Store

BIBLE SOFTWARE

Quick Recommendations

Except where you see the Logos logo or another notation, links are to Discount Christian Software.

My personal quick choices

Because I am more interested in the content of the reference materials than anything else, Logos and Zondervan are my favorite companies. Here are the choices I would make if I had a $2,000 budget:

Logos Bible Software I recommend Scholar's Library Silver Edition. When you arive at the Scholar's Library Edition, click "Base Products" in the left column and then click Scholar's Silver Edition. I then recommend these add-ons which you would purchase through Discount Christian Software (total price of Library and add-ons through this site's links at time of writing less than $1400):

Zondervan Bible Study Library (I recommend the Scholar's Edition) with these compatible Pradis add-on work(total price of Library and add-ons through this site's links at time of writing less than $600):

If my budget were $600 or less, I'd go with as much Zondervan as I could afford.

These are the options that excite me, some may prefer entry-level options or state of the art technology options or advanced original language options. I hope I have provided enough information below about other systems to help you find something that meets your needs.

My quick recommendations for other preferences

For Bible beginners: iLumina Gold for Parents and Teachers.

For the basics: Bible Explorer (NAVPRESS) (I recommend the Premium level) for those wanting just the basics in the most user-friendly technology, but also with authoring capabilities.

For a little more than the basics: PC Study Bible (I recommend the Advanced Level) for those wanting little more than the basics plus simple language studies, but also with authoring capabilities and good user-friendliness.

For well-rounded resources: Zondervan Bible Study Library (I Zondervan Scholar's Library recommend the Scholar's Edition) with Zondervan add-ons for those wanting excellent, smoothly-integrated resources built around the NIV (but with other translations included).

For building a complete digital Bible library:
Logos Bible Software I recommend Logos Scholar's Silver Edition with added Libronix resources from other publishers for those wanting a full Bible library. Make sure that you have a good computer with lots of spare memory. After clicking the Logos link and arriving at the Scholar's page, click the "Base Products" in the left column and choose "Scholar's Silver Edition."

For those focused on the original languages: BibleWorks (top of the line), Gramcord (save a little), or Bibloi (integrate with Logos and save more). I will leave the level choice in this category open because I am not competent to judge value-per-dollar on in-depth original language resources.

All of the above recommendations have their merits. For more detail, keep scrolling down the page.

Orientation to Detailed Recommendations

I will consider five categories:

Please understand that Bible study software is published in many formats. For the most part, these formats are not compatible with each other. If you want to use two different formats at the same time, you will simply have to switch back and forth between them. The more formats you have, the more you need to learn the idiosyncrasies of each.

I have listed the upper level of most lines of software because I believe that there is more value per dollar that way, but lower levels are available. If budget is an issue, you can buy in the lower or middle levels and upgrade later as needed.

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE BIBLE FOR BEGINNERS

Tyndale

For practical, non-technical, popular-level help with explaining the Bible, look to iLumina Gold Parents and Teachers edition. This is a popular choice with families and Christian schools. It is probably the best way to get children started on the Bible. Pastors and teachers will also choose it for the ease with which its audience-friendly resources can be copied into a Bible study or sermon presentation. The Parents and Teachers features are designed for homeschooling, but should be helpful additons for many others who work with children and youth and only raise the price $20.00. This resource is geared to the New Living Translation and Life Application Bible.  This is not a substitute for a more thorough Bible study library that mid-level and serious Bible students will need. Most students will want to be able to use formal equivalence translations such as the NASB, ESV, or NRSV or at least the middle-of-the-road NIV in their studies. As delightful as the NLT can be, it simply will not substitute for the more formal translations, and the iLumina’s KJV will not do as the formal alternative. Fortunately, iLumina is affordably priced and need not be your only resource. I would like to encourage iLumina to continue building their multimedia content; this is greatly needed for presentations.

USER-FRIENDLY BASICS

NAVPRESS 

NAVPress has recently become the publisher of Epiphany’s Bible Explorer which leads the way in user-friendly interfaces (Cross format). NAVPress thereby acquired the interface for its new editions of WordSearch and LessonMaker (note: WordSearch 7 is in the Cross format. WordSearch 5, now at close-out prices, is in the STEP format).  One link serves all their base products. There is also a substantial catalogue of add-ons.

