MacSword: Free Bible Software for Macintosh

The Mac is known for many things but one of the great things about the Mac is the rich and vast developer community associated with the platform. There is software, a lot of it free, for just about any task you want to accomplish on the Mac. A common tool that many people of faith look for is a good Bible program. Well there is a free product out there to meet that need too. It is called MacSword.

MacSword is a fully-featured, highly-customizable Bible application that allows users to install multiple versions and translations of the Bible. In addition there are versions of the Bible for MacSword that are in other modern languages for those who would rather read the Scriptures in a language other than English. There are even numerous study guides and commentaries that help enrich the user's Bible study.

How Does It Work?

You can download MacSword at macsword.com. The program is installed just like any other program on the Mac. Once the installer mounts, simply drag the MacSword icon to the Applications folder. At this point MacSword will not be of much used because you have to install the proper "modules" to get the specific functionality you would like.

Modules are what make MacSword tick. There are a myriad of modules that can be downloaded from the Sword Project Web site at crosswire.com/sword/modules. Here you will find tons of Bible texts, dictionaries, glossaries, commentaries, devotions, maps and all sorts of translations. You have to be sure to download the Mac versions.

The latest version of MacSword uses what is called "an integrated module installer." The MacSword installer creates a folder called "Sword" in your Mac's ~/Library/Application Support/Sword/ folder (the symbol "~" refers to the name of your root menu which is usually your username for your computer). But you do not have to worry about this because the new Module Installer will take care of everything for you.

How To Install MacSword Modules

Let's try start by installing the King James version of the Bible. If you have not done so already, launch the MacSword application. Next go up to the MacSword pull-down menu and select Module Installer. If it asks you to if you would like to confirm the Module Installer's link with Crosswire, tell it to do so. Once you are in the Module Manager, you can select the triangle next to the word "Crosswire" and see a breakdown of the categories of modules that are available. Let's go under Bible Texts and scroll down to find the King James Version. From here installation is simple. Right click on your selection and select "Install". The item will be tagged for installation. Finally click "Process Tasks" at the top of the window and MacSword will install your module for you. Now restart MacSword and you will find KJV under the Bibles section in Macsword. Install any of the other great modules the same way. Check out the many commentaries and devotions available for MacSword.

How To Use It

Now that you have your Bible module, how do you use it? Well launch MacSword and select the Bible translation you wish to use. When the main window for the Bible module appears you can select a book and chapter and verse from the drop-down menu at the top of the window. Books are listed in the same order as in a traditional Bible.

Suppose you want to search for a particular word in the Bible. Select "Find" from the View pull-down menu and search away! Keep in mind that the software will have to index the Bible first in order to find the word you are searching for. Once the search is complete you will be presented with the results showing every verse that contains your query.

You can even choose to highlight the words of Jesus in the New Testament just like in a traditional Bible. To turn on this feature go up to the "Options" pull-down menu and select "Jesus Word Highlight" and all of the words of Jesus will be converted to red text. The Options menu includes other handy features such as adding in Strong's Concordance numbers to all of the words in the text and these are clickable whereby you can view the original Greek with notes from the Strong's Concordance.

It is amazing that great software like MacSword is available absolutely free of charge. So head over to MacSword.com and take this great Mac application for a test drive and see if it doesn't enhance your daily Bible reading and study. Good luck!