Most Bible apps try to be everything — devotionals, community features, reading plans, videos. Literal Word takes the opposite approach: strip away every distraction and let Scripture speak for itself. If you've ever opened a Bible app and felt overwhelmed by everything competing for your attention before you even got to the text, this app was built for you.^1
Literal Word offers four word-for-word translations — NASB 1995, the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), ESV (including the 2025 edition), and KJV — chosen specifically for their faithfulness to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. What sets it apart from other Bible apps isn't just the clean reading experience; it's the built-in study tools. Tap any word and pull up the full Greek lexicon (Abbott-Smith) or Hebrew lexicon (BDB) without leaving the passage. A unique visual word search interface lets you organize and filter results across the entire Bible with precision that most apps can't match.^2
Created by Nicholas Honda and a small team who describe themselves as "three sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ," the Literal Word website first launched in 2011 before the mobile app arrived in 2019 to rave reviews — including an endorsement from Three Sixteen Publishing, the NASB's own publisher, who called it "one of the sleekest, easiest to use, and beautifully designed Bible apps I've ever seen."^3 A redesigned web app launched in December 2025, bringing the same distraction-free experience to desktop browsers.^5
Why Christians Love Literal Word: "I've used many Bible apps and this is the absolute best, exactly what I needed. Simple, robust, many options and features. Thank you for providing us access to this app for free. We need Jesus and this is the best app version of the Bible yet. Glory to God for access to His Word in our pocket."^3 Users consistently praise the distraction-free design and the depth of the original-language tools. One reviewer shared, "Not going to lie this is by far one of the best Bible apps on the market. The interface is very user friendly. I like how you can choose between different translations."^6 Another put it simply: "Phenomenal Bible app... easy to navigate, has a beautiful design, built-in lexicon, easy access for notes and highlighting... I would give more than 5 stars if possible!"^6
Platforms: iOS, Android, Web, Amazon, Apple Vision Pricing: Free
