Parchment and Pen » Bibleworks: A Bible Studies Program that Everyone Needs

Bibleworks: A Bible Studies Program that Everyone Needs

I just upgraded my Bibleworks software. It is the software that I have made sure over the years to keep upgrading because it is the one that I study from more than any other.

For those of you who don’t already know, Bibleworks represents a jewel in the area of Biblical studies programs. It is an extremely powerful Biblical studies software that every Christian should have. In fact, considering my views on doctrinal development (that I have written much on), I believe that the purchase and use of Bibleworks is now an established part of orthodoxy. I tell my classes that I am not really sure I was a Christian before Bibleworks was created and that if I ever lost my Bibleworks I would sit out on a mountain and simply await the second coming. Yes, it is that good.

What is so good about it? The versions of the Bible, the cross referencing tools, the speed of the search, the language tools, the focus on Bible study (not just thousands of books about the Bible), the ease of use, and, did I mention, the speed of the search?

In an age when we have so many wonderful resources and Bible programs, Bibleworks really does stand out as one of the leaders, if not the leader. I encourage everyone to purchase this program. It is worth the money you will invest in it.

Soon, here at the Credo House of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries, we will have some training sessions that I will lead in Bible Study Software and Bibleworks will most certainly be in the mix.

One other thing about Bibleworks. I have had a chance here and there to get to know the company and some of the individuals who are involved. These guys are the real deal. They love the Lord and are comitted to the truth and teaching the Bible, not simply what is going to make the next buck. Bibleworks is in the ministry, not in the world selling to ministry. Therefore, I endorse this software with no reservations.

See more about Bibleworks here.

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35 Responses to “Bibleworks: A Bible Studies Program that Everyone Needs”

Craig on 09 Jul 2009 at 8:57 am #

I’ve used Bibleworks for over four years now and love it.

The only bad thing about Bibleworks is that those of us who have switched to Mac can’t use it.
Eric S. Mueller on 09 Jul 2009 at 9:54 am #

I’m currently trying to decide whether to stick with E-sword or switch to Libronix or PocketBible. I have more than 900 notes built up in E-sword, but I’m not sure what to do with them and I want to figure it out before I’m too “locked in”. I have all 3 programs. Each has strengths and weaknesses.

I think I had Bibleworks 6, but at the time I wasn’t impressed with the UI. It had a nice set of Bibles and commentaries though. Maybe I’ll look at 8.

Michael, speaking of notes, can you do a post sometimes about how you keep notes on your Bible study?

Craig, if you switched to the Mac, can’t you just use Bootcamp or Parallels? Most people that I know who have bought Macs haven’t skipped a beat with their usage of Windows-only programs.
Craig on 09 Jul 2009 at 10:12 am #

I could, if I had a copy of Windows. My PC had the restore disk on the HD and didn’t come with a hard copy of XP.
Jim Darlack on 09 Jul 2009 at 10:38 am #

Brilliant! I heartily concur about the folks at BW. Mike Bushell and the rest are a fantastic bunch of guys with a real heart for the church! And the program’s good too.
Greg Smith on 09 Jul 2009 at 11:13 am #

So, I am assuming that use of Bibleworks is a requirement for fellowship. One question: since I still use Bibleworks 6, am I okay or do I have to upgrade to 8?
C Michael Patton on 09 Jul 2009 at 11:30 am #

Greg, unless you believe in entire sanctification! But if you are like me and believe in progressive sanctification, the upgrade is a must. If you are Weslyan, then you were completely sanctified at the time of the first purchase.
Craig on 09 Jul 2009 at 11:56 am #

Greg,

As a Lutheran, I see upgrading as a work and therefore not necessary for fellowship. Or maybe its just adiaphora. Either way, you’re good with 6. 8 would just be a bonus.

And on a total sidenote, after my original post, I started playing around with a few apps. For Mac users, CrossOver is compatible with BW 6 and 7. Not sure about 8.
C Michael Patton on 09 Jul 2009 at 11:59 am #

Well then, it would be something that you would get a post-resurrection award for?
EricW on 09 Jul 2009 at 12:59 pm #

Since the word/name/phrase/term “Bibleworks” is not in the Bible (and also because it smacks of Pelagianism), I went with Logos.
Tom on 09 Jul 2009 at 1:38 pm #

I’m already heavily invested in Libronix (Gold) and love it. It is way more sophisticated than I will ever be anyway. The addition of the TLJ libraries was almost as good as the Libronix itself.
brad andrews on 09 Jul 2009 at 1:50 pm #

I’m wondering if someone could break down the pros and cons to: BibleWorks vs. Logos vs. Libronix vs. E-Sword vs. PocketBible…

Also, curious about their compatibility with Macs…
Tom on 09 Jul 2009 at 2:04 pm #

Oops, I should have said I was invested in Logos…you get the picture.
C Michael Patton on 09 Jul 2009 at 2:11 pm #

Yes, I am also heavily invested in Logos. Great works continually produced.
Cory Howell on 09 Jul 2009 at 4:07 pm #

I have been using e-Sword for many years now, and I really love it. However, the developer of e-Sword just made a major upgrade to the software, which is incompatible with earlier versions! So now I’m unable to upgrade e-Sword any more.

