If you've ever wished you could scribble in the margins of your Bible — circle a word, draw an arrow between two verses, sketch out a thought mid-devotion — Pencil Bible was made for that exact moment. It's a beautifully minimal Bible app built for the iPad and Apple Pencil, giving you the freedom to write, highlight, draw, and journal directly alongside Scripture.^1
Unlike feature-heavy Bible apps that pack in commentaries, cross-references, and social feeds, Pencil Bible strips everything back to the essentials: the text and your pen. Choose from translations like ESV, NIV, NLT, CSB, NKJV, and NASB — with several now available for free — then annotate with the full power of Apple PencilKit, including pressure sensitivity, tilt support, and Apple Pencil Pro tools. A complete rebuild delivered zero-lag performance, smoother navigation, multi-device iCloud sync, and annotation support on iPhone. Recent updates have added a reading streak reminder to encourage daily time in the Word, customizable background themes and patterns, and additional free translations.^1
Pencil Bible is an indie project born from a simple frustration. Founder Erin Walker, based in South Africa, used to wake early for Bible study only to find his pencils and notebooks commandeered by his kids for drawings of kittens and trees. He searched for a digital solution and found nothing that offered true freehand annotation on iPad. The idea became an Indiegogo campaign in 2020, survived two years of development across three different agencies, rejection by two Bible publishers, and a threat from Apple to remove the app — and emerged as a leading Bible journaling app on the App Store. Erin documents the entire journey transparently on his Medium blog, including the difficult decision to abandon a cross-platform codebase and rebuild natively in Swift.^3
Why Christians Love Pencil Bible:
"I've been waiting forever for someone to create a Bible app that gives me the freedom to draw & write next to scriptures!"^1 One user shared, "This is my favorite Bible App I have tried. I love being able to choose the version/s I like, customizable margins, and the toolbar that allows you to not just highlight in different colors but also write/draw notes."^2 On Reddit, a user wrote: "I 100% love it. It has become my main Bible. I use it on my iPad and iPad mini."^5 A reviewer who struggles with focus described it this way: "For me, a squirrel-chasing ADHD adult, physical books don't hold my attention. But using this app during church services, Bible studies, or alone time with God, I actually stay focused."^2 What keeps people coming back is the one thing no other Bible app offers: true margin space. As one reviewer put it: "This app is still the only one I have found that allows writing with my Apple Pencil in a nice wide margin and I can't tell you how much I love that feature!"^2 The developer, Erin, personally responds to nearly every review — a small touch that reflects the heart behind the project.
Platforms: iOS (iPad + iPhone) Pricing: Freemium (free with limited annotations; premium unlocks unlimited)
