographics, maps, photos and videos, dictionaries, and other resources. (Logos is part of the FaithLife family)

Lumina Bible: The primary English version to use here is the NET with its notes, but it also includes the ESV, HCSB, ISV, KJV, Message, and NASB. If you use the Parallel feature, it displays the NET, NIV, NASB, ESV, NLT, Message, BBE, NKJV, NRSV, and KJV. Using the NET alongside the Hebrew or Greek, you get sympathetic highlighting and lexical information and also parsing for the Greek. There is also a library of articles and maps.

YouVersion: The primary attraction of this site is the abundance of Bibles it offers, both English (e.g., CEB, CEV, CJB, ESV, GNB, HCSB, KJV, LEB, Message, NAB, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NKJV, NLT, ) and nearly countless non-English ones. For Greek, it includes SBL GNT and Textus Receptus, and the Westminster Leningrad for the Hebrew. Two texts can be set in parallel.

STEP Bible (Scripture Tools for Every Person): "Trustworthy Bible study software designed specifically for the disadvantaged world." It is, however, available for anyone to use and has a nice interface with a collection of English (e.g., ESV, JPS, KJV, LEB, NASB, NET, NIV), Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, and more texts. Depending on the version, notes, vocabulary and interlinear options are possible. 

My Recommendations:

If your main goal is to compare English versions, BibleGateway is your best option. YouVersion offers many more versions, but you can only compare two at a time. If you have some knowledge of Greek and/or Hebrew, I like the Lumina Bible best with its sympathetic highlighting. If you want more study tools, BibleHub and FaithLife Study Bible are good choices.

Free Downloadable Bible Apps and Programs

The following downloadable programs usually offer more versatility and features than the online sites but will not include as many English versions as the online sites offer.

Accordance Lite: It includes the ESV and KJV with Strong’s and some other texts and resources to get you started. Features are limited, but it gives a good idea of what Accordance can do. Windows or Mac capable.

e-Sword: The basic installation includes the KJV with Strong’s and its related lexicon along with a few other resources. Once installed, there are many other free Bibles and resources that can be added. Windows and Mac.

Faithlife Study Bible: This app, available for just about every platform, features the very helpful study Bible along with many resources as in the online site described above.

Logos 7 Basic: Logos offers a free Basic version that includes some very helpful resources. In addition to the KJV, they include their own Lexham English Bible and a number of good resources, most notably, the Faithlife Study Bible notes and the Lexham Bible Dictionary. For Windows and Mac.

Logos 7 Academic Basic: You need to verify that you are a student, faculty, or staff member of an educational institution to receive this offer, but if you qualify this is an excellent starter package. It includes, among other resources, tagged Hebrew Bible and abridged BDB lexicon; Greek LXX with lexicon and the Lexham English LXX; SBL GNT and Abbot-Smith lexicon of the NT; Lexham English Bible, dictionary, and textual notes; FaithLife Study Bible, and more.

Olive Tree: This free Bible app is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Kindle, and Android. Once you get the app, check out the free resources. It includes SBL GNT and Hebrew Westminster Leningrad. For English, it includes many of the usual versions (KJV,  NKJV, ESV, limited versions of HCSB and NET, Douay-Rheims, Tanakh 1917), but it does also offer the NIV. A number of useful study tools can also be added.

YouVersion: This app, available for just about every platform, includes over 1000 Bible versions. It is similar to its online version described above.

The Word: The Word is one of the first I recommend to people wanting a free program, since it is rather full featured program. It includes Greek / Hebrew. You can always buy some modules, e.g., NRSV, to expand its versatility. Among many non-English versions, free English versions include: Douay-Rheims, ERV, ESV, HCSB, KJV, Tanakh 1917, NET (but with limited notes), LEB. For Greek: LXX, SBL GNT, and other Greek text. For Hebrew: a tagged Hebrew Bible.  Only runs on Windows or under Mac emulation.

WORDsearch 11: WORDsearch offers a free basic version. There are more than enough resources to get you started, and they have a large collection of resources for purchase to expand your work. For Windows and Mac.

My Recommendations:

If you want to study and read the most English versions, then YouVersion is best. If you want more study tools and resources, I recommend that you look first at The Word, e-Sword, and Logos 7 Basic. If you are connected with an educational institution, then your best bet is to get Logos 7 Basic and then pick up Logos 7 Academic Basic. Some of these programs are expandable for a cost or have full-featured upgrades, so you may want to check out trial versions of Accordance, BibleWorks, Logos, and WORDsearch.

