Lamp & Line

A calm place to read the Bible. The complete Berean Standard Bible, offline, with one Psalm, one reading and one prayer a day. For iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Common questions

Do I need an account?

No. There is no account, and no way to make one.

Does it work without the internet?

Yes, entirely. The whole Bible is stored on your device, and so is the daily reading. Nothing in the app requires a connection.

What translation is it?

The Berean Standard Bible, which was placed into the public domain on 30 April 2023. The exact source edition is shown in Settings.

What language is the app in?

The app itself is in ten languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. It follows the language your device is set to, so there is nothing to choose. Book names go with it — a French reader browses to Évangile selon Jean, and typing either Jean 3:16 or John 3:16 finds the same place.

Is the Bible text translated too?

No, and that is deliberate. The Bible text is the English Berean Standard Bible. It is the reason the whole Bible can be in the app, offline and free, with no account and no subscription: it is public domain, and other translations are licensed. So you navigate and search in your language, and read Scripture in English. Searching for words in the text searches the English — a reference like Salmo 23 works in your language, but a word search wants an English word.

Is the daily reading translated?

The theme of the day is. The Psalm, the reading and the prayer are in English, like the rest of Scripture — the prayers are original writing that a person reviewed, and a machine translation would not carry that review with it.

Is the Bible free?

On iPhone and iPad, yes, always — the complete text, search, your bookmarks, your notes, Today, one reading plan, and every accessibility feature. Copying or sharing a verse as text is free too.

On Apple Watch, Today is free: the day's Psalm, its reading, and its prayer, with your phone switched off. Reading the whole Bible on the Watch is part of Full.

Lamp & Line Full is a single purchase — never a subscription — that adds reading styles, widget sizes, complications, the whole Bible on Apple Watch, phrase highlights, threads between passages, the share-card studio, and as many reading plans as you like.

Do I have to buy Full twice, for my iPhone and my iPad?

No. Lamp & Line is one app for both, and Full is one purchase that covers them. If it does not appear on the second device, open Settings, tap Lamp & Line Full, then Restore Purchases, and make sure both are signed in to the same Apple Account.

Why are my bookmarks not on my other device?

Because nothing you write leaves the device you wrote it on. There is no account and no syncing, which is the same decision that means nothing you read or search for is ever sent anywhere — so your iPhone and your iPad each keep their own bookmarks, highlights, notes, place in the text, and reading plans.

You can move them across yourself. Settings → Export My Data saves everything from one device as a file; Settings → Import My Data on the other device reads it back in. It is a copy, not a connection: do it again whenever you want the second device caught up.

An import only ever adds. Anything the second device already has — a note you wrote there, a verse you highlighted there — is kept exactly as it is, and the app tells you afterwards what arrived and what it left alone. Importing the same file twice does nothing the second time.

How do I put Lamp & Line in Control Centre, or on the Action button?

Both are the same thing: the app ships two Controls, Today’s Lamp and Continue Reading. For Control Centre, swipe down from the top-right, tap the plus, tap Add a Control, and find them under Lamp & Line. For the Action button, open Settings → Action Button, choose Controls, and pick one. They also work on the Lock Screen, in the two slots at the bottom. Both are free.

Can I search my own notes and highlights?

Yes. Search looks through your bookmarks, highlights and notes as well as Scripture, and shows them in their own section beneath the verses. You do not have to remember the words — searching for waiting can find a verse you highlighted that says wait for the LORD. It happens on your device, and it needs “Find in Spotlight” switched on in Settings, because it searches the same index that setting governs.

Can I find a book from the Home Screen?

Yes — search your iPhone for Habakkuk, or Hebrews, or Job, and open it without opening the app first. All sixty-six are there. That one is not affected by “Find in Spotlight”: the list of books is part of the app rather than anything you wrote, so switching that setting off does not remove it, and deleting your bookmarks, highlights and notes does not either.

Where do the threads on a verse come from?

They are cross-references collected and voted on by readers at openbible.info, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, and shown in Settings. They are suggestions for where to read next — not part of the Bible text, and not a claim about what a passage means.

How do I make a share card?

Tap a verse and choose Share Card, or select the words you mean and choose Share Card from the selection menu. Pick a look and a shape, then Share. Every card carries its reference and the translation, and a card made from part of a verse is marked with an ellipsis so it is never mistaken for the whole of one.

Why will it not make a card of a long passage?

A card holds about 728 characters — the whole of Psalm 23, and more than the longest verse in the Bible. Anything longer cannot be set at a size a person can read, so select less of it, or use Share to send it as text, which has no limit.

I bought Full and it is not showing.

Open Settings, tap Lamp & Line Full, then Restore Purchases. If you bought it with a different Apple Account, sign in with that one first.

Where did my highlights go?

They are stored on this device only — see the syncing answer above. If you restored a device from a backup that predates them, they will not be there. Settings → Export My Data saves a copy you can keep, and Import My Data reads one back in.

Can I get my notes out?

Yes. Settings → Export My Data writes a JSON file with every bookmark, highlight, note, completed day, and reading plan, keyed by passage reference. Import My Data reads that same file back in on any device.

A reminder did not arrive.

Check that notifications are allowed for Lamp & Line in iOS Settings. Reminders are scheduled a month at a time, so opening the app occasionally keeps them going.

Something is wrong with the text.

Please tell us the reference. The text is imported from an authoritative source and verified against it, but a report is always worth having.