Reading the Bible: Online Bibles

You probably already knew you could read the Bible online.  In fact, there are any number of sites that allow you to read the Bible, but two stand out above the others: Bible Gateway and YouVersion.  Read on for some of the most compelling features of each site.

Bible Gateway
Bible Gateway is a part of the Gospel Communications network of resources.  Some of the key features include:

• Passage Lookup: Just enter a full or partial Bible verse into the search box and Bible Gateway looks it up and puts the text on the screen.  It supports a range of verses or even just a book and chapter number.  It only returns the verse(s) you specify, but there’s a button to expand the view to the entire chapter.
• Multiple Translations: You can choose from any of the available translations for your search.  After searching, there is a drop-down box that gives you the ability to see that portion of text in another translation.
• Hear the Bible: After searching for a section of scripture, you can click the speaker icon at the top of the results and hear the section of scripture read aloud.  There are a limited number of audio versions available, but most major translations have an audio version.
• Commentary: If there is commentary available on a passage, there will be a speech bubble icon that allows you to view any commentary for the passage that is in the Bible Gateway system.
• Keyword Search: Look for verses based on words in the passage. Great for when you know some of the verse, but can’t think of the entire reference, like maybe where the Bible talks about grace, faith and being saved.
• Topical Index: Search the Bible by Topic. Topics are taken from Nave’s Topical Bible and Torrey’s New Topical Textbook.
• Bible Dictionaries: Not sure what that name means or want more information about what prisons were like in the time of Paul’s stay in one?  Search here for lots of background information about what you read in the Bible.  Entries come from Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary, Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary or Smith’s Bible Names Dictionary.

YouVersion
YouVersion is published by the folks at LifeChurch.tv.  It has a Web 2.0 look and feel to the site and focuses on the community aspect of reading the Bible.  Some of the key features include:

• Passage Lookup:
  
  Type a verse into the search box and YouVersion looks it up for you.  Unlike Bible Gateway, YouVersion always returns the verse in context for easy scrolling to see what comes before and after the verse.
• Keyword Search: The passage lookup box also serves as the Keyword search box.  Here’s our grace, faith and saved search again. Enter the words you are looking for and YouVersion gives you the results.
• Multiple Translations: Click the down arrow next to the translation after doing a search and you’ll be able to switch to another translation.  Much like Bible Gateway, all the major translations are represented.
• Community Content: When you select a verse in YouVersion, the verse turns yellow.  Click the community tab to the right and you’ll find resources that other users felt were applicable to this verse, or their own commentary on it.
• Contribute:
  
  Add your own content for others to share.  Select the verses you’d like to contribute to and click the Add Content button.  From there, you can choose what kind of content you are adding.  Depending on what you add, the interface gives you different fields to fill in.  Mark your content private and only you will see it (in the My Content) tab.  Mark it public and others will be able to see what you wrote about those verses.
• Journal Your Thoughts: Click the My Journal tab and you’ll be able to record your thoughts.  Everything posted to your journal page is accessible only to you, so write away.  This is a good place to track your thoughts as you read through the scriptures.
• YouVersion Mobile: If your cell phone has a data plan, there is a slimmed down version of YouVersion that you can access from the phone.  You can search the Bible, check out the daily readings (which will take you through the Bible in a year) and recent contributions to the system.  In addition, there’s also an iPhone and Blackberry app you can download to your phone.

Each program has their strengths and weaknesses.  I prefer Bible Gateway for linking to small sections of Scripture, but YouVersion’s community content often helps me think about passages in new ways.  What’s your favorite online Bible reader?

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