Bible Apps for Portable Devices

See my summary HERE.

Did I miss your favorite site or app? Please let us know in the comments!

ESV Study Bible Web App Available for Free (2013 November)

Click on graphic above to get the app

As part of their 75th anniversary as a Bible resource publisher, Crossway is making The ESV Study Bible available for free as a web resource through November 2013. (It is unclear to me whether it is free just for November of if you can obtain it for free and continue to use it.)

The ESV Study Bible Web App includes the study notes, maps, charts, illustrations, and theological articles found in the print edition—all integrated into ESVBible.org’s easy-to-use interface.

Though I have reservations about the ESV as a translation (particularly its decisions about inclusive language), it is basically a literal translation in the tradition of the KJV, ASV, and RSV. Since its initial publication in 2001, the ESV text has been largely given away for free, a decision that made it very popular on the web. With the publication of The ESV Study Bible, Crossway demonstrated how giving away the text could create a viable market for selling the Study Bible.

While I also have reservations about The ESV Study Bible, there is much to commend. (Click on that link for more info.) It forthrightly claims that it was "created by an outstanding team of 95 evangelical Christian scholars and teachers." One should not be surprised, then, that it leans toward 'conservative' readings and positions regarding authorship, dates, and harmonizations. On the other hand, it provides a nuanced introduction to Genesis and the creation story. It provides evidence for both the early and late date of the Exodus. It recognizes the difficulties of reading the Gospels in order to set the specific year of Jesus' crucifixion. More significantly, in addition to the information and background it provides in its running commentary, it is quite remarkable for its illustrations, maps, diagrams, and charts. These are really fantastic, and they are why I am commending this study Bible to my students.

As for the web app, it should be noted that it really is not an "app" but a well organized and linked web site. Here's how it looks:

Easy navigation via the top left icons. Biblical text is in the left column, and each page is a biblical chapter. Footnotes in the text appear in hover-over popups or links at the bottom of the page. In the screenshot above, you can also see that I have turned on the GreekTools Preview providing basic lexical information and gloss for words in the Greek NT. (There is a GreekTools module that provides more resources in connection with the NA27 Greek NT.) The resources of the study Bible are provided in the right column with linked materials opening in new windows.

There is not a mobile app, but since this is all web based, it is possible to use it on a mobile device's web browser. Here's what it looks like on my Galaxy Note 2.

The GreekTools Preview even kind of works but with font limitations. The study Bible resources must be opened in a separate window.

BOTTOM LINE: The ESV Study Bible web app is a fine resource that is surely worth getting for free! Thank you to Crossway for making it available. Click on the graphic at the top of this post or HERE to get it free through November 2013.

Tyndale Launches Online STEP Bible Study Resource

Tyndale House Cambridge Launches Beta-version of Scripture Tools for Every Person (STEP), a new free Bible study resource

Tyndale just released their STEP online Bible resource. From their announcement:

Today the STEP development team of Tyndale House Cambridge launched the Beta-test version of a new free Bible study resource at www.StepBible.org.

STEP software is designed especially for teachers and preachers who don’t have access to resources such as Tyndale House Library, which specialises in the biblical text, interpretation, languages and biblical historical background and is a leading research institution for Biblical Studies.

The web-based program, which will soon also be downloadable for PCs and Macs, will aid users who lack resources, or who have to rely only on smartphones or outmoded computers.

Be sure to read the announcement page for more info about this project and how it developed. You will see that this is a product of many volunteers and contributors, and the primary focus is to make it downloadable for persons in the Majority World. "Ten language interfaces are available and another 83 are ready for volunteers to work on."
Here are some of my initial impressions of this online beta version.

TEXTS:
Ancient texts available include:

• Hebrew: Leningrad, Aleppo - All have vocabulary encoded and some have extra grammatical coding and interlinear capability.
• Samaritan Pentateuch: with Hebrew MT, with MT & DSS, with DSS, (and in KJV English)
• LXX Greek: Orthodox LXX, Rahlf's LXX (and Brenton's English)
• NT Greek: Orthodox NT, Byzantine, Elzevir TR, TR, Tregelles, SBLGNT, Westcott-Hort w/ NA & UBS variants
• Syriac NT Peshitta: in Syriac and with Etheridge and Murdoch English translations
• Latin: Jerome's Vulgate, Sixti, Clementine, (and Douay-Rheims English)

Modern texts include a wide variety of non-English versions, but among the English versions are: AKJV, ASV, BBE, ESV, JPS (OT), KJV with Apocrypha, Lexham, Tyndale, WEB, and Young's. Of these, the KJV and ESV are most useful because they are capable of the 'sympathetic' highlighting of Greek or Hebrew, and the KJV additionally has grammatical information for every word.

