I often have to remind myself that indeed “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl 1:9). Postmoderns call it a déjà vu. The entry I wrote back in 2008 on Just How Much Influence do Bloggers Have? could just as well be my post for today. Nothing much has changed. We’re in a loop of sorts.

I’ve mentioned before that I never anticipated I would be writing Bible software reviews. Yes, I know I haven’t done so lately. It is true that I am too busy with other things, but there is a more fundamental reason: for the most part, and with rare exceptions, it is not fun anymore. History repeats itself. If you write a positive review, people might think you’ve been bribed one way or another. On the other hand, if you raise criticisms, then surely you must have some axe to grind. Reviewers will always be accused of having some vested interests, no matter what. No wonder reviewers are so difficult to find! You can very easily become a VIP or a persona non-grata in no time!

What actually prompted me to revisit this whole thing was the article Five Reasons Not to Buy Logos. Admittedly, I would never use a controversial title like that, but the review itself is balanced and well-written. One may partially agree or disagree, but he certainly makes some valid points. However, I can’t help feeling some sort of empathy with this unnamed missionary. Opening certain boxes can be unpleasant. You never know if it will end up being Pandora’s.

So, what should we do? I know that generalizations are unfair, but still, it appears that some companies are more interested in hype and ads than they are in reviews. A review is neither an ad nor a rehash of the info provided by the corresponding Public Relations department. You want publicity? Pay for it. You want a second opinion from a fallible but even-handed blogger? Get your product reviewed. Incidentally, I find a bit disturbing some of the current uses of social networks too. Personally, I refuse to blog, retweet or comment on every single sale, offer or product available. It’s nothing personal. It’s the way I see things. For me this is not a business, it’s a service. I reserve the right to mention or not mention whatever I want. You are free to read or not what I say, and so am I to review only what I really enjoy and find useful.

Let me make this clear: I will never, ever, again directly request to review any product. I don’t care how good you think your app is. If I don’t find it personally interesting, challenging and useful, I won’t bother with it. So don’t ask me how many readers I have, or how many monthly visits, or how influential the site and blog are (influence is a highly overrated notion anyway). Simply ask yourself if you really want to know my opinion (or somebody else’s) on the perceived value of your program. You don’t? Fair enough. You do? Le me decide if I’m interested in reviewing it. Why? Because I’m worth it

Having said that, the question still remains: is it really worth the effort to take on the task of reviewing Bible software? More often than not I would answer in the negative. As of late, only occasionally do I find any joy in doing it. It is clear to me that Bible software has become too much “the business of Bible software” and has lost the essence and impetus of the pioneers in the field. Sad but true.

Yesterday I read the sad news that Jeff Wheeler, Bible software developer and co-founder of Laridian, went to be with the Lord. My deepest sympathies to his family, friends and co-workers. May his memory be for a blessing.

There are a number of Reina-Valera Bible editions currently available. The most widely used in Spanish-speaking countries is probably the 1960 version (although there have been other revisions published since then). However, these Bibles are all copyrighted and it is not always easy and/or financially feasible to include them in software packages. This has resulted in the widespread use of RV1909, or even earlier editions, since these are now public domain texts. But the use of less than perfect e-texts, as well as the inherent difficulty of sometimes outdated expressions or words, can be problematic at times. I remember very well when I first began to use Bible software (feels like ages ago!) and kept finding typos which I then reported to almost anybody who offered electronic Spanish Bibles back in the day. Needless to say that things have improved a lot nowadays, but still there was something that I felt was sorely lacking.

In a loose kind of way –particularly so in the most recent incarnations–, Reina-Valera Bibles have followed  the Masoretic Text and the Textus Receptus, and have adopted a formal approach to Bible translation, while preserving, at the same time, a really good literary style. In this sense, the 1909 edition has struck a nice balance. It is a PD text that follows very closely the traditional Hebrew and Greek texts and still reads quite nicely. So, seeing that none of the other versions (including those based on the Critical Text) were readily available, this one seemed like the best candidate to use as part of a project I had had in mind for years: an electronic Spanish Bible tagged with Strong’s numbers that could be used by everybody and further developed with other types of tagging in the future.

