The right Bible study tools are the key to good Bible studies and powerful life changes, so it’s a common temptation to want to steal them since they can get pricey. That’s why some resources are downloadable through shady online Bible study websites. Sometimes we get pretty creative at justifying these indirect thefts, and unfortunately, I speak from experience.

My roommate wanted to sell his old iPod when I was a freshman in college. His was what’s now the classic version, with the scroll wheel and black and white screen. (I know—so nine years ago.)

He had accumulated well over 10,000 songs in his library over the years, and to me, that was intriguing.

The Problem

Long story short, I bought it from him, but kept all the songs and uploaded them to my iTunes account. In one fell swoop, I had basically stolen more than $10,000 worth of music—both from my roommate and the artists now in my pocket.

I had a heart problem.

Three years would pass before I manned up enough to delete those songs.

Please, don’t make the same mistake I did, whether with music or anything else. And especially not with Bible study resources.

In the latter case, finding publisher-unauthorized PDF versions of good Bible study resources, downloading them for “free,” and then using them for personal growth is no better than stealing them outright from a bookstore.

The Solution

Let me suggest an alternative for you. Instead of stealing these resources, you should access them legitimately. While that does mean you should pay for them (i.e. your best option), it doesn’t mean you can’t get them without paying for them. How?

Online. For free. Ethically.

A lot of book publishers authorize agreements with many reputable online Bible study websites.

Usually, those websites make money through advertising, selling their own products, or a combination of the two. That way, they pay for the material that’s republished on their sites where you and I freely access the information.

Here’s a short list of 6 good online Bible study websites out there (in no special order). These will give you free, guiltless access to what’s sure to improve your Bible study and your spiritual life.

Legitimately Free, Online Bible Study Websites

1. Bible Gateway

BibleGateway.com is one of the more basic Bible study exploration and study websites. As long as you have internet access, or download their mobile app, you’re connected to their tools. I especially like how simple their navigation menu is. Also, any passage is just one click away with the search bar prominently displayed at the top.

Tips:

• Whenever you look at a passage, take note of the settings symbol and the blue “STUDY THIS” button (in the gray area above the text). The settings symbol allows you to hide and show elements like footnotes and cross references, and the study button brings up Bible study resources like dictionaries, maps, etc.
• There is also an audio feature. Just click on the symbol that looks like a megaphone. As you explore the other options below, you’ll come to see that this is a pretty standard feature for most online Bible study websites. At BibleGateway, however, you can choose which narrative style you want to listen to.

2. Blue Letter Bible

Compared to BibleGateway, BlueLetterBible features a wider variety of free resources (especially harmonies, introductions, charts/maps, dictionaries, and encyclopedias).

For being a free, browser-based service, I think BlueLetterBible gives you a powerful bang for your buck. I like it mainly because you can perform detailed searches quickly. My favorite part is that these searches aren’t limited to the Bible text itself; they also show you where words appear in lexicons and other tools.

For example, if you search the word “love” in the NASB, here’s what you’ll get:

It shows you how many times the word appears in the Bible, where it appears in dictionaries, and lexicons, and even shows you search results in other versions. Finally, it breaks it down by book. Play around with it and you’ll find even more than I’ve described here.

Tips:

• BlueLetterBible’s current website is an update from an earlier edition (i.e. the classic layout). Toggle back and forth to get the best of both options.
• On the homepage, towards the bottom right-hand side, you’ll find links to a Quick Start Guide, and other helpful links.

3. Study Light

StudyLight.org is very similar to BlueLetterBible in that both offer larger libraries (compared to the other online Bible study websites). Still, while it offers more resources than BlueLetterBible in some categories, it doesn’t consistently offer more. For example, it offers 93 commentaries compared to 6 concordances.

Terrible. Absolutely terrible.

At the same time, it allows you to read powerful works like the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, McClintock and Strong’s work, and the entire Josephus collection. Their original language tools and historical writings are hard to find anywhere else.

Top notch. Absolutely top notch.

The bottom line is that I can’t recommend an open-source site (yet) that offers every resource that I would personally recommend for your personal Bible study library. But hey, some are better than none, and these websites (used together) will give you a glimpse into those resources before you buy them.

Tips:

• Like BlueLetterBible, StudyLight has a classic site and an updated site. Be sure to explore both to see which one is more user friendly to you.
• Finally, let it not be underestimated. One of StudyLight’s best kept secrets is its interactive reverse-interlinear. I think I’m in love.

4. Bible Study Tools

The thing I like most about BibleStudyTools.com is that it’s easy to navigate. This and BibleGateway are in the top spots for user friendliness.

