“The Word” Bible software

— Posted inBible, book review, Review, Software — 2 min read

I’d like to make everyone aware of new free Bible software. The Word is totally free, uses few computer resources, so that even older computers should be able to run it, and is a delight in terms of functionality, design and aesthetics.

I’ve been searching for such a program for a long time. I have Logos, which while being very powerful and offering many resources, is not user-friendly, uses a lot of computer resources, and is expensive. For in-depth study, I will still use it.

TW is young, and at this point its resource base is small. But this program is so well thought out, and so visually appealing, that it can’t help but grow in popularity and available resources. And its author actively engages with the user base on a continuing basis. For normal reading and study I am switching over to it.

There are other free Bible programs available. They are good, and some have a fairly sizable resource base. But none of them in my experience approaches the excellence of The Word. Maybe when I’ve used this program for a while I’ll do a review of it here.

I have no connection to The Word or its author. I’m just trying to pass on something that I think can help a lot of people in their study of God’s word.

There’s a portable flash drive edition available as well, also free.

Hint: click on this blog’s ‘bible software” tag in the sidebar for all articles relating to this program and its modules.

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  1. Thanks, I’m downloading it right now and I’ll let you know how it turns out.
    I found BibleTools to be good but there is no place for notes.
    Thanks for sharing.
    blessings
    d

    1. Great. I put it on a friends machine last night, and today she asked if another friend could use it as well. I absolutely love this prog, and am learning of hidden functions all the time. Pressing “s” toggles the Strong’s numbers in KJV. F8 toggles the Bible tree pane, for more Search room. Very feature-rich.

      Make sure you add modules for AKJV, ESV, and NET – all free. Also, the Grusik commentary is fantastic: http://www.esnips.com/nsdoc/b5340936-9709-475a-b9b9-22d8d6273702/?action=forceDL. It has to be converted using the utility from The Word’s site.

      bb,
      p.

  2. Hi
    I just took a look at it and I feel a bit overwhelmed – the screen is so crowded. There are 9 panes on the screen and it’s rather confusing to me. I like things very simple; I’ll give it a chance….also hesitant to download any more modules if it means more panes opening up. Thanks.
    blessings
    d

    1. If I can answer any questions I will try. I see five panes in my setup. F8 killed the Bible tree, leaving search, the Bible pane (if you have Compare checked you’ll get several subpanes, one for each Bible version. Just click on a particular version to simplify this pane), and the commentaries and notes panes, each with a navigation tree.

      You can go to the screenshots at the site – http://www.theword.gr/index.php?screenshots&l=english – and look at the possibilities. Simply hovering over each thumbnail explains what’s going on, and some of the layouts are very simple.

    2. Wow – just go to the View menu / Layouts / Predefined Layouts, and choose Beginner, and you’ll get Simple. Or better, chose the next step up, Novice, to get the Search function. What an amazing program!

  3. Slowly getting a handle on the Word; just can’t seem to get my own notes though; I save them but can’t recall them. O well, slowly I will. I thought I had seen ‘Tutor’ and one point but can’t find it anymore. If you know how to recall it, I’d appreicate your assistance. Thanks.

    btw: The new format of your site is very very nice. The blue color and picture is simply gorgeous … very warm and welcoming.

    blessings
    d

    1. Couple of questions:

      – did you see the ability to use simplified Views? This is a great way to start, or a great way to read devotionally, without the study tools baggage.

      – you’re making your own notes in the “myVerseNotes”, “mySubjectNotes”, “myModule” or via the “File menu/New Module” command? If so, they should auto-save. Make sure you click on the verse # in the tree pane of the reader, because the default text will erroneously read “there are no notes for …” until you do.

      Or if it’s a question of finding your note file when you reopen the prog, that’s a dif problem that’s pretty easily solved by organizing the modules and then speccing which type of module(s) you want a particular reader pane to show.

      That said, I did have a problem losing the custom background colors I set for two readers, but that only happened once.

      – yes, there was a tutor online that I can’t find now. A new one is being worked on; no ETA that I know of.

      – I’m still loading modules into this thing, and I am astounded by its power. I have a search window, Bible window, and three readers. In fact, I’ll post a pic:

      click on the icon, then click on the big X in the lower right to get the full pic.

      Glad you like the theme. I made the switch unplanned, at the drop of a hat, and thought it was a wonderful change.

      Let me know if I can be more help. I think I discovered even more modules.
      p.

    1. Logos has the most highly developed library of resources – all at a price, of course. I found it complicated to deal with, so I went to theWord. Of course, once commercial modules are made for theWord they won’t be free either, but one can do a lot of study with free resources, and we’ll see what the commercial price structure will be. Somewhere in one of my posts on theWord I have a link to an excellent series of reviews on Bible software. Just click on the Bible Software tag to pull them all up.

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