Trailblazin Ministries

Bible Study Software: Part 2 (e-Sword)

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Tuesday, 01 November 2005

Introduction

The first piece of software that we want to take a look at is e-Sword, which is coined to be "the Sword of the LORD with an electronic edge." As stated in the introduction to this series, e-Sword is our look at free Bible software that is available for anyone to download who has Internet connection.

A little bit of background about the software, it was created by Rick Meyers and first released in 2000 with the intent of being a free software application with a clean interface and having a study approach. Since its first release in 2000, the software has become one of the most popular Bible software downloads, reaching its 3,000,000th download in August of this year (1,000,000+ since August 2004). Also during that time, it has been improved drasticly and new resources have constantly been added.

The focus of our review on e-Sword is to take a look at this freeware application through its usability, interface, and several other areas. As of the date of this review, the current version of e-Sword is v.7.7.7, which is the version that we will be reviewing.

Installation

Of course, the first thing that we want to look at is how easily the software installs. Why? Well, if you can't get the application installed on your computer, then it isn't going to be of very much use.

In order to get started with the application, you will first need to download the core application from their website (http://www.e-sword.net), which is roughly a 17MB download. For those that are on a dial-up connection, this may seem like a daunting download, but it's still not that bad of a download considering downloads nowadays are getting much larger in their size (as they assume everyone has a broadband connection). Now, this installation includes the King James Version w/ Strong's numbers and Strong's dictionary; but if you will need to download individual modules (Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, etc.) separately.

Installing the software should be a piece of cake for even the novice computer user. After downloading the file, simply run the installer (by double-clicking on it) and follow the prompts. Installation is as simple as that. Installing the other modules is just as easy; all you need to do is follow the prompts, which as self-explanatory. I installed this on my Windows XP laptop and didn't have any problems with it at all. After a reboot, the application opened without a hitch.

Application Interface

When you first open the application, one of the first things that you notice is that the user interface is very clean and usable. Someone who is completely new to the software can easily navigate their way around the application and find what they need to begin working. The default layout is very nicely laid out as follows: a mini sidebar containing the books of the Bible for easy navigation, the Bible text in the center column with the dictionary directly underneath the Bible section, and commentary can be found on the right side. The photo below shows a slightly modified view of the software (Dictionary is moved underneath the commentary).

It is quite simple to change the layout to suite your liking and it will remember it for anytime you open the application. You can also easily maximize any particular section (Bible, Commentary, or Dictionary) so that you can view them in the full window without having to look at the other modules. The menu system is pretty self explanatory and is very easy to navigate. Even being a novice to the software, I was able to find everything I needed without very much effort or searching. Plus, you can just as easily change the fonts and colors for any of the sections of the program. It definitely is an easy program to find your way around in.

Bible Text View

Viewing Bible texts in e-Sword is fairly straightforward and siimple. To select the version that you want to view, you simply select the tab corresponding to that particular translation and that Bible instantly replaces the other translation at the same verse you were currently viewing. As I stated earlier, the installation of e-Sword only comes with the KJV version of the Bible, so will need to download other translations from the e-Sword website in order to take advantage of the features.

Another feature of the Bible text view is that you can quickly compare a single verse in several different translations. This can be done by selecting the "Compare" tab. By default, all installed translations are shown, but if you want to select which translations to show, it can easily be done from the Options Menu. Another related feature is the Parallel Bible view, which can allow you to view up to four different translations side-by-side. Choose this feature by selecting the "Parallel" tab. You can choose the translations via a drop down menu in the Parallel Bible view.

The Bible text view is fairly versatile and very simple in its functionality. The only thing that took me a moment to figure out was how to use the Compare & Parallel features, only because I didn't immediately see the tabs and was looking for them in the menu. Other than that, it is very intuitive and easy to use!

Searching in e-Sword

One of the most important features in any Bible software application is the functionality and speed of its search feature. The search feature is what really provides the greatest benefit over not using a computer. Well, when it comes to e-Sword, the search feature is simple to use and works well.

e-Sword's search feature allows for boolean searches using AND, OR, and NOT operators, which allows you to clearly define a search to find what you're looking for. You can also choose the range in which you want to search, whether it be the entire Bible, Old Testament, New Testament, or a chronological range of books.

