e-Sword Bible Study Software

e-Sword is a free Bible study program.  It is an exciting tool that I highly recommend to everyone.

e-Sword combines:

• Multiple Bible translations for comparison
• Commentaries
• Dictionaries for studying words in their original languages
• Graphics (maps, charts, and images)
• Topic notes
• Devotionals
• Personal study notes feature with rich text editing
• Powerful search capabilities
• Prayer journal for managing prayer requests
• Scripture memorization tool

One of the most intriguing features of e-Sword is its Scripture reference tool tips.  Hovering your mouse pointer over any Scripture reference in the commentary or dictionary panels, such as John 3:16, will pop up a tool tip that displays the Scripture (or passage) – all without having to click on anything or flip through a book.  What a time saver!  To be able to sift through a series of Scripture references without flipping through a number of books helps you to assimilate information more efficiently, which can be very important in our fast-paced world (“…making the most of your time, because the days are evil” Eph 5:16).  You can also click directly on any Scripture reference and immediately be taken to that passage in the Bible panel to see its context.  This is immensely valuable, because context is king when it comes to studying the Bible accurately.

Scripture Tool Tip

Similarly, Strong’s definitions are displayed as tool tips.  In other words, you can hover your mouse pointer over any Strong’s reference number, and a tool tip will automatically appear that displays the word in the original Greek or Hebrew with a brief definition of the word.  Although these “floating” definitions are brief, they can shed additional light on the text you are studying.  As with Scripture reference tool tips (see above), you can click directly on any Strong’s reference number to pull up additional information in the dictionary panel of the e-Sword application.

There are scores of add-on modules available for e-Sword, from Bible translations to commentaries to dictionaries.  Most of these add-on modules are free, but some premium modules can only be unlocked for a fee (to the resource provider).  You can certainly have deeper, more productive Bible study with the free software and free add-on modules.  However, if you are so inclined, there are a few premium modules that are well worth the cost.  I’ve listed some of my favorite modules below (with links) and noted whether they are free or premium (including price).

Bibles

Commentaries

Dictionaries

There are a number of other features in e-Sword, such as special copy / paste options for Bible verses, printing options, verse lists, Scripture tool tip formatting for personal study notes, and more.  All these features for free make downloading e-Sword a no-brainer for anyone interested in going deeper into God’s Word.  e-Sword will help you have a more exciting and efficient Bible study experience.

e-Sword is only available for Windows operating systems.  If you are a Macintosh user, you should be able to run e-Sword in VMware, Parallels, or Bootcamp if you have one of these resources.  It is also worth noting that there is an online interactive version of e-Sword (also free) if you are unable to run the full program on your computer.  e-Sword Live has far fewer features than the desktop version, but it can still aid your Bible study efforts tremendously.  (There is also a Pocket e-Sword version for Microsoft Pocket PC platforms.)

e-Sword has a built-in help system, but you can also find helpful video tutorials on e-Sword’s website.  A number of videos have also been posted on YouTube, and there are e-Sword user communities online, such as http://e-sword-users.org.  If you have any unanswered questions about the software, feel free to post them here.  I will be glad to help you find the answers.

If you have time, read the history of e-Sword.  It is inspiring to see what can happen when your heart and your way are dedicated to the Lord.

Although the software is free, the time, effort, and resources required to develop, improve, and distribute the software are not free.  If you find e-Sword beneficial in helping you discover the truth of God’s Word, I encourage you to make a donation to e-Sword to support the ministry.  e-Sword is making an eternal investment in the lives of millions of people around the world.  (I should mention that I am not affiliated with e-Sword in any way.  My recommendations are freely given.)

Are you an e-Sword user?  What’s your favorite feature?  Share your insights, questions, and wishlists with us.