Review of Online Bible Program

by Jan Antonsson on behalf of Tentmaker Ministries and Publications

I have been delighted with the Online Bible Program, Macintosh version. It installed quickly, and within minutes, I was using it easily. The core of this program along with many translations, commentaries, lexicons, dictionaries, etc may be downloaded for free at: http://www.onlinebibleusa.com

They have two commercial versions in both Macintosh and Windows format. Their Classic Version costs $39.95 US dollars which comes on a CD with a 120 page manual, shipping included in the price. The Deluxe Version costs $89.95 US dollars which includes the English translations which demand royalties, that is, the NIV, NASB, NKJV, NLT, and NRSV in CD and includes shipping. There are some other versions which must be unlocked for a fee. For example, the Lamsa Bible may be unlocked for $10.

One of the nice features of this program is that they have some very hard-to-find versions in both their Classic and Deluxe Versions. For example, they have the Emphatic Diaglott, Rotherham’s, Young’s, Weymouth’s New Testament, and Phillip’s New Testament. Some of these translations
contain some radical departures from traditional English translations like the King James Bible. These translations make one study deeper into the actual meaning of the Greek and Hebrew texts.

Five Greek texts and a Hebrew text are also available for original language study. In addition 25 foreign languages are supported, including Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and others.

It is a full-featured program designed for serious bible students. You can display Bible passages and notes in any number of windows, limited only by available memory. So, it’s a simple thing to view numerous translations of the same verse. There’s also a powerful cross reference library. You highlight the word you want to cross reference and the program does the rest. Impressive.

One of the really amazing features is the Bible FKey, which can be used from within any editor or word processor or e-mail program to automatically insert Bible passages directly into the document you’re currently working on without switching applications. You access it with a key stroke and it is an invaluable tool for me to quickly add the Bible verse I want within my writing. That feature allows you to choose which version you want, and how you want it displayed. For me, that’s a great feature, which I use in my e-mail ministry almost daily.

There are also complete search facilities included, so that you can search by word, phrase, multiple words, wild cards, and much more. These searches are very fast. You can also type in the Bible reference you want to search and it displays it instantly in the translation you prefer.

A variety of commentaries are available as well. The standard program includes Barnes, Clarke, Wesley, and Young. The 4 volume International Standard Bible Encyclopedia is also included. In total, the books contained on these CD’s would cost well over $1,000 in print form. There are also maps and pictures. You can also make notes to yourself on any verse which are then stored on your hard disk, which saves you the trouble of looking up past research. It’s all at your fingertips.

I have several other computer Bible programs available to me, and this is by far the best, the easiest and fastest to use, and the best thing is that the Bible FKey makes all of the information available instantly for anything I’m working on.

Contact information:
http://www.onlinebibleusa.com