‘Bible App’, powered by You Version. A fantastic* App!

I just want to quickly sing the praises of an iPhone App that I have consistently gone back to time and time again: You Version’s Bible App.

With an unbeatable price tag of zilch (it’s free!), it really is, in my opinion, the best Bible App available for the iPhone. It’s gone through multiple updates, and has gotten better with time: more versions, more options, more languages, and lately, even downloadable, offline editions of the Bible. The sheer number of versions supported is staggering – 16 versions in English alone (and all of the ones I personally use on a regular basis such as New International Version [NIV], New Living Translation [NLT], The Message [MSG] and English Standard Version [ESV]).

My personal opinion is that the contrast setting – a black background with white text – works best. I also find the daily ‘reading plan’ (a daily reading plan to read the Bible in a year) and ‘bookmarks’ (save your favourite verses) tabs to be really useful.

* Are there any downsides? Only a few…

• You need an internet connection to view some versions (but not all – a recent update enabled several versions to be downloadable for offline reading, such as the New American Standard [ASV], New Century [NCV] and New King James [NKJV])
• No koine Greek support yet – this would be the icing on the cake for me, especially if it included accents 🙂
• A fantastic feature is the ability to email a verse you are reading to a friend (or yourself). I find this really useful. However, what you cannot do is email more than one verse at a time which is a bit annoying.
• People think you are sending a cheeky text when you whop it out in church!

The Features

• The whole Bible is at your fingertips—just tap around the Bible App and browse with ease.
• Take your pick from 19 different translations of the Bible (including Spanish, German, French, Swedish, and Chinese versions) and make it your default.
• Search the entire Bible for a word, phrase, or verse, and you’ll get your results in seconds.
• Jump to a verse quickly by typing the reference in the search box.
• The One-Year Reading Plan provides daily selections to keep you on track when you’re on the go.
• Share your perspective on a verse by contributing relevant notes, video, images, and links.
• Learn from others by checking out recent contribs. Just tap the number next to the verse.

In short, I can’t recommend this App enough. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, download it!