Bible Desktop – Java Bible study application

Bible Desktop is a graphical Bible study application developed by the CrossWire Bible Society. It provides a workspace for reading scripture translations and consulting reference works such as commentaries, dictionaries and devotional material.

The application is built on JSword, CrossWire’s Java library for accessing and searching Bible modules. This gives it access to a collection of textual resources also used by other applications in the SWORD ecosystem.

Bible Desktop is an established program whose interface reflects an older generation of Java desktop software. It remains an example of how JSword can be used in an end-user application, although compatibility with modern Linux environments needs to be considered independently of ongoing JSword development.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• Read Bible translations through compatible SWORD modules.
• Access commentaries, dictionaries, glossaries and other theological works.
• Use a tabbed interface to switch between different study materials.
• Arrange resources in separate windows or sub-windows.
• Display multiple Bible translations for comparison.
• Highlight differences between adjacent translations of the same language.
• Navigate directly to scripture passages using book, chapter and verse references.
• Use a passage sidebar to control how much scripture is displayed.
• Search Bible texts for individual words and phrases.
• Exclude unwanted terms from searches to narrow the results.
• Look for words appearing close together in the same passage.
• Use prefix searching to find words beginning with specified text.
• Use Lucene-based indexing to speed up searches of installed Bible resources.
• Access daily devotional material through compatible modules.
• Use the JSword library for reading and managing supported textual resources.
• Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Website: www.crosswire.org/bibledesktop/
Support:
Developer: CrossWire Bible Society
License: GNU General Public License v2.0

Bible Desktop is written in Java. Learn Java with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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