God’s Word never comes back blank, even if you listen to it in traffic, at the gym, or while folding laundry.
A growing number of Bible resources give listeners the opportunity to interact with Scripture through their headphones, with new platforms and audio versions making it easier to access Bible reading throughout the day.
Creators and fans claim that even without looking at the page, they are able to read more scripture and are prompted to deeper study.
“What’s special about (listening) is that it’s easier to focus on these big themes of Scripture,” said Jonathan Bailey, co-founder of Dwell, an app for listening to Bible. “It’s easier to let the Scriptures take over and just be in a posture of soaking or dwelling. »
Dwell launched in 2018, back when Bailey said most Bible resources were still focused on reading. THE applicationfunded via Kickstarter, now has 2 million downloads.
The You version Bible app added 43 new audio versions of the Bible in 2023 alone and reported that audio chapter readings increased by 47% over the past year. The English Standard Version (ESV) has recently released several new audio versions, featuring a range of different voices and accents, including that of the Irish singer Kristin Getty and Bible teacher Jackie Hill Perry.
The rise of audio Bible resources fits a broader listening trend, with people increasingly relying on their smartphones for information and entertainment. Americans are three to four times more likely to listen to podcasts than they were a decade ago, according to Pew Research Center.
Although listening to Scripture can maximize time spent in the Word since it can be done by multitasking, people may wonder if it is as beneficial as traditional study of the text.
Theologian Michael Reeves recounts one of the new ESV audio Bibles, scheduled for release this week. President of the Union School of Theology in the United Kingdom, Reeves himself listens to the Bible, saying it helps him go through larger parts of Scripture at once and be more immersed in the Word on a daily basis that if only he were. reading it on the page.
He believes the new audio options can have a positive effect in encouraging even more scriptural engagement.
“My feeling is that just the ability to consume more Scripture actually creates an appetite for more Scripture,” said Reeves, author of books such as Rejoice and tremble And Rejoicing in the Trinity. “When I consume audio, I think about the scriptural elements and it makes me want to check things out later. Having listened, it doesn’t make me think I’ve had enough for today; in fact, it also makes me want to read more.
This is especially important for young Bible readers who are accustomed to consuming information and media in smaller volumes and formats than print. More than half of Bible readers access Scripture on their phones at least some of the time, and Gen Z is the first cohort to do so. prefer digital to printedthe American Bible Society State of the Bible investigation found.
Jenny Steinbach, one of the people behind the all-female voice her.BIBLEalso found that younger generations are more likely to engage with Scripture when offered an audio option.
One of Steinbach’s colleagues at Cru was leading a women’s Bible study on a college campus and was having trouble getting participants to read. This changed after showing them the her.BIBLE app.
“They were excited about studying the Bible and excited about God’s Word because they were listening to it on their way to class or between activities in their normal daily lives,” Steinbach said.
Don Jones, Bible editor at Crossway, which publishes the ESV, also noted that audio is an important option for those who have difficulty reading due to learning disabilities or physical difficulties, as well as for those who are simply too tired to open their Bible and read. after a long day.
Like physical media like Audio cassettes then as digital recordings, audio Bibles have a long history on the mission fieldwith ministries such as Faith Comes by Hearing using “listening groups” as a way to distribute the Bible more widely and effectively.
Although audio has many benefits, most people do not view it as a replacement for reading scripture but rather as a complement. Reeves notes that reading on paper is best for in-depth study because it allows the reader to cross-reference and stop and think about what they are reading.
Overall understanding of the text is not necessarily impacted by the format. While some studies have found While reading has a slight advantage over audio, most experts agree that any comprehension gap that might exist is minimal.
“I wouldn’t want people to think that reading is a good thing and that audio is a poor substitute. I think the audio adds something, which is really beneficial,” Reeves said. “But I would also like to say that audio alone will not give you what you can get if you are also able to read and study and delve deeper. The combination of the two is a wonderful opportunity. Let’s realize that both offer something. Let’s try to get the best of both worlds.
Audio Bibles also have the ability to connect with readers by putting God’s Word in different voices.
For the Dwell app, Bailey said he and his brother found narrators through an ad on Craigslist. They were able to find a diverse group of Christian narrators, including a female voice and a Kenyan voice. Since then, Dwell has continued to expand its voice offerings and, in turn, their diversity, which Bailey says is important to their users.
“It was important to make sure that we were trying to give the Bible the full breadth of Christian expression and not just a sort of white, middle American, evangelical expression,” Bailey explained.
It may be meaningful or simply easier for listeners to hear the Bible read by a voice that sounds like them; accents that sound different can put distance between a person and the text.
“I found that by having an American read the biblical tome, in a different accent, it meant there was a bit of distance created,” said Reeves, who is British. “Certain words are pronounced differently, which means there’s almost like a bit of a buffer between reading and taking in.”
Steinbach heard a similar sentiment regarding gender when collecting feedback from her.BIBLE users. Many have spent years hearing the Bible only in a man’s voice and appreciate the opportunity to hear a woman’s voice.
On the other hand, some people perceive different wording and details when they hear a new vocal reading. Offering a range of narrators allows readers to choose the version that strikes them most and move on to another version if they tire of one voice and want to hear another.
Beyond the sound of voices, Jones also said Crossway is looking for ESV narrators who have spent their lives immersed in Scripture.
Both Jones and Reeves noted that the way a person reads a passage is, in some way, an interpretation of that passage: to some extent, the narrator chooses how to convey the meaning of the verse through the words he or she emphasizes, the tone he uses, and more.
“That intimate knowledge of the Word comes through in the way they narrate,” Jones said. “For example, listening to Ray Ortlund’s narration, his cadence, where he places emphasis, his emotional tone, where he chooses to pause, slow down, or speed up… it comes from his deep familiarity with Scripture, (which) shines through in a way that I hope will bless the listeners.