Gnomesword - Bible Reading Software for Linux

Gnomesword is a Bible reading and study program for Linux. It is part of the SWORD Project, which aims to "create cross-platform open-source tools that allow programmers and Bible societies to write new Bible software more quickly and easily." The SWORD project currently has software projects listed for Linux (Gnomesword for Gnome and BibleTime for KDE) and Windows. There is also a Mac program available, called MacSword, as well as QPSword, for handheld/PDA devices.

One of the great things about SWORD programs, including Gnomesword, is that they all are written around a set of open standards, meaning any group can make available their translation, commentary, dictionary or study guide, and it will work with all flavors of software. There are currently more than 100 modules (translations) available, in close to 50 languages. In addition, more than 20 Bible commentaries are available for download (most in English), as well as a handful of dictionaries, glossaries, devotionals and general books.

In Gnomesword, adding these modules is as simple as a few clicks. And you will want to add modules, depending on how your version of Gnomesword is packaged. In Ubuntu, Gnomesword comes only with an Arabic translation. To add more translations, simply go to Module Manager (in the Edit menu), click to change the Install Source to Remote, and Gnomesword will download a list of available modules. When that is accomplished, the Install option (under Modules) will have an updated list of all that are available. Simply click the check boxes of those you wish to download, and Gnomesword will go about doing just that.

When this is accomplished, the main menu will now show all available translations.

One of the neat things about Gnomesword is the tabbed interface. Using this, it is possible to view up to five different translations of the Bible at the same time. More valuable (to me, at least), is the option ot have a commentary opened while reading. This is kept current with my place in the Bible, so as I'm reading, say... Psalm 118... the commentary is showing any comments for that particular Book and Chapter.

Gnomesword also offers me the ability to write notes of my own, which are kept right along with the Book, Chapter and Verse they are written about. A very nice feature indeed!

Another option Gnomesword has is the ability to read the bible aloud. Simply navigate to the View menu and then down to the "Read Aloud" option, and Gnomesword will start reading the text in front of you. It's a computer-generated voice, of course, and so many words will be nearly unintelligible, but it's a nice option nonetheless.

Finally, Gnomesword has a search feature, which allows the user to search both within a particular range of verses, or the entire text of the Bible. Searches can be case sensitive, so if you wanted to search for every instance of "Son," but ignore all the lowercase "son" instances, this is possible. You can search through just the Old or New Testament as well, and footnotes may or may not be included in the results. All in all a very flexible set of search options.

Unfortunately, not everything is perfect with Gnomesword. One option - StudyPad - crashed the program every time I tried to start it up. Not good. In addition, there were crashing issues related to deleting modules, but this could have been because I was attempting to remove a standard module that could not be deleted. In either case, a complete program crash was not good; a simple "I'm sorry I can't remove that" dialog would have been better.

In spite of the issues, Gnomesword is a very nice program. Once modules are installed, it is easy to use, nice to look at, full of good features, and fun to work with. Highly recommended!