On my computer, searches ran rather quickly and I didn't have to wait at all for the results; if there were more verses in the search, or it was more complex, it would take a second or two for the results to appear, but nothing longer than that. Now, it is possible to search either the Bibles, Commentaries, or Dictionaries, but I did find a few problems with the search feature of e-Sword. The first problem is that you can only search one type at a type, whether it be Bible, Commentary, or Dictionary. And from within that search, you can only search within the book that you currently have open; i.e., if I had the KJV open, I can only search the KJV text, the same applies to the commentaries & dictionaries.

As a whole, the search does what it was designed to do, and offers the user the functionality needed to perform any number of complex searches. Other than the mentioned shortfalls, the search is great.

What Sets the Software Apart?

So, what did I love about e-Sword? There are quite a few things worth mentioning, but the most important piece of information is the price! As I've already stated before, e-Sword is 100% free of charge and can easily be downloaded from the website without any problems. Another notable feature is that it is always being updated with new features and modules. You can frequently go to the e-Sword website and see that the software has been updated (this is good because it means that Rick is always working on improving the software) and there are new modules to download.

Some of the newer features in e-Sword include a Prayer Requests module. If you plan on using e-Sword daily, then this is a great tool. It brings up a calendar, and a list of prayer requests that you have setup in the system that you have selected to be prayed for during that particular day. You can even update the requests for when they are answered so that you no longer have to pray for them.

A few other features include a Bible Reading Plan, Daily Devotional, and Scripture Memory Tool. All of these can be setup to be used if you so desire. The Bible Reading Plan allows you to setup your own Bible reading plan ranging anywhere from 1 month to 2 years. You can setup whether you want to read through the entire Bible, or simply the OT or NT; you can then select the days on which you want to read, and it will automatically generate the plan for you. The Daily Devtional tool requires that you download one of the devotions modules from the site, but it will pop-up a devotion for that day whenever you launch the program. The Scripture Memory Tool is self-explanatory and helps you to memorize Scripture.

e-Sword is full of wonderful features and its library is always being expanded. I continue to remain excited about what e-Sword can and will offer in the future!

What Could Be Better?

One of the major pitfalls of free software is that there are going to be some limitations that prevent it from being as great as it could be. The major downfall for e-Sword is that it lacks a great number of popular & recent Bible translations (i.e. NKJV & NIV), commentaries, and dictionaries. This is due to copyrights on these particular works and the royalties that need to be paid in order to use them in the software. In order for e-Sword to remain free, these works could not be included in the software.

Another shortfall of the software is having to individually download & install each of the modules. For me, this was a problem. After the initial installation of the software, I downloaded several different modules to make the program more functional. The problem arose when I had to install these one-by-one, which became tedious and repetitive. It would be nice if there was a utility to mass install multiple modules via one install.

Other than these minor limitations, and the faults I stated above about the search, there are very few flaws in e-Sword.

Conclusion

What are my final thoughts on e-Sword as a free application? Despite its "necessary" limitations, e-Sword is a great software application. One of the things I enjoyed the most about working with the application is its ease of use. From the very beginning, I was able to jump right into the program and find my way around without any problems. I didn't even have to use the help feature or manual once to try and figure out what I was doing. I feel comfortable in saying that even the most novice computer user will be able to use e-Sword successfully.

For a free software application, e-Sword is everything you could want and more. You get everything you need to perform an in-depth study of the Scriptures. For someone that couldn't afford a more expensive software package, I would definitely recommend e-Sword. It's a useful application from the novice to the expert. If you're going to use the software, I'd highly recommend downloading as many modules as possible so that you can get the most out of the application. You can download it today @ http://www.e-sword.net.

Also, since this is a freeware application, there are plenty of other sites dedicated to e-Sword modules & add-ons. Doing a simple Google search for e-Sword will bring up plenty of results that you can use to expand the software even further (even adding Bibles such as NKJV & NIV).

Part 1 (Introduction)
Part 3 (SwordSearcher)
Part 4 (WORDsearch 7)