DISPLAY: It took me a while to figure out how to manage the display features. I ended up choosing a two-panel display and keeping the right in sync with the left. (The sync did not work well for me.) With most panes, you also have the option of choosing a Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced view. You can set up a display like I have pictured above. Note the capability of sympathetic highlighting. Clicking on a word in any language will popup original language information on that word. With the Advanced view option, you can set up text to be viewed as interlinear or interleaved. Cf. the graphic below. Note that hovering your mouse over a highlighted chapter:verse reference will pop up vocabulary data for every word in that verse. Using the Advanced option for that popup will not only give the basic Strong's information but also include LSJ data as well. With the KJV, you can also enable grammatical coding. I could not figure out its coloring scheme, but there is full English grammatical analysis of every word provided.
Pointed Hebrew and marked Greek did display nicely, but the text critical marks of the SBLGNT did not show up correctly.
Navigation to texts and selection of options is intuitive, but a bit clunky. (E.g., you can type a passage reference to get there directly, but using the dropdown boxes takes some clicking and scrolling.)
I did try viewing the web page on a smartphone browser, but it was a frustrating experience. The menu bars and center column take up quite a bit of screen room leaving little space for the text.

SEARCH: Searches can be conducted from the text (click on a word and in the popup, you have the option of searching for the same word or all related words) or from a search pane. You can conduct your usual passage, text, or subject searches, but you can also conduct Greek/Hebrew searches using Unicode. Doing a Greek search, you can choose to search multiple versions, so that means you can search the LXX and Greek NT simultaneously. I was getting inconsistent results determining whether the search ignores diacritical marks. There are no diacriticals in the LXX or BYZ versions (so no problems), but STEP can sometimes search the SBLGNT--which does have diacritical marks--using unmarked Unicode Greek entries. With the Text Search, you cannot search for Greek lemmas, so it helps to use an asterisk wild character to get results. The Advanced Text Search in Advanced mode allows for English double queries with something like a 'fuzzy' search capability. (E.g., a search for "Include spellings similar to run" returns hits with run, sun, ran, runs, Nun... Perhaps the most interesting and useful capability is the Original Word Search. You can search for "words meaning" and start typing an English word. A drop down list of Greek and Hebrew words will appear, and you can choose from the list or choose all. Note my example of a search for "test" and the Hebrew/Greek results it displays. The results can be grouped by Scripture order, lemma, or original spelling. Very nice! (Note that all of this searching capability seems to be enabled by use of Strong's numbers and definitions.)

SUMMARY: There are still some beta-version issues to be worked out, but this is a useful web resource. I found the display to be a bit cumbersome, but it has some nice features to display multiple versions and languages. One of the best features is the ability to do an original language word search from the English and discover all sorts of related words. It's great that this is available online, but remember that it is intended to be a downloadable resource, especially for those in the Majority World who might not be able to afford or have access to a major software program. For now, STEP is mostly restricted to biblical texts with no associated resources other than lexical and grammatical info. For an online Bible resource, I still think that the NET Bible Study Environment offers a better selection of texts, especially the NET Bible with all its notes. The interface is a bit cleaner and does not use popup windows. There are many more 'social' options on the NET Bible site, but it doesn't have the search capabilities of the STEP Bible site.

Bible Software Reviews

I taught a JTerm course last month on "Technological Tools for Biblical Studies." (Go figure...) One of the requirements was to provide a brief review of a couple Bible software resources, either downloadable or online, including programs for mobile devices. Students were to pick from this list I compiled which you may want to check, which I describe thus:

This list of resources reflects free or low-cost Bible study options that might be recommended to persons who may not have original language training or who do not want to invest in the major Bible software programs like Accordance, BibleWorks, or Logos. 

