Olivetree Bible Software for iPhone
YouVersion Bible App: Free on iTunes
Since purchasing my iPhone in 2007, I’ve been using the Bible App from YouVersion any time I want to read a passage. That application has come in very handy, and has increased the amount of scripture I read. In fact, I’ve read through the entire New Testament four times in the last year, and much of that was done on my iPhone with this app. With 19 different translations at my fingertips from YouVersion, I’m able to pick up something new every time I read it. The main downside to this YouVersion app is that a connection to the Internet is required in order to use it, as it loads content from YouVersion’s server. In other words: I can’t read the Bible using this app if I’m, say, leaving on a jet plane.
When my friend David Louis Harter purchased an iPhone just weeks ago, I knew two things would happen for sure: (1) I knew I’d soon be seeing interesting iPhone photos produced by David, and (2) I knew he’d diligently bring new iPhone apps and features to my attention. I wasn’t disappointed. One of the first apps David recommended was the BibleReader for iPhone from Olivetree software.
A Partial View of my BibleReader Library - Click to Enlarge
If you’re an iPhone user, I can’t recommend this software highly enough. Be sure to click to enlarge the screenshots I’m posting to check out what you’re missing. Olivetree has brought a lot more than the Bible to this free application. At my fingertips is Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, various concordances and study guides, the complete works of Flavius Josephus, the Confessions of St. Augustine, books by the likes of Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, John Piper, John Calvin, and a lot more. Many of these books are completely free! Just about any translastion of the Bible can be loaded into BibleReader, some free, some for a fee.
Free items for Olivetree BibleReader - Click to Enlarge
AND NO INTERNET CONNECTION IS REQUIRED TO READ THEM! The Bible, the books… all are downloaded to your iPhone and available at any time.
Navigating scripture is easy: after picking the translation you’d like to read from your library, click the “Verse” button on the top right side of the screen, simply select the Book you wish, followed by the Chapter, and then the Verse. It couldn’t be easier, and is much faster than flipping through the pages of a printed Bible.
I am particularly fond of this software’s split screen features (I’ll post screenshots below to show examples). I can have two translations open at the same time, comparing, for example, the text of Today’s New International Version with that of the King James Version. OR perhaps I’ll have a passage of scripture in one window, and commentary notes for it open in the other… or a concordance… or… or… or… It’s nifty, I tell ya! And flipping the screen sideways changes to a landscape view (see examples below). The OliveTree Blog features “how-to” videos that explain everything for even the mentally slowest amongst us (which explains why I spent a good part of my morning watching said videos).
Since I never go anywhere without my phone, this software means I have multiple translations of the Bible, and related books, available in my pocket at all times.
Or at least until my battery dies…
DOWNLOAD BIBLEREADER FREE – CLICK HERE
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Split Screen Views
It's very easy to select book, chapter, and verse
