BibleRef is a free, donation-supported verse-by-verse Bible commentary from Got Questions Ministries, for readers who want to sit with a passage and understand it without seminary jargon.^1 Every note is weighed against three principles: Biblical Authority, Accessibility, and Discipleship. Scripture comes first, the prose is aimed at the non-expert, and the aim is a whole-person following of Christ. The project does not favor any theological system for its own sake.^1
For each verse, the app and site give six Bible translations, easy-to-understand commentary, and a brief explanation of how the verse fits in its surrounding context, with extensive cross references you can follow into related passages.^2 New commentary publishes about twice a month. As of October 15, 2026, the newest additions were chapter commentary on 1 Kings 11 to 15 and Isaiah 40 to 44, alongside a growing Spanish library.^3 The same commentary is on the web and in the free iOS and Android apps, and new notes can be downloaded in the app through its settings menu.^2
BibleRef was a longtime dream for Got Questions. A donor who shared that goal funded the first ten months of development, and Jeff Laird left his engineering job to become the project's editor, working with a start-up team that also included S. Michael Houdmann and Dillon Burroughs.^4 The published writers are not named; Got Questions Ministries edits the material for clarity, accuracy, and consistency, and Houdmann, the ministry's CEO, may be cited when a byline is required.^1 Content may be shared or printed for non-commercial use with credit.^1 Humans write the published commentary; the ministry says it uses research tools only to speed research, not to generate the notes.^6
Readers describe the daily help the commentary gives:
"I use this every day! I've learned so much more in my Bible study using this app." - Lily Robinson, Google Play review^2
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