Bible Explorer offers an affordable, user-friendly interface that seems to delight its users. Bible Explorer also offers the feature of allowing you to author your own searchable sermons, studies, articles, etc., that can be integrated into your library and exchanged with other authors via a free Website. You can also access free downloads of historic Christian writings in the Cross format. It will not yet do for building a major library like Logos: almost everything available in Bible Explorer is also available in Logos, but Logos has many, many more valuable and more up-to-date resources in addition.

WordSearch 7 is now compatible with Bible Explorer. Although the technology is now great, and there are well-known endorsers of WordSearch, overall I do not find the quality of reference materials I would like to see here. For instance, WordSearch 7 builds libraries around Thompson’s Chain Reference System and the Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible. I believe that both are badly dated and scholarly-inferior systems. For organizing cross-references, I much prefer Zondervan’s up-to-date, scholarly-solid Thematic Reference Bible (available in Zondervan’s Professional and Scholar’s editions). I believe that preachers would be far better off skipping pre-formed outlines and working from up-to-date, practical commentaries such as Zondervan’s NIV Application Commentary. Logos Libronix offers many ways to excel WordSearch in cross-references and sermon helpers.

BIBLESOFT

BibleSoft’s PC Study Bible library comes in five levels; there are also add-ons not included in a collection.  Its resources cannot compare in volume to Libronix nor in quality to Zondervan, but it still offers a good array of basic resources. Like Bible Explorer, PC Study Bible also offers the feature of allowing you to author your own searchable sermons, studies, articles, etc., that can be integrated into your library and exchanged with other authors via a free Website. You can also access free downloads of historic Christian writings in the BibleSoft format. I have not used PC Study Bible and cannot comment on its usability, but it claims ease and speed. It is perhaps a hair behind Bible Explorer in interface technology, but significantly ahead for those doing original language research.

Add-on: Life Application Commentary New Testament, simple explanations and practical applications from the creators of the Life Application Bible. Caution: You must own BibleSoft in order to run this add-on. Life Application Commentary is also available as a NAVPress add-on at a slightly higher price and as a Logos add-on at a much higher price.

BUILDING A WELL-ROUNDED DIGITAL BIBLE LIBRARY

LOGOS (including other companies publishing in the Libronix format)

The person who plans to build an extensive software library that includes many translations, commentaries, dictionaries, sermon resources, and writings of famous Christians both ancient and modern had best buy something with the Libronix  format. Logos originated this format and is the place to start, but publishers such as Nelson, InterVarsity, Baker, Lockman Foundation, AMG, and others prepare

Please remember four things as you shop for Logos products:

  1. Logos Bible Software Buying your Logos Library “Base Product” from the Logos Website will help Christview Ministries receive a significantly larger commission than if you buy it at the same price from one of the other companies with which we have affiliate relationships.
  2. When you click the Logos link, you will arrive at the Scholar’s Library, but can see all six levels of the Library by clicking “Base Products” in the left column. I recommend the Scholar's Silver edition.
  3. The first prices listed for any of the six “Base Products” do not reflect your 25% discount which will show only when you have added the item to your shopping cart. You can always remove the item from your cart after checking the price.
  4. You will also have the option of buying Logos add-on products while at their site. However, Christview Ministries will not receive a commission on any of these add-ons purchased from the Logos site. You will help us support our ministries and this Website  by checking to see if the add-ons you want are available from one of the other companies with which we have affiliate relationships. We list the add-ons that are available through Discount Christian Software.

The six Logos Library levels are:

Logos Bible Software If you have a powerful computer and a budget that will stretch to handle it, I recommend going all the way to the top with the Scholar’s Silver Edition. Don’t let the Scholar’s Silver label scare you away; the NAC and DSB alone justify the added price.

Add-Ons: Christview Ministries receives its commissions for Logos add-ons through Discount Christian Software: Below are some that are available through Discount Christian Software at the time of publishing these reviews. Enter “Logos” in the DCS search box to see the current listings.

Life Application Commentary New Testament, simple explanations and practical applications from the creators of the Life Application Bible. This is also available as a PC Study Bible add-on at a much lower price, but as part of Logos it can be integrated with a much wider range of commentaries, some significantly weightier on the explanation side.   

Anchor Bible Dictionary, a six-volume dictionary with in-depth scholarship ranging from moderate evangelical to liberal mainline, more on the mainline side.

