Bible Gateway

Category

Description of App

The Bible Gateway Bible App is the OFFICIAL and FREE mobile Bible reading and study experience from BibleGateway.com.

The Bible Gateway Bible App offers many wonderful ways to experience Bible reading and Bible study, including:

  • More than 90 different Bible translations, including NIV, KJV, ESV, NKJV, HCSB, NASB, CEB, The Message (MSG), Amplified Bible (AMP) and many more.
  • Some Bible translations are now available for download to your device, so you can read the Bible when you are not connected to the Internet (Offline Mode)
  • Easy-to-use and reliable Bible search, both online and offline
  • Daily Bible verse in the translation of your choice
  • Daily Bible reading plans
  • Bible audio in a number of different translations and styles
  • Parallel translation viewing (iPad only, currently only available when online)
  • Quick Bible reading history, so you can go back and forth between Bible verses you have viewed
  • Personal notes - Both general notes and notes tagged to specific Bible verses can be created
  • Favorites - Star the Bible verses that are your favorite
  • Highlight Bible verses or passages
  • Easily view Bible study resources (Bible Commentaries, Bible Dictionaries, etc.) to help you understand your Scripture reading
  • And integrated sharing tools make it quick and simple to share your favorite Bible verses with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter

Features coming soon:

  • Low-light reading mode. Easy on the eyes when you are in a darker environment.
  • Account creation. Store your notes, favorites and highlights in the cloud, and sync them across devices or to the Bible Gateway website.
  • Devotionals. Read daily devotions side-by-side with pertinent Bible text.

And much more!

Version

2.1

Free or Paid

Free

Apple Watch Support

Not Known

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

9

Accessibility Comments

The app works well with VoiceOver, but there are some quirks to be aware of. Many buttons and icons are not properly labeled, but the programmer descriptions that VoiceOver reads are sufficient to know what the controls do. Human narration is available for some versions and it will keep playing if you close the audio screen without stopping it. Also VO will keep on reading past the current chapter if you do not stop it. Depending on your use of the app this may be a plus. Heading levels appear in the text. Double tapping on a verse will cause a row of icons to appear at the bottome of the screen allowing you to share, favorite, notate, etc. These too are not properly labeled but their functions are discernible by the programmer labels. Tapping on the button next to the menu icon that is labeled with the current book and chapter will bring up a screen for selecting a new passage. This screen is cumbersome with everything done in drop lists, but you can access the search function in the menu and type in what you want. The app accepts abbreviations for bible books in the same way that the web site does. Menu access with Voiceover is a little sloppy. Other text is still read. You can orient to the menu by touching on the screen instead of flicking, or if you have a keyboard connected you can jup to the bottome and work up the menu from there.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads all page elements.

Button Labeling

Few buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

There are some minor accessibility issues with this app, but they are easy to deal with.

Other Comments

The app performs similarly to the YouVersion app that is reviewed on this site, Though the YouVersion (Just called Bible) is better-labeled, it has also been made less accessible in the latest version, making Bible Gateway a better choice.

Developer's Twitter Username

@biblegateway

Recommendations

2 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Larry Thacker Jr. 8 years 10 months ago

Options

Comments

By Jim Homme on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 20:56

The app is no longer able to pull down the main menu with voiceover, rendering much of the app difficult to use now.

By Andy B. on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 20:56

The Bible app from Youversion is completely usable. I did a quick look a few minutes ago.

By Jim Homme on Thursday, January 21, 2016 - 20:56

A recent update has made this app work at least as once as it did before with VoiceOver. I deleted YouVersion in favor of The Bible Gateway.