Some of the more helpful features are the Parallel Bible feature and the Bible Comparison feature. The main difference is that the comparison feature lets you see one verse across multiple translations all at once; the parallel feature lets you compare a whole passage of text between any two different versions you select.

(Ideally, you’d want to be able to look at one entire passage across multiple translations all at once, so be sure to look at resources 5 and 6. Still, what BibleStudyTools has will drastically reduce the amount of time you spend in all translations, even though you have to explore one verse at a time.)

Tips:

• On My Bookshelf explains that the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha should be in your library, even though they should be approached with caution. While BibleStudyTools doesn’t give you online access to the Pseudepigrapha, it does give access to the Apocrypha.
• Like StudyLight, BibleStudyTools provides an online interlinear. I know that some of you prefer the “regular” interlinear style over the reverse interlinear style, and BibleStudyTools makes the regular interlinear available.

5. Biblia

Biblia.com is great for so many reasons, especially if you take a few short minutes to figure out how it works.

Let’s be clear up front.

Your experience with this site will be totally different depending on whether you have already purchased Logos Bible Software or not. Since Biblia was created by the same company, it works best when you already have Logos installed on your computer. But even if you don’t own Logos, the experience is still very powerful.

When you land on the page you have to sign up.

Once you do, you will receive 70 free resources that you can access online (if you don’t already own Logos).

If you do already own Logos, you will have access not just to these free 70 resources, but also to your full Logos library! This is especially nice when you just want quick access to small portions of your library without taking the time to open the full Logos program. (Mine slows my computer way down.)

The best feature of this site is the double column feature. You can look at any of your resources in one column and then compare it with any other resource in the other column.

Here’s an example from my account where I’ve put the NASB and the NKJV side by side:

If you want to learn how Logos works without actually owning Logos, then Biblia will get you familiar with the basics.

Tips:

• Notice the house symbol, the book symbol, and the magnifying glass symbol on the far left side. The book icon lets you see all your resources at a glance. Quickly access a resource by just typing the name of that resource.
• Next to the book symbol is the magnifying glass symbol. This search feature allows you to search Biblical topics in all your open resources, in your top Bibles, and in your entire library. This works exactly as it does in Logos for a basic Bible search.
• Click the blue NASB icon (see pic above). Put a check mark by the “Link panels (synchronize references)” option (by clicking the phrase). Repeat with the NKJV column. Now, when you type a verse on one side, the other side follows.

6. My Word Search Bible

MyWordSearchBible used to be MyStudyBible.com. I’d recommend watching their Quick Tour video when you first arrive (bottom right).

I’ll admit I’m not crazy about their free library. The selection is very limited although I appreciate that they offer more translations than any other resource.

However, what I love most about MyWSB is what their name suggests—their word study tool. When I first opened the reader tab, here’s what came up:

Click on the Word Study Tool feature, and you’ll see this:

When you click on the Alpha/Omega symbol (four buttons to the right of the “Genesis 1:1” search box), you see all of the Strong’s Numbers behind each word. (I discuss the importance of these numbers in this free resource.) It looks like this:

I clicked on the number for the word “day” in verse five (in green, it’s <H3117>). Here’s what came up in the other column:

There are several really cool things about this. One, you can see all the English terms that have been used to translate this one Hebrew word. Just the opposite, it also shows you the Hebrew terms that are behind the one English word “day.” Then, for each Strong’s Number you click on, you have a “Dictionary Reference” and a “Usage Study.”

The Dictionary Reference tab gives you a basic definition from Strong’s Greek or Hebrew Dictionary. It’s not the best resource in my opinion, but it’s a handy quick search.

The Usage Study tab then shows you where that Hebrew word (or Greek or whatever) is used in other Bible books.

Tips:

• When you look at the Usage Study tab, you’ll see how many times a word is used in (almost) every Bible book. At a quick glance, you can tell when a word is key to a book since it’ll be used more in some books than in others.
• If a word appears in only one book, you’ll know that word is very significant. Either it will be important to that one book or it will only be used one time in all of Scripture. The latter should pique your interest. Why would the Holy Spirit use only that word?

Conclusion

While these resources are certainly no replacement for a full service Bible study software program, they do introduce you to a lot of good quality resources and executable searches.

You’ll probably find that experimenting with these free online Bible study websites will help you make a smooth transition into programs like Logos, Accordance, e-Sword, and others.

Until you purchase one of those programs, these online Bible study websites will give you quick, free, and guiltless access to quality material. Just try not to get too carried away with exploring the cool features at the expense of ignoring good Bible study.

Discussion Question: What other online Bible study websites do you like?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The post Would You Steal Bible Study Resources? appeared first on Bible Study Guru.