Kittle’s Unabridged Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, a ten-volume set of word studies for the New Testament.  This work is included in three of the six levels of the Logos library (Original Languages, Scholar’s, and Scholar’s Silver). I would recommend that you buy it as part of these packages for  lower cost and for the sake of  all the resources that relate to it. The one-volume TDNT abridgement also included in those packages can serve as an index to make the information in the unabridged TDNT more accessible to the user who is not comfortable with Greek.

Nelson (Logos add-ons, or can function independently)

Word Biblical Commentary 58 of the volumes are in this edition. Word Biblical Commentary Expect updates in the future as more volumes are completed (2 newer ones are already on the 6-volume update to the 54-volume edition). These volumes are usually intermediate level (although a few are easier and a few harder); they do not always translate the original languages in their Comment section, but they supply the author’s original English version in the Translation section and their Explanation section is entirely in English; some volumes make better use of the explanation section than others. They are especially valued for their introductory sections, for their word studies, and sometimes for observations on literary structure. They tend to be moderate evangelical, but there are both conservative evangelical and moderate mainline volumes. Some of the better volumes are Wenham on Genesis, Hartley on Leviticus, Stuart on Hosea-Jonah, Hagner on Matthew, Dunn on Romans, Longenecker on Galatians, O’Brien on Colossians-Philemon,  Mounce on Pastoral Epistles (even though I do not share his conclusions on women’s roles in the church), and Lane on Hebrews.

Preacher’s Commentary (originally Communicator’s Commentary, also published under Mastering the Old Testament and Mastering the New Testament). I have not seen the revisions and updates included in this edition. This is a very readable set based on the NKJV; the authors range from conservative to moderate evangelical. There are a few good commentaries in this set, but too many volumes are by busy preachers who did not do enough homework on the text. Some of the better volumes, all in the Old Testament, are Allen on 1, 2 Chronicles, Williams on Psalms (at the time of publication, the author was beginning his move from Presbyterian to Vineyard, and both past and future show), D. Hubbard on Proverbs and Ecclesiastes-Song of Solomon, Ferguson on Daniel, and Kaiser on Micah-Malachi. There are some additional preacher’s resources on the CD-ROM.

Nelson’s e-Bible in four levels overlaps significantly with the Logos Libraries. On the whole, I think Logos offers the better deal, but e-Bible is inexpensive enough to be purchased as a compatible add-on if you are interested in some of their unique features. Note that the NASB, ESV, and NIV are not available in e-Bible, but are available in Logos.

InterVarsity (Logos add-ons, or can function independently)

The IVP Reference Collection has two levels, both excellent for what they are:

Baker (Logos add-ons, or can function independently)

Baker Digital Reference Library: This is the KJV plus Evangelical Baker Digital Reference Library Commentary on the Bible (print version renamed Baker Commentary on the Bible), Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Topical Analysis of the Bible, selections from Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, selections from 20th Century Dictionary of Religious Knowledge, Dictionary of Women in Church History, Handbook of Evangelical Theologians, an apologetics collections and a smattering of other resources.

R. C. Sproul Digital Library, seventeen Sproul books with 8 more for available for individual unlocking, chapters contributed to other books, magazine articles, audio and video messages, etc. on top of KJV and the Evangelical Commentary on the Bible and the Evangelical Dictionary on Biblical Theology.

Norman L. Geisler Apologetics Library, a dozen Geisler books, including the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics which he edited, on top of the KJV. 

Galaxie (Logos add-on, or can function independently)

Theological Journal Library 5 includes a huge collection of top-notch evangelical scholarly articles, all integrated into the Libronix search and cross-reference system.

Church History Collection 2 includes The Church Fathers (38 volumes), Calvin’s Commentaries (44 volumes), Calvin’s Institutes, Schaff’s History of the Christian Church (8 Volumes), Complete Works of Josephus, Alfred Edersheim’s: Bible History of the Old Testament (7 Volumes), Sketches in Jewish Social Life, The Temple, It’s Ministry and Services, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. (Logos offers its own versions of some of these, but these are at bargain prices)

Lockman (Logos add-on, or can function independently)

NAS Electronic Bible Library includes NASB, AMP ASV, KJV, NAS Exhaustive Concordance with Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries,  NAS Topical Index, and a small collection of older reference materials. Most of this library is available in all the Logos Libraries, but not in any of Nelson’s e-Bible levels. The one major exception is the Amplified Bible which is in none of the other Libronix Libraries (but is available in Zondervan and PC Study Bible formats).

