Xiphos is a free, open-source Bible study application for Linux, UNIX, and Windows.^1 Formerly GnomeSword, it is built on The SWORD Project from the CrossWire Bible Society, so you can read Scripture with commentaries, dictionaries, and other texts from CrossWire and Xiphos repositories.^2
The tabbed workspace keeps translations, maps, images, and books open together, and you can save a set of tabs to reopen later.^2 A built-in module manager installs and indexes those resources. Indexed search is nearly instant — including Strong's numbers, wildcards, and a range such as the Old Testament — across Bibles, commentaries, and dictionaries at once.^2
A pseudo-interlinear view places Strong's numbers and morphology under each word. Maps and images resize in the pane or open full size. With the Festival speech engine (packaged by default on Windows), Xiphos can read a verse or selected passage aloud.^2 You can keep personal prayer lists, journals, and commentaries. The interface is translated into 30 languages, with right-to-left support for Hebrew, Arabic, and Farsi.^2
Xiphos started life as the SWORD Project's Cheatah program, and ideas and some code also came from BibleTime and the SWORD Project's BibleCS program.^4 It took the name Xiphos in 2009, when the team renamed GnomeSword because the old name was obscure and was sometimes confused with other software and with Dungeons & Dragons.^2 Behind it stands the CrossWire Bible Society, a non-commercial organization whose products are made by individual volunteers. Its founder began working on SWORD software around 1982 and first posted the source code around 1989.^6
Windows users can download an installer; Linux users typically install through their distribution or Flathub.^7 Source lives on GitHub under the GPL-2.0 license.^4
"This has been my favorite Bible software for the last three or four years. With a couple exceptions it behaves exactly like I would want it to if I had written it. The developers have done a great job." — a SourceForge reviewer^9
Notable:
