Look up the meaning of words while you read and pray with four Bible apps.
When an unfamiliar word or name interrupts your reading, these apps help without sending you to a separate book. BibliaTodo combines Bible versions with a dictionary, PocketBible offers several dictionaries after free registration, Verbum’s Factbook explains names, places and concepts, and Online Bible includes the Revised Easton’s Bible Dictionary as standard.
All four have Android and iPhone versions. Both listings for BibliaTodo and Online Bible show in-app purchases. For PocketBible and Verbum, that label appears on the App Store and is absent on Google Play. Only Verbum’s Android listing declares advertising.
Bible apps with word meanings at hand
1. Bible Study – BibliaTodo
BibliaTodo is the mobile version of BibliaTodo.com. Its integrated Bible dictionary sits alongside commentaries and cross-references, so a term in the passage can be checked without leaving the app. For a devotional pause, consult the dictionary about one term in your reading, then write a short prayer in a verse note.
The Android description lists offline Bible search, searches by word, phrase or Bible reference, and English versions among translations covering over 2,000 languages. Verse notes, bookmarks, a reading history and topic plans on subjects such as prayer, family and anxiety support daily use. The iPhone page says a BibliaTodo Plus subscription may be needed for certain advanced tools.
Advantages:
- A Bible dictionary available in the app.
- Commentaries and cross-references in the app.
- Offline Bible search listed for Android.
2. PocketBible Bible Study App
On iPhone, PocketBible from Laridian opens with the KJV, and registering at no charge unlocks more than 50 resources. According to the iPhone listing, these include six Bible dictionaries, eleven Bibles and four commentaries and cross-reference works.
Bibles and books are stored on the device, so no connection is needed once they are downloaded. On Android, a phone can hold two panes and a tablet as many as five; verse positions in open Bibles and books can stay synchronised. Notes, highlights and bookmarks sync through the Laridian Cloud, and further titles are sold separately.
Advantages:
- Six Bible dictionaries after registration.
- Up to five panes on an Android tablet.
- An offline library once downloaded.
3. Verbum Catholic Bible Study
Verbum, made by Faithlife, gives account holders more than forty Bibles and books, including translations approved by the USCCB, commentaries and writings by theologians and Church Fathers. Factbook supplies quick background on names, places and concepts found in a passage, which helps when a name or term is unfamiliar.
Reading plans can be customised and shared, and personal notes are available. Study Assistant uses only your own Logos books as sources for answers; Smart Search searches by verse, topic or question. Their use without a subscription is limited, and subscribing extends access and adds books.
Advantages:
- Factbook entries on people, places and ideas.
- Catholic translations and Church Fathers.
- Customisable reading plans.
4. Online Bible
Online Bible, from Cross Link Services, describes itself as an ‘offline’ study Bible. Its standard download includes the Revised Easton’s Bible Dictionary, so a term that puzzles you in a passage can be checked without opening a second app.
The standard content also covers the Authorised (King James) Version, the NIV 2011 with an anglicised edition available as an option, the NASB 2020 and the Amplified Bible 2015 with its footnotes, together with cross-references and notes from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and some thematic studies. Further Bible editions, commentaries and other books are available.
Advantages:
- Revised Easton’s Bible Dictionary as standard.
- More Bible editions, commentaries and other books.
- Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
Choosing a word-meaning app for your reading
BibliaTodo puts a dictionary and commentaries in one app, PocketBible offers six dictionaries after free registration, Verbum’s Factbook suits questions about names and places, and Online Bible pairs Easton’s dictionary with four standard translations. The top buttons offer a study resource guide under BIBLE STUDY, Bible listening apps under BIBLE APP, Christian music playlist advice under GOSPEL MUSIC and a Bible quiz app under BIBLE GAMES.
Graduated in Portuguese/English Literature from the State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG), with postgraduate degrees in Art in Education (FAPI) and School Psychopedagogy (FAPI), creator and owner of the website. Successful Writer, has experience writing for blogs in general and works as a writer and editor of the content for Prayer and Faith.