We’re all familiar with reading a bible. Whether its hard cover or soft cover, we can all relate to the feeling of holding it in our hands and turning the thin delicate pages. Although reading a paper copy of the Scriptures is enjoyable, the bible is also available to read on your computer, smart phone or tablet reader. Let me discuss the benefits of reading the bible in an electronic format.
How often have any of the following situations happened to you:
- You remember a few words of a passage, but don’t remember the book, chapter or verse?
- You want to look up all verses that contain a specific word?
- You found something inspirational and want to share it with friends or family?
- You find the print too small to read in the paper bible?
- You want to compare a passage between two versions of the bible?
For all of these points, an electronic copy of the bible is a perfect solutions. One of the biggest benefits of an electronic copy of the bible is the ability to quickly search for text. Most smart phone or tablet apps have a built in search feature where the user can type in a word or phrase and instantly have all matches appear. This is a very powerful search tool that is not available in a paper copy (or as fast even if the paper copy has a word index).
Lets say you’re in bible study and you need to quickly find a passage to read to the group. Not many of us can simply crack open the bible and land in the correct book, never mind the correct chapter and verse. The electronic bible allows users to select the book, chapter and verse to read and instantly takes you there.
Suppose you are reading the bible for your devotions and you come across scripture that you want to share with a friend. Most apps have a share feature, and copying & pasting the text and link into an email is far faster than any other way to share a verse from a paper copy of the bible.
One other good point to reading an electronic copy of the bible is the ability to change the font size. Larger print is much easier to read and increasing the font size can make reading more enjoyable and meaningful.
Electronic bibles are available in many versions. Finding a passage then switching between versions can happen at the touch of a button.
One final benefit of an electronic bible is portability. A bible app can contain an entire bookshelf’s volume of different bible versions, and the app fits onto your portable electronic device, so you can read from virtually anywhere. Many people don’t leave home without their mobile phone, and sitting in church or bible class (assuming the ringer is off of course) and reading passages from your phone is a convenient way follow along with the Scripture readings.
Now that you see many of the benefits of an electronic copy of the bible, lets discuss some options.
My favourite bible app is from YouVersion, and is available on iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, Palsm, Kindle, Windows Phone and on mobile browsers. This app has a big bonus of the option of having the text read to you. This means you can set the app up to read passages to you while you’re driving, exercising, cooking, or if you just want to relax and listen. It also allows you to make bookmarks, reading plans, and your own notes. Its free, easy to use and worth checking out.
If you’re on a computer or laptop, check out Bible.com. This site is under the YouVersion fold and offers the features of YouVersion such as reading the text aloud, changes in font size and changes in version.
If you haven’t yet read an electronic version of the bible, I highly recommend trying it out. If you have tried one, let us know your thoughts on our Facebook page.