AMG (Logos add-on, or can function independently)

Bible Essentials 2 contains the essential elements of Spiros Zodhiates’ Word Study Bible system to help students who have not mastered Hebrew and Greek acquire basic information about the meaning of the words and their syntax.  The system is based on the KJV and Strong’s, but includes the NASB too. Concordances, dictionaries, a variety of sermon resources, and more are included. It is compatible with the Logos Library. Note that the Word Study Bible is included in the Logos Scholar’s silver edition.

This concludes Logos compatible products, except for Bibloi 8 that appears in the "Original Languages Specialists" section farther below.

ZONDERVAN

The person, who does not want an infinitely expanding electronic library, but who would be satisfied with a fairly comprehensive and gradually growing collection of high quality basic reference material that coordinates smoothly, cannot do better than to look at Zondervan software with its Pradis format.  Some may prefer the Zondervan system because it does not consume as much memory as Logos and is better integrated. I find Zondervan software easy to use; although it is not quite up to the technology of Bible Explorer or PC Study Bible, its better reference materials tip the balance in its favor.

Zondervan Bible Study Library has four levels, all based on the NIV, but including other translations:

NIV Application Commentary on the New Testament. Among NIV Application Commentary on the New Testament commentary series, NIVAC is the best overall choice for the busy pastor, Bible teacher, and beginning student. It divides each section of the text into Original Meaning, Bridging Contexts, and Contemporary Significance; it will educate the user not only one the specific texts, but on principles of interpreting biblical texts. All the authors in the NT volumes are excellent scholars, solidly evangelical with diversity on issues such as women’s roles (divided between egalitarian and complementarian) and Paul’s message (divided among traditional Protestant view, “new perspective,” and various moderating positions). Every volume qualifies for my “Strongly Recommended” label. I cannot think of another series of commentaries for which that would be true. Those earning my Top Choice labels (limited to 2 or 3 commentaries on each book) are Wilkins on Matthew, Garland on Mark and Colossians/Philemon, Burge on John and Letter of John, Snodgrass on Ephesians, Thielman on Philippians, Holmes on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Moo on 2 Peter and Jude. The rest are not far behind: Bock on Luke and Moo on Romans beat out their NIVAC volumes with more detailed works of their own.  The electronic format should be a major advantage, for teachers especially so.

Expositor’s Bible Commentary. This 12-volume commentaExpositor's Bible Commentaryry includes some great commentaries on some books, some passable commentaries on others, and duds on a few. Replacement volumes are expected to emerge soon, but most of these older volumes will still be useful. The set’s 2-volume abridgment (NIV Bible Commentary) is included in all levels of the Zondervan Bible Study Library, but the abridgement leaves out a great deal of useful information. Some of the better commentaries in the set are: Sailhamer on Genesis, Kaiser on Exodus, R. Allen on Numbers, Youngblood on 1, 2 Samuel, Smick on Job, VanGemeren on Psalms, Grogan on Isaiah, Carson on Matthew, Longenecker on Acts, M. Harris on 2 Corinthians, and A. Johnson on Revelation. This is the bargain way to buy the set.

New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. This is New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology my favorite collection of New Testament word studies. It integrates nicely with the whole Zondervan Library, improving the ease of searching for original language information.

 

New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology anNew International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesisd Exegesis. This collection of Old Testament word studies is even better than the New Testament collection. It integrates nicely with the whole Zondervan Library, improving the ease of searching for original language information.

Basics of Greek Grammar. The introductory text is available in the Professional and Scholar’s editions of the Library as well as in this stand-alone version.

Basics of Greek Workbook. The workbook goes with the textbook.

Note: The TNIV translation in Pradis format is available directly from Zondervan as an affordable add-on or stand-alone product; it can be downloaded or bought on CD-ROM.

QUICKVERSE

QuickVerse offers the main alternative to Libronix for building a giant library. There is much overlap between the resources available on the two systems. Libronix has many valuable resources not in QuickVerse, especially for those wanting to do advanced work. QuickVerse has a very few valuable resources not in Logos. You will spend more on Libronix, but you get more there. QuickVerse is the last player standing on the STEP format.  I have had occasion to make use of the STEP format with a former QuickVerse Internet subscription service (no longer available), with a WordSearch platform for my first ESV CD-ROM (ESV now ships with the Libronix platform, and WordSearch is abandoning the STEP format it helped create), and as an option with pre-Pradis Zondervan products. I have found STEP inferior to Libronix and Pradis, and I believe that it also would prove inferior to the formats being used by Bible Explorer (which is being adopted by WordSearch) and PC Study Bible.   

