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The Teacher of Ecclesiastes writes, "Of the making of many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh" (Ecclesiastes 12:12). If he were writing today, the Teacher might advise, "Of the making of Bible software there is no end, and much study can be done without weariness of flesh." Software providers continue with significant enhancements and refinements that make study, sermon preparation, and small group leadership more efficient, accurate, and portable for pastors and lay leaders alike.

Bible software development began in the mid-1970s when biblical text was stored on mainframe computers using a special coded language. Even though this first step was quite an accomplishment, it still took an enormous amount of time and room (not to mention frequent frustration) to prepare lessons and sermons.

Now a pastor can carry several versions of the Bible and various Bible tools in the palm of a hand. Portability is the growing edge of Bible software. "You don't really need a laptop to look up one verse, and you don't need connectivity, either," says Steve Rosenman, product manager at Franklin Electronics.

Franklin offers its handheld Bible in King James and New International Versions. Each comes with a Bible dictionary and a standard dictionary. "People can carry these five-ounce products anywhere without being conspicuous or cramped," says Rosenman.

Franklin also introduced the Franklin Exhaustive Concordance, a very thin, lightweight device weighing just one ounce. It consists of a screen and a small functional keyboard on a thin membrane. According to Rosenman, the concordance is thin enough to use as a bookmark for your Bible.

Some Bible software is designed specifically for personal digital assistants (PDAs). Parsons Software produces Quickverse 8.0 for PDAs as well as for desktops and laptops. "Whether they are used by pastors or laypeople, PDAs are great ways to carry multiple Bibles and use them anywhere for study or devotion," says Britt Edwards, vice president at Parsons. "It's great now to download sermons to PDAs to review while in hospital waiting rooms or at airports."

New, expanded capabilities allow Bible students to do biblical and theological research nearly anywhere. "We pioneered the use of the Palm and Pocket PC systems for study in original languages," notes Paul Miller, director emeritus at the Gramcord Institute. "A user can review the original texts on handhelds. We are releasing the Septuagint morphological approach now."

Portability is one measure of convenience—speed is another. Gathering information, studying, and preparing are much faster because the software combines several tasks at once. "With a particular verse, the pastor or layperson can use five different reference elements in less than five minutes," says Pike Lambeth, vice president of operations at the Lockman Foundation. The Lockman Foundation features New American Standard Bible resources in the Logos Libronix system.

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