Bible Software Reviews
Type of Software: Freemium (Almost all resources are free, but some are premium and can be purchased)
Disclaimer: I am basing this review off the free version of this Bible software. I have not paid for any of the features I will show you or evaluate in this review. But there are resources available for pay and download. I will mention those resources.
Any links in this review may be affiliate links. This means that when you click on them, anything you purchase may give me a small percentage of money. This will not change the amount of money you pay. Any proceeds I received from affiliate links help to pay for this website and its services.
Introduction
E-Sword is a very accessible Bible software that is easy to use and can give you is and resources that help you study the Bible with expertise. I used it in Bible College before I picked up Logos. It can reveal every bit of Scripture other Bible softwares can.
Because E-Sword is a mostly free Bible software, you can achieve the Bible study for a fraction of the cost. It is a great resource for that in Bible study. Anyone can get it and learn how to use it with excellence. Let’s get into the details of what E-Sword can do for you. You can use e-sword to do Bible studies and dig deeper into the Bible.
Availability
You can get E-Sword and accompanying resources from its website on the downloads page. You can also download resources from inside E-Sword under the Download menu option. E-Sword lets you know what resources are free and what resources must be paid for.
E-Sword is also available on Mac, Android devices, and iPhone and iPad portable devices. You can get free books that fit all the categories of study mentioned below in the Resources with a free sign up to Biblesupport.com. Just search for what you’re looking for or do what I do and go through all the books available one by one. I know. I have problems.
User Interface
The user interface is easy to operate. The designers have kept the program from becoming too bulky or unmanageable. Each pane has the same icons and features. Every toolbar has tooltips to help you know what it is until you get used to the user interface.
In the Bible pane, you can either choose the list of books, chapters, and verses from the left or you can put in your Scripture reference right above this list. I find the verse find her cumbersome when you can just type in the reference you are looking for. Some people like this feature and others just hide it.
All your available resources are in tabs at the top of each pane. They are prearranged according to the actual file name enough that corner. The problem is that it doesn’t appear that way when you look at the tabs. There are programs to allow you to arrange your tabs whatever way you wish.
You have the ability via the toolbar in each pane to search the resource or what’s on the page, split the window, move between previous and next chapters, and mark references. Each toolbar varies according to the type of resource (Bible, dictionary, commentary).
The top bar of the program is intuitive and has tips if you don’t know what one of the icons does. The best part about the user interface is that if you close something more think you messed it up there’s always a way to get it back. You can use the program menu to get to anything that is visible in the user interface.
Tools
One tab on the Bibles pane titled “Compare” allows you to compare all your translations on one verse. There is also a “Parallels” tab in the Bibles pane that allows you to compare eight translations on a single chapter of the Bible chosen on the left side.
The search function allows you some fairly detailed searching. For a free software, it’s a very good search engine. It can carry out specific searches if you know the proper syntax. It is easy to learn. It lacks an extremely sophisticated searching method.
You can compare Bible translations (up to 8 at a time). You can choose which translations you compare. This is a nice feature of the software. You can also compare parallel passages. Both the compare and parallel tabs are in the Bible tabs.
There’s an editor for taking notes on your studies if you wish. You can print documents with ease. The program has Strong’s and Scripture tooltips, a graphics viewer for pictures and maps, and the ability to listen to audio sermons.
One of my favorite features is the Reference Library. It’s a simple window that opens up and allows you to look at all your books and devotionals. Since you can download books and devotionals from Biblesupport.com, the possibilities are endless.
Resources (Books)
E-Sword has five types of resources: Bible translations, dictionaries, commentaries, books, and devotionals. The Bible pane gives you several Bible translations that come with the program. You can get many more from Biblesupport.com.
Dictionaries can be anything from Bible dictionaries to English dictionaries. All of them can be useful depending on what you are studying. As with all of the resources, you can get more dictionaries than come in the free software at Biblesupport.com.
There’s a commentaries pane that allows you to peruse commentaries that go with the Bible. They follow wherever you are in the Bible text. You can get more commentaries than you are given in the free version but you can get more at Biblesupport.com.
You can access books and devotionals in the Reference Library. Books and devotionals can be from virtually anyone about anything concerning the Bible. There’s a great wealth of these Reference Library resources at Biblesupport.com.
Accessibility
One of the only features available for those who have low vision or other accessibility needs is the ability to magnify the text on the Bible, Dictionary, and Commentary windowpanes. The only problem is that you can only magnify at once. If you hit the magnifier icon again it returns to the smaller text.
The most recent update as of this review (Version 13) e-sword has introduced a new feature of listening to the text of whatever you are reading. It is only available for certain books in the current version. You will know if something is audible if it has a black play triangle button below the resources on the window pane toolbar.
Support
You can find many helpful videos on YouTube to help you learn the user interface and how to best use the resources and tools in E-Sword. There are also helpful videos on E-Sword’s website. You can also find excellent and helpful YouTube videos. Just search for E-Sword and whatever you are specifically needing assistance with.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The greatest strength for E-Sword is that it is free. It has a lot of resources and you can add many more. The user interface is easy to navigate.-Some resources I would have to pay for in Logos Bible Software that were free in this program. That alone gives me reason to keep it around and use it alongside my normal Bible software.
E- Sword is not without its flaws. The biggest one is that because most of the resources are free they are either public domain or much older scholarship. This could lead you to the wrong conclusions or postulate a view no longer held about a passage or other information. As long as you keep that in mind it is not that much of a drawback.
I would use the software along other Bible resources, software, and study tools online. Like any Bible software it is not perfect and it has its uses. Depending on how many resources you have your tabbed resources can take up much of the space allotted for each pane. I am surprised they have not found a way to minimize your tabs if you wish.
Final Thoughts
All in all, E-Sword is a valuable and useful Bible study tool. I recommend it to anyone who wants to study the Bible without getting caught up in complicated user interfaces or paying for premium resources. Everything the software offers is useful for deeper study of God’s Word. I recommend you download the software and wade around in its features and resources to see if it fits your Bible study needs. Once you start customizing it with the resources you find useful and enjoy using no one can be critical of it. Grab a copy and check it out today!
Check out my review of other Bible software