QuickVerse offers five levels of libraries. Although this is the best selling Bible software and has many resources, it is hard for me to find a reason to choose it over Logos Libronix. Both Logos and QuickVerse include some dated and lesser quality works, but Logos has far more high quality, up-to-date works. At one time in the past, QuickVerse had an  Internet subscription service to a large number of uniquely available contemporary resources, but the subscription service is no longer available and the number of available high-quality contemporary resources is much smaller.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES SPECIALISTS

Although the Logos Libronix and Zondervan Pradis formats offer significant resources in the original languages, some pastors, scholars, and students skilled in Greek and Hebrew will want to do intensive language or translation work at a level higher than is possible with Logos, Zondervan, or QuickVerse, or they would like for their searches to proceed faster than with the plodding giants from Logos or QuickVerse. If operating in Windows, they have three choices: BibleWorks, Gramcord, and Bibloi. I have not used either system, and so I can only report what I have heard from others. The learning curve in phrasing complex searches properly seems to be the biggest issue in using these high-powered, narrowly-focused programs.

BibleWorks is the premier original languages program for Windows. According to most sources I have seen, it outperforms its competition, especially when performing complex searches. It has an embarrassment of riches in modern non-English Bible translations that most users will simply ignore, but, if you need them, they are there.

Gramcord is a bit less expensive and a bit less complex and comprehensive than BibleWorks, but it still does most of what students, pastors, and scholars want it to do.  It is produced by a non-profit corporation founded and run by scholars for the sake of scholarly concerns.

Bibloi (formerly Bible Windows) is preferred by some for its economy and ease of use. Bibloi 8 is able to import resources from Libronix and from the Internet into its search format, which it claims to be superior to the Libronix search format.

Other options

The following link is for Christian Book Distributors because I believe that it offers better pricing and service on this product:

New Interpreter's Bible is a 13-volume set of commentaries with an excellent design. I would estimate its list of scholar-authors to be about 60% moderate mainline with 10-15 % at least slightly more conservative than that label and 25-30% more liberal than that label; a few are off the deep end to the left, while I recognize only two who would be called conservative evangelicals (defintiely not off the deep end to the right). The set is not compatible with other software programs listed above. I believe that it is not possible to load the data base to your harddrive, but you must use the individual compact disks to access the data. Still, it is the main game in town for mainline students of the Bible. There are some excellent individual representatives of their craft included in the mix.

Do I really want to build my library around software?

There are pro’s and con’s to relying on software in building your Bible library:

Pro’s:

The software is usually less expensive than the print versions of included resources, often substantially so.

Most software organizes your material so that the portions of your collection that are related to a particular verse, word, or topic can be almost instantly at your fingertips.

The more detailed search capabilities help to speed your study further and to enable you to accomplish things you could not do with a whole room full of books.

Those who lack Hebrew and Greek skills can nonetheless learn much about the meanings and uses of the original words, while those who have Hebrew and Greek skills can refine their study in ways that they would never get around to doing with slower methods.

Software can, for those who are self-disciplined, save shelf space and desk clutter.

Provided that you follow the copyright guidelines, some things can be copied and pasted right into your study notes when you are preparing for a Bible class or a sermon. It may be possible to use some programs directly with your multimedia presentation via a projection system.

Con’s:

There are several software formats used by different programs. They are generally not compatible with each other.

Software technology can become obsolete (although this usually evolves in such a way that it can be updated at reasonable costs).  Just a bit of history: as companies first bought into and then bailed out of the STEP system, which was supposed to provide compatibility, they did not always take care of upgrading at reasonable cost the customers who had bought STEP products, especially for the products that customers bought from competitors, but sometimes even for their own products.

For most people, a book is more friendly for prolonged reading than a computer screen.

Bible software products tend to boost the number of resources they claim to offer by including badly dated or otherwise inferior material that does not require the publisher to pay royalties. The lower the price, the more likely the product is to offer primarily the spiritual equivalent of day-old junk food.

Conclusion

Should you have Bible software? The simple answer is, "Yes."

I would not be without Bible software. I often find information via software that I simply would not have time, money, or expertise to find by conventional means.

The only question is, "How far do you want to go with it?" There is a level that is right for you. I hope I have helped you find it.

Still Looking?

If you do not yet find specific links to the product you want, you may click on the company names below and purchase directly from them.