Bible Study Resources on the Internet

(compiled by R.A. Hart, updated 4/15/2006)
Free Bible Software

e-Sword by Rick Meyers www.e-sword.net

Features:
• A great interface where you can see the Bible, a commentary, and dictionary all at once
• The interface also allows you to maximize the Bible, commentary or dictionary
• A Sidebar list of Bible books to find any passage quickly - or type in the reference
• Ten bookmarks you can set to frequently used passages
• Topic notes -- pick a topic in the Bible and write your own notes about it
• Verse notes -- write your own commentary
• Compare all translations that you have at once for a single verse
• Parallel Bible function to compare up to 4 translations at once for an entire chapter
• Strong's Numbers for the KJV and NASB (NASB add-on is $20 and worth it)
• Strong's definitions pop up as ToolTips! Just hover your mouse over the number and it appears
• Powerful search utility for Bible, dictionaries, and commentary
• Macros for using with Microsoft Word (free add-on)
• Easy to copy and print verses with customizable format

Resources (most are free add-ons) :
• Some contemporary translations -
• The Amplified Bible - $20 add-on
• ESV (English Standard Version) - FREE
• HSCB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) - $9.99 add-on
• The Message paraphrase by Eugene Peterson - $9.99 add-on
• NET (New English Translation, www.bible.org )
• CEV (Contemporary English Version)
• TEV (Today's English Version - Good News Bible)
• NASB (New American Standard - $20 licensing cost; includes NAS77 original, 1995 updated and NAS concordance keyed to Strong's Numbers)
• NKJV (New King James Version) - $14.99 add-on
• NLT (New Living Translation) - $14.99 add-on
• Greek New Testament and Hebrew Old Testament texts available
• Bibles available in Chinese, Dutch, French, German (Luther Bible), Indonesian, Spanish, Latin (Vulgate), Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, and Ukrainian
• *Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words - * Now a pay for add-on. Online version available here: www.mf.no/bibel/vines.html
• Thayer's Greek Lexicon
• Brown, Driver, and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
• Torrey's Topical Textbook
• Nave's Topical Bible
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (this is also availiable online-see below)
• The Treasury of David - Charles Spurgeon's commentary on the Psalms
• Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary - most free Bible software includes this -- other commentaries available include Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary, John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible and Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary
• Works of Josephus: The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews
• Maps by American Bible Society and Son Light Publishers. These include Bible-era maps with modern day maps overlaid.

Also some limitations:
• Not as many other resources (i.e. books -- see others below for other resources)
• No NIV, NLT, etc. other common translations available for download because of copyright restrictions -- (Online Bible has some available - at a cost, most are available to access online for free-- see below)
• You must type in references a certain way, using the first 3 characters of the book name: John 1:1 is "Joh 1:1" NOT "Jn 1:1" or "John 1:1"
• Can only search one Bible version at a time
• Limited to viewing one chapter at a time

Here are some others you may want to check out (perhaps later I'll review them):

• *Theophilos: www.theophilos.sk - *NOTE: Most resources are no longer free for Theophilos and I can no longer recommend it as a FREE Bible study program.
• Online Bible: www.onlinebible.net - Not as easy to learn or use as e-Sword but has some unique resources, including books from Answers in Genesis ( www.answersingenesis.org )
• The SWORD Project: www.crosswire.org - Not as many resources as e-Sword or Online Bible - also has a Linux version available

The Bible Online
Bible Gateway: www.biblegateway.com
PLUS: This site includes the following English translations: Amplified, CEV, ESV, HCSB, KJV, NASB, NIV, NIrV, NLT, NKJV, The Message
PLUS: Can search any words, all words, or phrase
NOTE: Search is truncated if it returns "too many" results
PLUS: can compare some or all translations of the same passage
NOTE: compare is not side-by-side like parallel Bible, but one after another
PLUS: cross references available (but only for NASB)
NOTE: extreme footnotes sometimes get in the way of the text (NASB)

