Updated Bible App for Voice: More to try on your Amazon devices.

We live in an amazing time!

First Century Christians treasured the apostles’ letters, hand-copying passages onto scraps of papyrus to share with one another. Today, our smartphones give us hundreds of complete Bibles in our pockets. And those early believers would be astonished to see us speak into the air… and then hear God’s inspired Word read back to us!

Our latest update to the Bible App for Voice makes it more amazing than ever. If you’ve already enabled Bible on your Amazon devices, then you can immediately start trying everything you see below. But if you haven’t, just tap this button (or use your Amazon Alexa App to enable the Bible Skill).

Enable Bible

(You’ll need to sign in with your Amazon.com account.)


Add Verse of the Day to your Flash Briefing.

Alexa’s Flash Briefing offers pre-recorded updates on things you’d like to know as you go about your day, such as news, weather, and traffic. And now, for the first time ever, you can get the Verse of the Day!

In your Amazon Alexa App:

  • Tap Settings > Flash Briefing.
  • Tap Get more Flash Briefing content.
  • Search for “YouVersion verse” (without quotes).
  • Select Verse of the Day.
  • Tap the Enable button.

Once you’ve added Verse of the Day, just ask:

1 Verse of the Day for Flash Briefing is currently only available in the NIV.


Enjoy the richness of God’s Word in professionally recorded audio Bibles.

The Bible App for Voice now offers four versions that feature audio recorded by professional narrators. To switch versions, just try asking:

All of these Bibles include professional audio:

  • English Standard Version (ESV)
  • King James Version (KJV)
  • New International Version (NIV)
  • New Living Translation (NLT)

You can even ask Alexa to read to you.

The Bible App for Voice also offers seven additional versions that are “as read by Alexa.” To change to one of these, just ask:

Here’s the complete list of Bibles Alexa can read to you:

  • American Standard Version (ASV)
  • Amplified Bible (AMP)
  • Good News Bible (GNB)
  • Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
  • The Message (MSG)
  • New American Standard Bible (NASB)
  • New King James Version (NKJV)

Try asking for what you want, in the way you want.

Now you can ask the Bible App to read you verses and passages in several new, natural ways. Just try asking:

Here are some examples of new phrases you can use:

  • I want to hear…
  • I want to listen to…
  • Give me…
  • Tell me…

Enable Bible

(You’ll need to sign in with your Amazon.com account.)

Watch Brand-New Bible Videos in the YouVersion Bible App

Today we’re announcing several videos making their Bible App debut:

How to Read the Bible is an all-new series from The Bible Project, with each video designed to give you the basic skills you need to read the Bible more effectively. And from the Jesus Film Project, Life of Jesus (Gospel of John) lets you see Jesus from the firsthand perspective of one of his closest friends. Also, the short, animated videos from The Bible Project’s Read Scripture series introduce you to facts, themes, and context for every book of the Bible.

All of these videos are perfect for sharing — especially with friends who tell you they want to know more about the Bible!

How to Read the Bible
The Bible Project, 1 episode

While How to Read the Bible is great for introducing new readers to the Bible for the first time, even people familiar with the Bible will enjoy its rich depth and connect-the-dots teaching style. In this first of 14 episodes, “What is the Bible?”, Bible scholars Tim Mackie and Jon Collins explain how the Bible came to exist in its current form.

Watch: How to Read the Bible

Life of Jesus (Gospel of John)
Jesus Film Project, 49 videos

From the Jesus Film Project, Life of Jesus offers a dramatic portrayal of the life of Jesus Christ, accurate to the New Testament gospel account recorded by Jesus’s disciple John. You can enjoy Life of Jesus (Gospel of John) as a full-length feature film, or as a series of 49 videos.

Watch: The Life of Jesus

Read Scripture: Old Testament
The Bible Project, 40 videos

Whether you think of the Bible as one long book or as a small library of connected works, it can be challenging to understand how its various themes and ancient literary styles relate to one another. In this video series from The Bible Project, Bible scholars walk you through each book of the Old Testament, using vivid animations and step-by-step explanations to help you understand where each book fits within the bigger story the Bible is telling.

Watch: Read Scripture, Old Testament

Read Scripture: New Testament
The Bible Project, 31 videos

Just as in their Old Testament series (above), Bible scholars from The Bible Project offer context, explanation, and insight on every book in the New Testament through this series of short, easy-to-understand animated films.

Watch: Read Scripture, New Testament

Keep watching.

The Bible App offers many more video titles in the Videos section, at Bible.com, and on your Apple TV. Enjoy featured content from LightWorkers Media, producers of the epic television series The Bible and A.D. From Jesus Film Media, JESUS tells the story of Christ’s life, in a film shown millions of times all over the world, in over 1,400 languages. And Lumo Project brings the words of Scripture to life in The Gospel of John and The Gospel of Luke.