I set up a course blog where we accumulated all the reviews. Here are direct links to the various reviews:

• E-Sword
• Xiphos
• Online Bible
• BibleZ for Palm Pre
• Scripture 4 All version 2.1
• Blue Letter Bible
• YouVersion
• LaParola 7.13
• Great Treasures in the Scriptures
• OliveTree BibleReader (Palm OS with NET Bible)
• Into the New Testament
• MacSword 2.1
• Cross Word 3.5
• Biblos.com and Biblos.com / Online Mobile Bible
• Crosswire: MacSword and Xiphos
• NET Bible Online
• BibleWorks8
• Bible Explorer 4.0
• The Bible Gateway
• Theophilos
• Online ESV Study Bible

Thanks to my students for giving me permission to share all their work!

Bibloi.NET for the Web and Mobile Devices

Received the following notice today:

Silver Mountain Software is happy to announce the release of Bibloi.NET. Bibloi.NET is a web version of the Analytical Greek New Testament and the Analytical Lexicon. The program can display the AGNT as a regular text or as an interlinear text. There are several different translations and versions (Modern Hebrew NT, TR, and several other languages) which can be interleaved with either the plain or interlinear text. More alternate texts are on the way... Works great with the iPhone and other mobile devices!

Check HERE to see a sample of the text.

Many of you may remember Silver Mountain for its Silver Greek and Hebrew fonts and for its Bible Windows program--now known as Bibloi--which was at one time the premiere program for scholarly, original language work in the OT and NT. Bibloi.NET brings some of that to the web in an online and mobile format. Some things to note:

• It provides access to the Analytical Greek New Testament (AGNT) and Fribergs' Analytical Lexicon. I don't think those are available anywhere else online.
• As you can see in the graphic above, it provides a true interlinear with the Greek text, analysis, lemma, gloss, and translation. I don't know that there is anything exactly like that on the web.
• For now at least, there is the drawback that the ASV is the only English translation available, and the only other versions available are Tagalog, Textus Receptus Greek NT, Modern Hebrew, and the Spanish Reina Valera.
• It costs $49.00 which includes a one time setup fee and a one year subscription to the site.

For comparison, do note what you can do at the NET Bible site, at Biblos, and at the interesting Bible Web App site.

Pradis Discontinued

Zondervan announced in an email I received today:

Zondervan is discontinuing its Pradis® line of software. Technical support will continue until June 1, 2010 . Zondervan content can be found on multiple platforms and across many devices from e-book readers such as the Kindle and Sony Reader, to mobile devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry. In 2010, new software titles will become available for use with Logos Bible Software.

Here's the full news release. (BTW, as part of this deal, if you have $1999.95 sitting around, you can buy 87 Zondervan books on Logos pre-pub. Accordance notes that they have had Zondervan resources already available for some time.)
Can't say that I am surprised that Pradis is closing shop... Pradis sort of occupied a middle ground between the high end products like Accordance, BibleWorks, and Logos and the more popular programs like QuickVerse or WORDsearch/BibleExplorer. (QuickVerse appears to continue to develop the product, but I'm wondering how much longer they will survive too.) The only other Bible software programs designed for non-mobile systems that I think will hang on are the free ones like e-Sword, LaParola, The Sword Project, or OnlineBible. (The latter is something of a misnomer, since you do need to download the program.) Laridian appears to be carving out a specific niche by offering software that runs on all sorts of mobile devices as well as a Windows-based PCs, and it allows you to sync up between your various devices. I have to imagine that it is a struggle for companies delivering software for mobile devices (like Laridian and OliveTree) to keep ahead of the changes and support the variety of platforms, but they are delivering products for an expanding market. Unless we all move to the cloud and do all our Bible computing on the web...

NLT Study Bible

The previous post noted the availability of the ESV Study Bible in a variety of digital formats. It's only fair then (as a commenter noted to that post), to draw attention as well to the NLT Study Bible. Purchase of a hardcopy edition entitles the owner access to the full online version. As Keith Williams from Tyndale House noted:

Anyone can get free access to the complete contents of the NLTSB online for 30 days, and buyers of a print edition get lifetime online access. The initial digital offerings also include Libronix, WordSearch, and Laridian.

If you are going to be at ETS or SBL later this month, stop by the Tyndale booth to get a free code to download the Laridian version.

(I added the links.) Check it out.