Blue Letter Bible: www.blueletterbible.org
PLUS: Includes the following translations: KJV, NLT, NASB, NKJV, Hebrew (OT), Greek (NT)
NOTE: The Blue Letter Bible uses the KJV for searches and is the main translation used. Other versions are accessible only after finding the KJV text.
NOTE: Limited to viewing one chapter at a time.
PLUS : Includes audio for KJV, NKJV, NLT
PLUS: Includes a good number of charts to aid Bible Study (found on the Study Tools page).
PLUS: Will search five (5) dictionaries and Subject Guide at once including Vine's, Torrey's, Nave's, Easton's, Hitchcock's
NOTE: You must select a dictonary entry from a list instead of typing in a search bar
PLUS: Includes the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (cross-references - also available for e-Sword ).

Crosswalk Bible Study: bible.crosswalk.com
PLUS: Includes the following translations: NASB, KJV, NKJV, NLT, RSV, TEV, NCV, WEB

Study Bible Forum: www.studybibleforum.com This site is by the Lockman Foundation, publishers of the NASB and Amplified Bible
PLUS: Includes the following translations: NASB, Amplified Bible
PLUS: Ask and answer questions relating to certain passages, any book of the Bible, OT in general, NT in general, or Bible in general PLUS: Footnotes and cross references available
PLUS: Greek Lexicon available
NOTE: You must sign up for a free account to ask and answer questions

StudyLight: www.studylight.org

World Wide Study Bible: www.ccel.org/wwsb
PLUS: This site pools resources from around the world - almost inexhaustible
NOTE: Recent, copywrited works are not included in the WWSB

Other Translations of the Bible available online:

• Today's New International Version (TNIV)
• The New Testament in Modern English, by J.B. Phillips (PHILLIPS)
• The New English Translation (NET)
• The Evidence Bible (you need Adobe Acrobat ) - The Evidence Bible uses an easy KJV and has the answers to the 100 most asked questions and objections to the Christian Faith - Answers from the Evidence Bible

Other Resources

• Living Waters Publications www.livingwaters.com - Ray Comfort's evangelism site. You absolutely MUST listen to Hell's Best Kept Secret. Learn how to witness the biblical way! True and False Conversion is also a MUST listen.
• Grace to You www.gty.org - This is Dr. John MacArthur's radio broadcast ministry. His expository, verse by verse preaching is a must listen. Message transcripts and study guides are also available.
• Biblical Studies Foundation www.bible.org - Contains a wealth of Bible Studies - searchable and organized by Bible book or topic Also check out the Questions and Answers document
• Answers in Genesis www.answersingenesis.org - AiG is the best place to go for Biblical Creation resources. Their motto: " Upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse!"
• Through the Bible with Les Feldick www.lesfeldick.org - I found Les one morning on channel 40 teaching Genesis 1 and then found his web site. He has many lessons available to download.
• Christian Classics Ethereal Library www.ccel.org - CCEL has multitudes of books, articles, essays, Bible studies which are part of the public domain. This site is HUGE! Home of the World Wide Study Bible (see above)
• Probe Ministries www.probe.org - Probe has a daily radio program (5 minutes) that explores God's Truth. All articles are posted and are free to view/download/print.
• Christian Answers.net www.christiananswers.net - Answers to many of your questions about Christianity and the Bible
• Reasoning from the Scriptures www.ronrhodes.org - Dr. Ron Rhodes was mentored by the late Dr. Walter Martin and has done extensive research on cults and other false religions.
• Radio Bible Class www.rbc.net - RBC and DHP (Discovery House Publishers) put out the "Our Daily Bread" devotional.
• Radio School of the Bible - Moody Bible Institute www.moody.edu/ED/XS/RadioSchooloftheBible.htm - Radio School of the Bible is a 15-minute daily radio program through MBI's External Studies. Notes are available to download and print.