I may have to give Bibleworks a try some day. Seems like I looked at it once, and it was very expensive… Nothing good is ever cheap.
Craig on 09 Jul 2009 at 4:17 pm #

brad,

Libronix/Logos has a Mac version of their Bible software. As does E-Sword.
Bibleworks is PC (but can be run with CrossOver on a Mac)

As for the pros/cons. I can’t help you there.
Samson on 09 Jul 2009 at 5:41 pm #

I’m an Accordance man myself. Great if you have a mac.
bethyada on 09 Jul 2009 at 8:05 pm #

Michael, the last link has an incorrect anchor
Bryant on 09 Jul 2009 at 8:17 pm #

The Libronix is a fantastic tool, I would wait for the second coming if I lost my logos. The neat thing, I am sure the bibleworks has its bells and whistles, is the greek audio module which follows along with any greek trasnlation. They are currently working on the Hebrew audio version, can’t wait, even if I do not learn the langauges just hearing them is way to cool. The other critera I like is any time you buy books from the electroinc library, they automatically become part of any search engine you may use on any particular passage, word or topic study. The time and convience is well worth the money. If you get it get the gold. It is a bit pricey but you can work off some of the cost by bringing others to the logos family and they have an easy pay plan
Craig on 09 Jul 2009 at 8:42 pm #

I so need the Libronix Scholars Edition.
Wolf Paul on 10 Jul 2009 at 4:31 am #

Of course there are those of us who cannot afford $350 for the base program (and $150 every time a new version comes out) and lots more money for add-on modules.

In that case e-Sword seems to be a good alternative, with many free and for-sale modules available.

On pocket devices and smartphones (including iPhone) Olivetree Bible Reader beat Pocket e-Sword, partly of the larger number of supported devices.
Jason on 10 Jul 2009 at 9:02 am #

If you don’t want to spend the money, check out Xiphos (http://xiphos.org/). It’s free, has many of the features of Bibleworks, looks pretty, and works very well on Windows and Linux.
Jason on 10 Jul 2009 at 9:04 am #

If you don’t want to spend the money, check out Xiphos at http://xiphos.org. It’s free, has many of the features of Bibleworks, looks pretty, and works very well on Windows and Linux. I use it all the time – or at least, when I’m not using my own app based on its modules. Try doing that with Bibleworks’ license.
Bryant on 10 Jul 2009 at 10:53 am #

You save by buying the gold scholars edition, the add ins are only if you want to aquire additonal resources i.e. authors works, commentaries. topical discussions, theological. An example of one I recently added, Five views on the lord’s supper. I was curious how other traditions viewed the eucharist. So it’s absorded into the data base and when I do say for example a passage of lukes take on the last supper, not only will all the scriptural references associated with these passage line up so will anything from anybody that has mentioned the Lord’s supper, passover meal O.T. references everything is under your finger tips in a matter of a minute or two, Depending on the topic. Customer service is # 1 support # 1. Like I stated, it is a little pricey, but to me it’s worth every penny. Besides you can have it on a lap top and desk top, when they wear out you transfer everything other smoothly, even your folders book marks etc can be reinstalled in a new pc, especially if you read a lot and highlight pages, none of this gets lost. Go to the website and see some demo’s

http://www.logos.com/
Glenn Leatherman on 10 Jul 2009 at 10:57 am #

I love my Logos as well. It serves me well and has everything an more. I chose Logos over Bibleworks because of the masive amounts of books it has. Both programs are good; Logos just seems to have more to offer. Plus Seminaries are moving toward Logos today. I have used Logos since 1998 and am very pleased.
Dave Z on 10 Jul 2009 at 1:20 pm #

I bought PocketBible for my Palm device waaay back when. A few months ago, I bought the Gold edition for Windows – $200 and a lot of books and versions. There are a few things I’d like to see better implemented, but I like it a lot. Syncs with my phone so I have all my notes and stuff right at hand for quick reference, plus it runs off a flash drive for use on any computer if I need to dive in deeper than is convenient on the phone. That’s pretty handy.
The BibleWorks Blog » Blog Archive » BibleWorks, “an established part of orthodoxy” on 10 Jul 2009 at 7:10 pm #

