5 Bible Study Tools I use as a Daily Bible Student
The Tools I Use for my Daily Bible Study
The internet is full of people recommending Bible study tools, but it can be difficult to tell if those products are actually useful or if the person promoting them is just trying to make a buck. In this article, I want to share the tools I use day-in-day-out as a consistent Bible student and teacher.
Just so you know, I don’t have any affiliation with any of these companies, my recommendations are purely based on personal experience and my own study habits.
Also, while these tools work for me, they may not be perfect for you. People learn differently and retain information differently, so this isn’t a one-size-fits-all list. I just want to share 5 tools that help me personally.
1. E-Sword Desktop and Mobile App
Without a doubt, the tool I use the most when studying the Bible is the e-Sword desktop and mobile app.
E-Sword is a relatively simple software/app that allows you to pull up the text of the Bible in multiple versions and download resources from your favorite commentators. E-Sword offers several other features like note taking, dictionaries, and devotional, but I generally keep things simple, just the text of the Bible on one side and my favorite commentators on the other.
The best part about e-Sword is that it’s free in some cases and low-cost in others. To my knowledge, the desktop version of the software is still completely free. I believe the Android and iPhone apps cost a little bit of money, something like $10.
I’ve used more expensive and more complex Bible study software in the past, but I keep returning to e-Sword for its simplicity, speed, and no-fluff interface.
e-Sword Bible study software
2. Schuyler Bibles
If you ask me, everyone should own a physical Bible. I use my computer and phone a lot, but there are identifiable benefits to reading out of a dedicated book (i.e. less distraction). You can buy a physical Bible on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and even Walmart these days, but before you go out and buy a Bible that will fall apart after one year of consistent use, perhaps you should consider a Bible that will last you a lifetime. The Bible I’ve owned for the last several years is such a Bible. I initially bulked at the idea of paying a lot of money for a Bible, but looking back, I definitely don’t regret it.
The Bible I purchased and recommend is made by Schuyler Bibles. These are premium stitched leather Bibles made with high quality paper. They offer various sizes, colors, margins, and text designs to suit your preferences.
At around $250, they are not cheap, but when you put that price into perspective, they aren’t expensive either. If you use your Bible every day for a year, the daily cost of a Schuyler Bible is about $0.68 per day ($250/365). That is less money than most people spend on coffee (red bull for me). Not to mention, these Bibles are meant to last 10+ years. If you buy a $25 dollar Bible every year for 10 years, you’ll end up at the same price.
$250 is a lot of money, but if you can afford it (or save up for it), I consider a quality Bible to be a good investment for the future.
3. Pigma Micron Pens
If you take notes in your Bible (I do), you’ve probably encountered one of the following problems, (1) The pen tip is too wide to write neatly within the small margins, or (2) the ink bleeds through the page or into areas you didn’t intend (or maybe you smear the ink before it’s dry).
It’s tough to write neatly in a Bible with a regular pen, and this is where the Pigma Micron Pen really shines. These pens are specially designed not to bleed or to smear. They come in a variety of tip thicknesses, allowing you to select exactly how fine you want your writing to be, and giving you the ability to fit a note in even the smallest of margins.
They come out to around $2-$3 dollars per pen, which isn’t cheap, but they’ll save your Bible from becoming an inky mess.
Image from Amazon
4. A Documenting Tool (Microsoft Word for Me)
Besides e-Sword, Microsoft Word is my most used tool for documenting my findings in the Bible. You don’t have to use Microsoft Word, but find some kind of notebook, either physical or digital to write down what you are learning as you’re studying.
I cannot express how important it is to document your learning. We often assume we won’t forget what we’ve studied, but we’re almost always wrong about that. I once spent dozens of hours studying for a class through the Book of Daniel. I studied so much I could teach the class with all the relevant historical and prophetic details without needing notes. Each week I studied hard before presenting my findings to the class, but I never took the time to write down my conclusions, interpretations, and applications. I studied so hard I thought I would never forget how to interpret Daniel… Wrong! Today, I can’t recall hardly any of the details from that class. The next time I study Daniel, I’ll have to start all over again. It would have been great if I had documented all my hard work for my future self, but I didn’t.
Learn from my mistake and find some way to document your learning. Maybe its Microsoft Word, OneNote, EverNote, e-Sword, Logos, or in your paper notebook. Whatever your method, make sure your previous study won’t slip out of your memory and disappear forever.
5. A Bible Without Verse Numbers (ESV Reader’s Bible)
When the Bible was originally written, it didn’t have the chapter and verse numbers we see today. Our modern verse numbers are super helpful when trying to identify a particular section of Scripture, but they can be a hinderance to reading comprehension.
I would encourage you to try reading from a Bible without verse numbers. I think these Bibles are helpful in understanding context, because they exclude the verse divisions that sometimes cause us to read the text in an unnatural nonflowing way.
Especially when reading the Bible devotionally or trying to understand the major themes of a book or chapter, these Bibles can be a great benefit.
The Bible I own is the ESV Reader’s Bible.
ESV Reader’s Bible on Amazon
Conclusion
These are the tools I use and enjoy as a daily Bible student. As I said, they may not be for everybody, but they’ll give you a starting point to find your own flow.
Keep in mind, the tools you use are ultimately less important than your dedication and consistent time in the Word. A deep desire to know God and constancy in His Word are far more important than the optional tools you decide to use.
*Just so you know, if you buy the ESV Reader’s Bible or the Pigma Pens through the provided links, 2BeLikeChrist gets a small commission at no extra cost to you.
