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Frequently Asked Questions
- What Bibles and translations are available on the Bible Gateway?
- Why are there so many different versions of the Bible?
- Are the Deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha) included in the Bible Gateway?
- Why don't you have certain versions of the Bible?
- Will you be adding more versions and languages in the future?
- Can I recommend or give to you a particular Bible version or language for inclusion?
- What are the valid abbreviations for the books of the Bible?
- Does the Bible Gateway support 'red letter' versions of the Bible?
- Is there a version of the Bible Gateway for my iPhone/BlackBerry/smartphone?
- Does the Bible Gateway have any Bibles for PDAs or other handheld devices?
- Can I view multiple Bibles in parallel (side-by-side comparison) at the Bible Gateway?
What Bibles and translations are available on the Bible Gateway?
You can see a complete list of available Bibles and languages here.
Why are there so many different versions of the Bible?
Different Bible versions represent the efforts of scholars to translate original manuscripts in a way that communicates effectively to a given audience or language group. Although they may differ in language or diction, the versions offered on the Bible Gateway all agree on major points of theology.
Are the Deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha) included in the Bible Gateway?
The Deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha)--recognized as canon by some Christians and disregarded by others--is included in certain Bibles on the Bible Gateway, such as the Latin Vulgate. You can toggle the inclusion of Deuterocanonical versions (Apocryphal) in your searches on and off on the main search page.
Why don't you have certain versions of the Bible?
There are several reasons why we may not have a particular version. We may not have yet worked out copyright issues with the publisher, or we may be working on other versions and simply haven't gotten to it yet. It's also possible we don't own or aren't aware of a particular version. Feel free to contact us if you'd like to suggest a version for inclusion on the Bible Gateway.
Will you be adding more versions and languages in the future?
Yes--we're always adding new versions and features to the Bible Gateway. You are welcome to suggest a version for inclusion if you have a favorite version that isn't currently available.
Can I recommend or give to you a particular Bible version or language for inclusion?
Yes--feel free to contact us if you'd like to suggest a version for inclusion on the Bible Gateway.
What are the valid abbreviations for the books of the Bible?
View a list of Bible book names and supported abbreviations.
Does the Bible Gateway support 'red letter' versions of the Bible?
Yes, certain Bible versions give you the option of having the words of Jesus displayed in red, to make them easier to distinguish from the rest of the text. (Check our version features page for a list of Bible versions that currently support this feature.) You can toggle this option on or off from the Preferences page.
This feature is not available in many of the Bible versions for technical reasons. This feature requires that certain markup tags be present in the original digital texts that we receive from Bible publishers. For those texts that have the appropriate markup tags, we have made the red-letter feature available.
Is there a version of the Bible Gateway for my iPhone/BlackBerry/smartphone?
There is a smartphone-friendly version of the Bible Gateway available at mobile.biblegateway.com. It should work with most popular smartphones, including the iPhone and BlackBerry, and includes a search box, the Verse of the Day, and the latest Bible Gateway news.
Does the Bible Gateway have any Bibles for PDAs or other handheld devices?
The Bible Gateway doesn't currently feature any PDA-specific Bibles, but there are companies making these available. Two such companies are Olive Tree Software and Laridian Electronic Publishing.
Can I view multiple Bibles in parallel (side-by-side comparison) at the Bible Gateway?
Yes, you can! You can view up to five different Bibles simultaneously, and you can display them side-by-side to compare a passage in several different versions.
It's easy to set up. First, go to the Passage Lookup page (located in the navigation bar on the left).
Type in the passage to look up, like you normally would--but before you click the button to perform the search, take note of the version selector:
Click the "Lookup passage in multiple versions" link below the selector. Several more drop-down selectors will appear, where you can choose additional Bibles to add to your search. Choose the additional Bibles you want to view:
Then click on the Lookup Passage button to look up the passage you entered.
There! The same passage is displayed in each of the Bible versions you chose. By default, the versions are displayed in a list (scroll down to see the passage in all of the Bible versions). However, if you'd like to view all of the Bibles side-by-side, click on the "Columns" layout option:
The end result should look something like this:
You can toggle between a List and Column layout by switching between those two options.
And that's it! You can update the multiple versions (or change which versions you're viewing in parallel) from the passage results page. If you have questions or problems viewing the Bible in parallel that aren't answered in this FAQ, don't hesitate to contact us.