[...] Patton of Parchment & Pen recently upgraded to version 8. His views on BW are quite, shall we say, fanatical! For those of [...]
Johnny on 14 Jul 2009 at 1:50 am #

Bibleworks is a nice program for a bad platform (windows). You can run it on Mac with either Crossover or VMWare, but both options are fairly annoying for differing reasons. Ended up switching to Accordance, which is probably better than Bibleworks anyway.
Mike on 27 Jul 2009 at 8:03 am #

Bibleworks is the tool for those of you stuck on the PC, Accordance (Mac only) is even better.
Jason on 17 Aug 2009 at 9:27 am #

Bibleworks is awesome! Version 8 is the best yet, though I have to say, 7 is almost as good. I thoroughly recommend the BDAG add on, because its so dangerous to have such good Bible software with so many Greek dictionaries. Its easy to make a greek word mean what you want it to mean, if you don’t stick with BDAG.
Michael on 09 Sep 2009 at 9:28 pm #

I’m glad someone can rave about Bibleworks 8. I have used Bibleworks 6 and 7 and recently upgraded to version 8. I love the new features but the simple features that Bibleworks has had for years give me constant problems.

This wouldn’t be so bad but their customer service is horrible!

I still have no access to the forums and repeated emails have not solved the problem. (I shouldn’t have to go to the forums and do my own troubleshooting anyway!)

Twice I have emailed them about a problem and each time received a page-and-a-half email in response with a long list of instructions for reporting my problem, half of which made no sense and it still doesn’t work.

I wish I had stayed with Bibleworks 7. It didn’t have as many bells and whistles but at least it worked!
Jason on 10 Sep 2009 at 12:40 am #

True, Bibleworks 8 has a few faults, and occassionally I find myself accidently wandering off the passage, but its strengths more than make up for its minor weaknesses.

I often find random things I can do with BW 8 that I didn’t even know were possible, such as highlighting all the non-qal verbs in an OT passage, for instance. Its such a great tool!

Perhaps if you emailed bibleworks and explained your situation they might give you a refund of your upgrade price. Just something to think about.
A Recommendation for Bibleworks « The Biblical Teacher on 27 Sep 2009 at 10:17 pm #

[...] his recommendation here. [...]
Buying the best Bible Software « Ferrell’s Travel Blog on 02 Oct 2009 at 7:31 am #

[...] The earlier review about BibleWorks 8 is here. [...]
Donovan R. Palmer on 03 Oct 2009 at 2:34 am #

Good review. For those who want a good alternative to BibleWorks, but are on a Mac and don’t want to run a virtual machine, Accordance rocks. Combine this with a powerful commentary and reference collection on Logos for Mac and things couldn’t be better.
JJ on 27 Feb 2010 at 8:42 pm #

There are a lot of reviews available online for BibleWorks, Logos, Accordance and others. They all have a place.

Looking outside the Mac world for a minute, the two most powerful programs, IMO, are BibleWorks 8 and Logos 4. That is why you see so much on these two programs.

Now, we are NOT talking about programs that most laymen are going to want to purchase. To be sure, some leaders and exceptional students of the word will buy these programs; however, most are Bible College students, Seminarians, pastors, teachers, etc. If you have a program that helps you to study your English Bible, and you like it, don’t feel like these programs are something you MUST have.

Bibleworks is $350 for its base package. A great deal by any standard, especially if you are a Bible Student with some Greek and Hebrew knowledge. And if you get ten (10) people together, you can do a group buy at $250 (I believe that is still true… but don’t quote me!). While BibleWorks has other resouces and books, its focus is on study of the English and Original Languages of the Bible. It is wonderful.

Logos Bible Software is an incredible program. It mixes study of the Greek and Hebrew and English Bibles with thousands of commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, language helps, lexicons, theological texts, historical texts, and biblical study tools. That is just a start, to be sure.

Cost: The squeamish should turn their heads now.

Cost of such a Logos “library” can be steep. When lay people ask about the cost, and then shudder, understand that these same people have no need to go out and invest $10-$20 Grand for a theological library. The same is true for Logos. That being said, you can have an entry level package for about $250 and you can be near the top level at around $1,000 to $3,000. (discounts available). Understand, you may want to add libraries of commentaries for several thousand dollars more. But that is a choice.

I hope that helps.
JJ