ESV Study Bible on Digital Platforms

According to the ESV blog, their new study Bible has been selling extremely well. I don't plan to get it myself, but I like the idea that buying a hardcopy gives you the ability to access it online and save notes, highlighting, etc. What's more, according to a recent announcement:

Crossway is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of the ESV Study Bible on a wide spectrum of digital platforms, including Mac, PC, Windows Mobile, Palm, iPhone, Blackberry, Google Android, and Symbian.To achieve the widest possible digital distribution, Crossway has partnered with the leading digital software providers, including Accordance, Biblesoft, Laridian, Olive Tree, and WORDsearch, to make the ESV Study Bible available with all of its notes, articles, and features.

I'm not enamored with the translation, and the study notes do reflect an acknowledged 'conservative' perspective, but I do commend them for their business model. Crossway has been giving away the text for free on the Internet and encouraging its usage online, but they are demonstrating that even doing so, one can still run a viable and profitable company. With access to the text only (but with the ability to add notes and highlighting), check the ESV online here.
UPDATE: Some have noted that Logos is not on the list of software providers. From reports on the Logos forum, they are working on getting rights for the ESV Study Bible in Libronix format.

Best Resources for Original Language Bible Study

I've been trying to compile a list of resources that I think my seminary students--but it would apply to anyone serious about Bible study--need most if they want to study the Bible using the original languages but whose native language is English.

My assumptions here are that people need a variety of resources to conduct Bible study for preaching, teaching, self-edification, reflection, and devotion. At the seminary where I teach (LTSG), about a year's worth of Greek is required. Hebrew is not required but is encouraged as an elective. I am assuming some facility with Greek, therefore, but I am not assuming that people will be 'fluent' in Hebrew or even Greek. I do assume that with the proper resources they will be able to make use of both. I am also assuming here that English is the primary, native language, and so the secondary resources and translations I highlight are English ones.

Interested in seeing my list? Well, I'm interested in hearing what you think of it. Please note that I am not angling for a theological fight here. You can probably guess from my list that I am some flavor of moderate Protestant (ELCA Lutheran to be precise with a Missouri Synod Lutheran background). That is, I don't think that any of the primary resources I list have any theological bias, but my inclinations are probably indicated by my preference for the NRSV as the 'neutral' English translation with which I make comparisons. Okay, so I am open to suggestions, and I am also hoping for a show of charitableness. (BTW, anyone is welcome to take my list and adapt it to their particular interests. Just give some acknowledgement.)

Here it is: Best Resources for Original Language Bible Study

Bible on a phone

I still count on my Dell Axim x51v handheld to carry around all my Bible resources, but the newer cell phones make access to the Bible on your phone a reality. David Ker, of Lingamish fame, also runs the lingalinga blog where he has been running a series on this topic. Here is the list he has posted so far:

• SMS: The Bible on your phone
• MMS: The Bible on your phone
• mjBookMaker: The Bible on your phone
• MTextReader: A Bible on your phone
• Go Bible: The Bible on your phone
• Also note this link to the NET Bible for Java Cell Phones
• BibleGateway: Lots of Bibles on your phone

Continue to check the lingalinga blog for more posts on this topic. Note that the last link is really just using a phone's web browser to view one of the online sites that carries biblical texts. As Ker indicates, it will help to go through a site like Skweezer to view a site on a phone without all the stuff that will complicate the download and viewing. A site I most often use on my PDA is Google Lite (which allows me to eliminate images altogether). Also check Google PDA and Google Mobile.

If your phone is running Windows Mobile or Palm, you can, of course, run one of the Bible programs that were designed for PDAs using these platforms. (Pocket e-Sword for Pocket PCs is a a great choice, and it is free.) The major players for Bible software in the PDA and now cell phone field are Laridian and OliveTree. Both these companies have been working hard at providing support for a wide variety of phones. Laridian (note the graphic below) is particularly notable for providing integration between the various devices you may use. That is, whether you use the Bible software on your desktop, PDA, or cell phone, you can keep all your notes in sync. For now, they provide synchronization between the Windows Desktop, PocketPC, and iPhone/iPod Touch versions of their software.Finally, since I am on this topic, did you see the little "Mobile Version" icon on the right just below the banner near the top of this page? Click on it to 'really' see how this page would look on your phone. I'm using Mofuse to create the mobile version. It is free, and absolutely all the work of conversion is handled without a problem. As they claim, you can convert your web blog into a mobile version in 5 seconds.