Navigation
You navigate through the Bible by selecting Laridian's ingenious Go To Verse keypad, pictured in Figure B.

FIGURE B


Navigation is made simple with the Go To Verse keypad. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The icon has a hand pointing to an open Bible. The calculator-like pad appears, and you can scroll through the books listed on the left-hand side. After selecting one, you tap on the keypad on the right-hand side of the box to enter the particular chapter.

Copy and Paste
Now, let's say you want to quote from a section of verses for a paper that you're working on. Select Copy Passage from the Edit menu (or Control-Y on the Handheld PC). In the example in Figure C, I selected John 3:16 using the pad.

FIGURE C


The book I'm viewing is automatically selected. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Of course, for a single passage, it's easier to merely highlight the text and select Copy under the Edit menu. But, let's say you want to select a range of verses. As a test, I selected a range at random, Job 3:15-4:21, and the whole thing was copied to the clipboard. I find it much simpler than trying to cut-and-paste into documents.

I then selected Psalm 38:19-21 with Footnotes checked. The notes are appended at the end of the passage.

Multiple Bible viewing
The PocketBible program also allows me to view two different Bible versions simultaneously, as seen in Figure D. If the additional Unger's Bible Dictionary is purchased, you can even look up names and obscure references and then return to where you started.

FIGURE D


Here, the KJV and NRSV Bibles are shown simultaneously. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Find features
The rapid Find feature will find every occurrence of a word in the Bible, including any front matter from the publisher. For me, this eliminates the need for an exhaustive concordance. The optional Instant Find feature lets me highlight a word in the text and tap on the search icon.

Attachments
An additional feature, sure to be popular with students and Bible scholars, is the ability to attach your own notes to passages, which can even include some HTML tags! The program also has some built-in helpers to format your notes the way you want to. You can also view your own text and HTML files in PocketBible. Bible references in your files will automatically link to the Bible verses!

Bookmarks
What Bible software would be complete without bookmarks? By selecting the icon at the end of the toolbar, the bookmark window appears. I had to tap on the Help icon, which directed me to tap on the Add tab. Although you can't name the bookmark (it uses the chapter and verse you select), you can create categories to file the bookmark. The listing can then be filtered by category.