There’s been some buzz about eBible, a new website that is beta testing and by invitation only at the moment. I have three, by the way – leave a comment and let me know if you want one now open to the public – register here. I normally use E-Sword for bible study, but I gave eBible a test drive and wanted to compare the two.
Here are the screenshots – click for larger images:
 E-Sword |
 eBible |
|
Feature
|
E-Sword
|
eBible
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Winner |
| Cost | Free | Free | Tie |
| Convenience | Must download and install, and separately install all the "extras" | Online | eBible |
| Portability | Hardware dependent – you have to have access to your computer, or at least have the Pocket PC version installed on your PDA. | Any internet-enabled computer will do. Just log in! Also has a Pocket PC version. | eBible |
| Bible versions available | Comes with King James w/Strong’s Numbers, and has over 50 free bibles and 4 paid in various languages and translations. | 6 versions | E-Sword |
| Resources available | Huge selection, including maps and graphics, and free STEP libraries. Entire books by Murray, Spurgeon, Luther, E.M. Bounds, Finney, Josephus, Fox’s Book of Martyrs… | The Bookshelf is an area with a few free resources, and more books you can buy. | E-Sword |
| Topical Navigation | None. | Nifty outline feature that breaks the books of the bible up by section. For example, John is broken into Prologue, Christ’s Public Ministry, Christ’s Private Ministry, Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, and Epilogue. Sections have subheadings so you can quickly navigate to what you want without having to remember chapter and verse. | eBible |
| Notes | Excellent note-taking features. Study Notes allows formatting, print preview, and spell check. | You can add tags and notes to a verse when you bookmark it, and you can choose to share the bookmark with the rest of the eBible community. | E-Sword |
| Advertising | None. | Christian ads. | E-Sword |
|
Navigation/Layout |
It’s very busy, but with quick access to a lot of information. It’s also very customizable. | It’s clean, it’s easy and convenient – but there’s a lot less info to display. | E-Sword. |
| Search | Search feature that allows for saved searches and navigation between verses in the results – |
Convenient web search by verse or subject. | Tie |
| Dictionaries | 14 | 2 free, 1 for purchase | E-Sword |
| Commentary | 17 commentaries including Matthew Henry, Scofield, and Wesley. | Comes with Nelsons New Illustrated Bible Commentary for free, four other commentaries available for purchase. | E-Sword |
| Daily Devotions | 4 | 0 | E-Sword |
| Community | None. | Whomever you invite is part of your community, and you can see all other users bookmarks and notes if they choose to make them public. | eBible |
What I’m finding, after a few days of using both, is that E-Sword is more useful for in-depth studying, and long term studies. The Study Notes feature, the ability to save searches, the number of free resources gives E-Sword the edge. However, eBible gives me the fastest way to find things on more generic searches, like “witness” and the tags feature is very helpful. So I’ll be using eBible to find verses when I don’t specifically remember the wording, and E-Sword to hone in and do a specific study of that verse. Bottom line – two great tools that are not really in competition with one another, and both will be useful to Christians at all levels of spiritual maturity.
Enjoy! And remember to leave a comment if you want an eBible invite that eBible is now open to the public – go register!
I would love an invite to eBible!
It’s on the way – let me know what you think of it!
I would like an invite to eBible. And I have to say, with Esword on my pda, which does not have internet access, I can access eSword anywhere. And i love to have it at church, it makes it easy to bookmark all the passages, especially if the pastor talks about alot of verses.
I used to have E-Sword on my PDA too – I loved it. Got rid of the PDA, though. Do you get some aggravated looks from folks who think you’re playing a video game? I always did.
The invite is on the way!
Please email invite. Thanks
Thanks Laura! I haven’t played with it enough to know what I think of it yet. I don’t have eSword at work (At can’t install it because I don’t have admin privs), so I think this will be a good alternative. But at home, I think I’ll probably still prefer eSword.
Great review! Please send an invite.
One clarification: e-Sword is capable of searching more than one Bible version at a time, just select Bible, Extended Search… and select from the list (you have to previously activate the Bibles to be used on Options, Resource…)
Thanks.
please send me an invite, I have E-Sword so I would like to compare them. Thanks and be blessed, Pam
Leonidas – I can’t believe I never learned about the extended search! Thanks for the heads up, I guess I’ll be modifying the post with that info.
please send invite thanks
I like Bible Explorer. They have Talking Strong which I really love and it is free. They’re adding a new book every week.