Get the Faithlife Study Bible for FREE!

For months in 2011 and early 2012, my blogging, PhD research, and pretty much everything else took a back seat to my work on the Faithlife Study Bible (FSB). Now I'm finally free to share our work with the world. Basically, we created a digital study Bible from the ground up--totally designed for digital and designed with tablet devices in mind. It works on your Android device, Kindle Fire, iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC, as well as on Logos, Vyrso and the web.

Screenshot from Genesis 1 on an Android Tablet       

I was part of the team that wrote or edited the study notes and articles. We produced over 1.4 million words of notes and articles (my contribution was over 225,000 words) and provided in-depth content. One of my long-standing pet peeves with the study Bibles I own is that they always stopped short of answering my question. Invariably, I would have a question on a particular verse, but the notes would often skip that verse or offer a very superficial comment. One of the ways we dealt with that problem was by building the Faithlife Study Bible with three layers of notes. Since it's digital, additional content in the second layer of notes can be uncovered with a tap or mouse-click. Print study Bibles are limited by how much can fit on the page. If there's still more to say after that additional paragraph or two, we have links for further reading. Those links include FSB articles, Lexham Bible Dictionary articles (the Bible dictionary that comes free with our study Bible), and links to additional Logos resources on the topic. Our three layers of content offer detailed notes on a wide range of issues, but the other way we'll avoid the dead-end, skipped verse problem of traditional study Bibles is by continually adding to our study Bible. The Faithlife Study Bible is still growing. We're still adding notes and articles and responding to user feedback to make sure we've adequately addressed the important issues.

Another limitation of print study Bibles is that they're stuck with the translation they were based on. (That also used to be one of the ways you could justify the need for producing yet another study Bible.) The Faithlife Study Bible works with seven translations (I think that was coincidental but it is perfect). It comes free with the Lexham English Bible, a literal translation designed for maximum transparency to the underlying Greek and Hebrew. If you prefer a different translation, the FSB works with ESV, KJV, NKJV, NRSV, NASB95, and NIV2011, but you'd have to buy the one you want separately (unless you're already a Logos user...if you access Faithlife with your same account, it will sync with all the Bible and Logos resources you already own).

Faithlife Study Bible comes bundled with almost 400 photos, videos, and infographics AND the Lexham Bible Dictionary with 2,700 articles and 1.5 million words. (And guess what...the Bible dictionary isn't done yet either. We're still adding articles from top scholars in biblical studies.) 

The study Bible is also integrated with Faithlife.com, a new social network designed for Christian fellowship centered around studying the Bible and growing in faith.

Connect to Faithlife.com

The best part is that you can get all of this for free with a coupon code!

Here’s how to download and use it.

1. Go to http://faithlifebible.com/free

2. Enter your coupon code (Your code is DougMangum FREE)

3. Download the app

4. Log in with your Logos.com/Faithlife.com account

5. Enjoy the Bible!

Where to Download the App:
iPhone/iPad Android—Google Play Kindle Fire Web Version Logos for Mac and PC

Online Bible Study Tools

Over the past few years, I've found myself increasingly reading my Bible and working on Bible studies without a physical Bible in hand. Websites, smartphone apps, and Bible software programs have made it less and less necessary for me to open a book. There are pros and cons to this, but there is no denying that our relationship with the written word is changing rapidly.

I was asked recently how I do Bible study and what digital tools were out there, so in this post, I want to list some of the online Bibles and Bible study tools that I've come across. I also use a number of Bible study apps for iPhone and have tried every single one I could find, so I may discuss those in the future. I've also used a number of good Bible software programs. (Go here for a good post comparing available Bible software programs. He's tried out more than I have.)

For plain, old access to the Bible text, I most often go to the online ESV. If I want access to a number of versions to compare or a different version than ESV, I use BibleGateway.com. It has many versions to choose from and is easy to use. They've started adding additonal resources like commentaries and dictionaries. Since I have print versions of both the ESV Study Bible and the NLT Study Bible, I also get online access to their content. This is nice because study Bibles are big and heavy. I also use Biblia.com because it will sync with the resources in my Logos 4 library, but even without that feature, it provides access to many study tools and Bible versions. If you register for an account with the site, you get access to an additional 31 resources. I'm not sure if Biblia.com is meant to replace it eventually, but for now, Bible versions are also accessible at http://bible.logos.com/.

There are many websites now that provide access to Bible versions and classic Bible reference works that are in public domain. I've known about StudyLight.org for a while, but not used it much. I recently discovered BibleStudyTools.com that claims to have the Web's largest library of online Bible study resources. I haven't tested the claim, but there was a lot of available content. I will probably use it more in the future. I used to use the NET Bible but hadn't visited their site for a while. It has a clean fresh look and easy to use interface, so I recommend it if you want to use that version for reading or study. They also have a lot of free articles available at Bible.org. Some are by known Bible scholars, teachers, and pastors.

I like Biblos.com and Blue Letter Bible because they have Bible versions in Hebrew and Greek. They also have Bible dictionaries, maps, and encyclopedia articles. The Unbound Bible also has many versions including Hebrew and Greek and some public domain study tools, but their web interface is very basic. I also discovered that Lifeway has an online Bible library which also looks like mainly public domain Bible reference works and translations, but I haven't spent much time using it.

The bottom line is that all the Bible study resources offered for free are essentially the same set of public domain works. Bible.org is the exception and the text notes alone for the NET Bible are very helpful. I spend most of my time at the online ESV Study Bible but I just might start using Bible.org as a close second. My goal is to direct you to some websites that might help you with your Bible study, but remember there are limits to what you'll be able to get for free and sometimes the old classics from 100 years ago aren't exactly up to date on their interpretations. If you're serious about having access to some of the best digital tools available for Bible study and research, you might just want to check out a Bible software program like Logos 4.