Watch More Bible Videos

Helpful links:
More YouVersion Bible App Videos we think you’ll love!
Watch ‘The Chosen – Season 1’

Announcing the Winners from YouVersion’s 2017 21-Day Challenge

On February 1, we invited you to join us for this year’s 21-Day Challenge. Users who completed the day’s selections from at least one Bible Plan each day from February 1 through February 21 were entered into a random drawing for our grand prize: a T-shirt, a sticker pack, a mug, and an Amazon Fire tablet! The results are in, and the lucky winner is:

Austin H.

Congratulations, Austin!

(Don’t forget to install the Bible App on your new Fire tablet!) 😉

 

21-Day Challenge Prizes

Throughout the Challenge, many registered users who shared which Plan they were reading with the hashtag #BibleFor21 also won prizes.1 Here they are:

Lanae O.

Joe G.

Nicole B.

Charles S.

Donald P.

Zoltán B.

Chris W.

Katlyn M.

Temo R.

Erica J.

JaSha J.


1Weekly winners will be contacted through the social media channel where you posted. The grand prize winner will be contacted through the email address associated with your YouVersion profile. Winners can expect to receive their prizes within the next few weeks. Refer to our original post for complete contest rules.


21-Day Challenge Badge

Of course, the 21-Day Challenge isn’t about prizes. It’s about connecting with God every day through his Word. So to everyone who completed the 21-Day Challenge this year: way to go! If your special 21-Day Challenge badge hasn’t already appeared on your YouVersion profile, you should see it sometime within the next week.


Keep your momentum going!

We hope your time in God’s Word during these last three weeks has drawn you closer to him. And we hope each day helped you get your daily Bible reading habit going. Our statistics from past Challenges are clear: once you establish a daily habit for several weeks, that momentum can carry you forward on a streak of consistent time in the Bible.

And with thousands of Plans in several languages, your next new favorite Plan is just a couple of clicks away:

Discover Plans


New Bible App icon

The Bible App

The Bible App has been installed on almost 260 million unique devices, all over the world. In addition to offering more than 1,400 Bible versions in over 1,000 languages, the Bible App now features more than 2,500 Bible Plans across dozens of languages. Plans help you build a Bible habit by bringing you select Scriptures each day, and adding context that helps you understand what you’re learning. And the Bible App is always free.

www.bible.com/app

Video: Players from this Weekend’s Game Talk about the Bible App

Sunday, February 5, will be the biggest day of the year in American sports. And, although the top two teams in American football are facing off as rivals on the field, several players from both sides share a love for the Bible. Now, thanks to YouVersion partner The Increase, listen to some of the players from today’s game telling why they love the Bible App:

…when I wake up in the morning, I just grab my phone, log on to the app, and I can read it before I get out of bed.
DEVIN MCCOURTY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

It’s just easy to pull out your phone — any inspiration you need, whatever struggles you’re going through — you’ve got everything you need right there.
JOSH HARRIS, ATLANTA FALCONS


Spread the Word.

Just like you, these guys love being able to connect with God’s Word anytime, anywhere with the YouVersion Bible App. Whether it’s sharing the Verse of the Day, adding Bookmarks, or listening to audio Bibles, we’re all part of the same global community of people seeking God through His Word.

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Now find your inspiration…straight from the source.

Professional Football and the Bible

Professional Football and the Bible
Museum of the Bible, 10 days

Discover the role that the Bible has played in the lives of some of the most iconic players in NFL championship history, from legendary greats such as Vince Lombardi and Mike Singletary to recent stars like Ray Lewis and Russell Wilson.

 

FCA: Heart of a Competitor

FCA: Heart of a Competitor
Fellowship of Christian Athletes, 7 days

Seven devotionals help you spend time with God, inspiring you to become the best person that he created you to be, whether you’re an athlete, a coach, a teammate, or a fan.

 

Faith, Family and Football Challenge

Faith, Family and Football Challenge
FSPN, 7 days

Keep your own Faith, Family and Football Celebration going with this 7-day follow-up, the companion Plan to the FSPN event broadcast during Super Bowl 51.

 

Playing on God’s Team

Playing on God’s Team
T. C. Stallings and Broadstreet Publishing, 5 days

This Bible study and devotional is designed to help encourage, inspire, and build committed Christian athletes who consistently follow Christ’s game plan — on and off the field, in and out of season.

 

The Increase

The Increase
The Increase, 21 days

NFL athletes including Matt Hasselbeck, Josh and Luke McCown, and Brandon Marshall — and MLB stars like Adam Wainwright, Brett Carroll, Paul Maholm (to name just a few) — all share life lessons they’ve learned through their favorite Bible passages.