I am happy to report that the first stage of this project is now ready for prime time. Reina-Valera 1909 with Strong’s Numbers is currently available for the following Bible programs: Accordance, Bible Analyzer, e-Sword, SwordSearcher and theWord. It should be coming soon to BibleReader and PocketBible. In the meantime, if other companies not mentioned here want to offer this title to their customers, they are welcome to contact me. My goal is to make it as widely available as possible. Please note that I don’t send the files to individuals, and that the terms and conditions may be different from one software vendor to another. Once they get the files and produce their module, everything else is entirely up to them. The only general condition is that the module should be locked (i.e., users cannot modify it) so that changes can only be implemented by the editor (in this case, me!). However, users are welcome and encouraged to email me typos and suggestions.

This is still a work in progress but already fully useable. The power and flexibility of having a Spanish Bible tagged with Strong’s depends largely on the application being used, but in some cases it can be pretty amazing, as I will try to show in future posts.

Existen en la actualidad diversas ediciones de la Biblia Reina-Valera. La que más se utiliza en los países de habla hispana probablemente siga siendo la versión de 1960 (pese a que desde entonces se han publicado otras versiones). Sin embargo, todas estas Biblias se encuentran bajo copyright y no siempre resulta fácil o económicamente viable incluirlas en un paquete de software. Esto ha provocado que se extendiera la RV1909, o incluso ediciones más antiguas, ya que se trata de textos no sujetos a derechos de autor. No obstante, el uso de textos digitales que distaban de ser perfectos, así como la dificultad propia de algunas palabras o frases anticuadas, podían plantear problemas. Recuerdo muy bien cuando me inicié en el uso del software bíblico (¡parece que hace siglos!) y no dejaba de enviar correcciones a casi cualquier compañía que ofreciera versiones electrónicas de las Biblias en español. Huelga decir que actualmente las cosas han mejorado mucho, aunque todavía hay algo que seguía echando en falta.

Tradicionalmente, la Reina-Valera ha seguido el Texto Masorético y el Texto Recibido de una forma más o menos libre –especialmente en las versiones más recientes–, y ha adoptado el método de la traducción formal, preservando, al mismo tiempo, un estilo literario de gran calidad. En este sentido, la versión de 1909 mantiene un excelente equilibrio. Se trata de un texto de dominio público que se atiene a los textos tradicionales hebreo y griego y cuya lectura resulta agradable. Así pues, viendo que ninguna de las otras versiones (incluidas las basadas en el Texto Crítico) estaban fácilmente disponibles, me pareció que esta era la mejor candidata para utilizarla en un proyecto que había tenido en mente durante años: la creación de una edición digital de la Biblia castellana con los números de Strong que pudiera ser utilizada por todos y emplearse posteriormente para añadirle otro tipo de etiquetas o códigos en el futuro.

Me complace informar de que la primera etapa de este proyecto está acabada. La Reina-Valera 1909 con los números de Strong se encuentra ya disponible para los siguientes programas bíblicos: Accordance, Bible Analyzer, e-Sword, SwordSearcher y theWord. Pronto lo estará también para BibleReader y PocketBible. Mientras tango, si otras compañías tienen interés en ofrecer este título a sus usuarios, sírvanse contactar conmigo. Mi objetivo es que goce de la más amplia circulación posible. Tengan en cuenta, eso sí, que no envío los archivos a particulares, y que los términos y condiciones de su uso puede que sean diferentes según el programa. Una vez que entrego los archivos y las compañías de software crean sus módulos, todo lo demás depende de ellos. La única condición general es que el módulo esté bloqueado (esto es, que no pueda modificarse), de manera que solamente pueda realizar cambios el editor del mismo (o sea, yo). Sin embargo, invito a todos los que usen este módulo a que me comuniquen cualquier error que puedan encontrar y a que me hagan llegar sus sugerencias a través del correo electrónico.

Se trata de un proyecto que sigue en marcha (especialmente el Antiguo Testamento), aunque puede utilizarse perfectamente tal como está. Las posibilidades y la flexibilidad de poder contar con una Biblia castellana con los números de Strong dependen en gran medida de la aplicación con la que se trabaje, pero en algunos casos, como pretendo demostrar en próximos artículos, resulta realmente espectacular.

I thought it was about time someone tackled this issue. What do you think?

Accordance acaba de lanzar nuevas Biblias castellanas con números de Strong. A la ya conocida Reina-Valera de 1960 hay que añadir las versiones de 1909 y de 1995. Además, durante este mes de febrero están disponibles a un precio de oferta excelente. También existen opciones de actualización para quienes dispongan de estos textos sin números de Strong y deseen actualizarlos.

Este es un vídeo que explica algunas de las ventajas que tiene trabajar con las Biblias castellanas con números de Strong en Accordance.