Online Bible vs Physical Bible

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What is being missed when using an online Bible?

I do miss that old classic feel of reading the Bible. That old time feeling of when things were simpler. While Biblomancy is not a practice that one should use so as to answer prayer, I do like that you can randomly open to a page in your Bible on occasion to see what God wants you to read for that day.

That said, there are many great advantages to online Bibles. I have a Kindle Oasis with some Bibles loaded on it for church reading and for reading the Bible in the bathtub with some epson salt. On my Ipad, I really like the Tecarta app. Although you have to pay for Modern translations, the interface and workflow is really nice. On my computer I like using the following websites:

1. Biblehub.com (Good for general reading involving the KJV and for quick side by side cross references).
2. Biblegateway.com (Good for seeing a ton of translations on one verse, and for reading a ton of translations side by side in chapter format),
3. BlueLetterBible.org (Good for keyword searches and searching out the Strong's Numbers),
4. Openbible.info (Good source for a ton of cross references).
5. Oremus Bible (oremus Bible Browser) (Good for copying and pasting Bible verses in list format).

Good softwares I use on my computer:

1. King James Bible Software (King James Pure Bible Search) (Good for doing related searches on a specific keyword; For example: You can search for all the related words for the word "command" by putting a * symbol after the keyword in your search, and it will show words like, commands, commandment, etc. in your search. This is KJV only software, so unless you hold the KJV in high regard, then this may not be your cup of tea.
2. Olive Tree Software. I like this software because I like the copy and paste feature sometimes, and I can purchase some really good recommended commentaries on really rare occasion.
 
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redleghunter

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What is being missed when using an online Bible?
I use both.

For at home reading and study I use Bible study App Bibles and online (also an App) use Bible Hub.

For church and group Bible study I use a physical paper bound Bible.
 
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Sabertooth

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He is the New Testament!
That reminds me of a line from Keith Green's "So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt" (1980),
"Moses seems rather idle.
He just sits around and writes the Bible!"
 
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RaymondG

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What is being missed when using an online Bible?
We miss the outward appearance of holiness. Many years ago you could tell who were on their way to church and who were proud Christians by the big bibles we use to carry around. Now we blend in with the many tablet and phone users....people not knowing if we are texting, playing games, looking a sexy photos....or reading the word of God.

Without the hardcopy, We are only recognized by Our fruits. Unfortunately, most of us do not stand out from the crowds. So a movement to bring back the physical bible, would be best.
 
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Hank77

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I find the hardcopy affords more sense of context. I know how far into the Bible I am, I know what went immediately before and what will come next.

But the advantages of the electronic are vast - search, enlarge font, change colors, add versions, run them in parallel, inline Strong's numbers and linked original language dictionaries, synchronized commentaries, etc.

I use BlueLetterBible's search function often, as it accepts expressions, and I like BibleGateways ability to see the verse in all English versions. But most of my time is spent not online, but in a desktop program, theWord.net, which is free.
I use all the ones you have mentioned except theWord.net, I use e-sword.net downloaded from their site. I have commentaries, area for notes, maps, ability to hi-lite scriptures, Strong's, etc. E-sword is free except for some of the commentaries that are still under copyright so those have to be paid for.

I also use 'Scripture4All.org' which is OT and NT Hebrew to English and Greek to English translation by each word or phrase.

EDIT: E-sword also has to charge for Bible tranlatiions that are still under copyright.
 
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paul1149

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I use all the ones you have mentioned except theWord.net,
I've used E-Sword and found it's good. But I do prefer theWord. It does more than I listed. Here's a shot of my setup. There are seven Bible windows open in it, most of them synced to original languages and commentaries.

theWord.png
 
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Hank77

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I've used E-Sword and found it's good. But I do prefer theWord. It does more than I listed. Here's a shot of my setup. There are seven Bible windows open in it, most of them synced to original languages and commentaries.

View attachment 272516
Thanks, I'll check it out.
 
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