 

UNPACK This…Inspiring Stories from the NFL’s Biggest Stage

UNPACK This…Inspiring Stories from the NFL’s Biggest Stage
UNPACKIN’ it Ministries, 5 days

Read intriguing stories about Super Bowl history through a lens of faith, unpacking biblical truths that will challenge, encourage, and inspire you.

YouVersion’s 2017 21-Day Challenge: You could win an Amazon Fire Tablet!

If you’re like most people who download the Bible App, you installed it because you believe that reading the Bible is important, and you intend to read it more. One of the best ways we’ve found to start a daily discipline is to complete one short Plan after another in the Bible App.

That’s what our annual 21-Day Challenge is all about: helping you start building a daily habit of connecting with God’s Word.

Also, you could win prizes…

To inspire you, between February 1 and February 21, we’ll be holding drawings where we’ll give away YouVersion T-shirts, stickers, drinkware, and even 7-inch Amazon Fire tablets!1 To be eligible for a drawing, just share a link to the Plan you’re reading that day on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, using the hashtag #BibleFor21. We’ll be searching for #BibleFor21 to build our list of entries each day, so make sure you mark your post “Public” so we can see it. (See the Official Rules below.)

prize-pack

…and maybe even the Grand Prize!

If you complete the day’s selections from at least one Bible Plan each day from February 1 to February 21, you’ll be entered in a special drawing for our grand prize: one of everything — one T-shirt, one sticker pack, one mug, AND an Amazon Fire tablet! (Plus whatever other fun things we can find that will fit in your shipping box.)

And, regardless of whether you win a prize, everyone who completes all 21 days will earn our special, commemorative 2017 21-Day Challenge Badge on their YouVersion profile:

2017-21-day-challenge-badge

(See the Official Rules below.)


Spread the Word.

We’ll be giving away prizes each week all throughout the 21-Day Challenge. Tell your friends, and invite them to join you in the Bible App!

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Official Rules

📲  Get the Bible App

Make sure you have the Bible App installed on a device (or devices), or on the web at Bible.com, that you will be able to use every day from February 1 to February 21.

✔  Sign Up for a Free Account

If you haven’t already, create your own free YouVersion account (or sign in with Facebook or Google).

📑  Start a Bible Plan

Sign up for a Bible Plan — or for several. We recommend that you browse through Plans that interest you and use Save for Later to collect the ones you want to use for the 21-Day Challenge.

Note: You don’t have to begin a new Plan on February 1. If you already started a Plan before February 1 — or more than one — that’s great! Just keep going, and don’t miss any days. (Keep reading for more.)

🗓  Read Each Day

At least once a day, every day from February 1 to February 21, go to your Plans > My Plans and complete the daily selection for at least one of the Plans you’re subscribed to.

IMPORTANT! Each day when you complete your selections, make sure they get checked off. (More on this in a moment.)

👏🏽  Share Your Progress, Be Entered to Win Prizes

After you complete a day’s reading, inside the Bible App, go to that Plan’s Info page (More icon > Plan Info), tap the share icon (Android Share icon or iOS Share icon) and share your Plan to Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and include the hashtag #BibleFor21. Sharing is not necessary to earn your Badge, but it is required to be entered to win one of many prizes we’ll be giving away.

IMPORTANT! When you post on social media, we cannot see posts that are “Friends,” “Private,” or “Only Me.” Make sure that you mark your social media post as “Public” — AND that you include #BibleFor21 — or we won’t be able to see your entry.

1Prizes include YouVersion-branded items such as a T-shirt, stickers, drinkware, tablets, and more. Prizes are subject to change or substitution based on availability. Winners will be contacted with details about how to receive their prizes. Because of some limitations with international shipping, not all items will be available to ship to all countries.

🏅  Earn a Badge!

All users who complete the 21-Day Challenge — reading the day’s selections from at least one Bible Plan each day for all 21 days (February 1 to February 21) — will receive their special commemorative badge in the Bible App. (No Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram posts required.)

IMPORTANT! Badges will be automatically awarded based upon days checked off each day during the Challenge. This is why it is so important that you ensure that each day’s reading is ACTUALLY CHECKED OFF, EACH AND EVERY DAY of the Challenge. We cannot award badges to users who miss checking off any days DURING THE CHALLENGE.

Note: If you already started a Bible Plan before the 21-Day Challenge begins on February 1, that’s great! Just keep going, and make sure you complete at least one day, every day, between February 1 and February 21 — and that each day gets checked off.


Now let’s get you started.

If you haven’t signed up for your next Bible Plan yet, this year’s 21-Day Challenge is just one more great reason to start! With thousands of Plans to choose from, we know that you’ll discover several that you’ll enjoy.

Discover Plans