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Frequently Asked Questions
- Are the Bible Gateway or its contents available for download
- Can I link to specific verses at the Bible Gateway?
- Does the Bible Gateway offer a search form I can put on my website
- Can I modify the Bible Gateway's search form on my website?
- Are the Bibles at the Bible Gateway in the public domain?
- Are there any copyright or other restrictions on how I can use or quote from the online Bibles?
- Why Are Modern Bible Translations Copyrighted?
- How can I get a print copy of the Bible in a particular version or translation?
- Does the Bible Gateway have any Bibles for PDAs or other handheld devices
- Who maintains the Bible Gateway
Are the Bible Gateway or its contents available for download
No; currently the Bible Gateway and most of its content are only available online. The exceptions to this are those Bibles available in Ebook format, which you can download for use on an appropriate viewer. The Bibles available for download in Ebook format are listed here
Can I link to specific verses at the Bible Gateway?
Yes; you are welcome to link to passages at the Bible Gateway. You can read about how best to do so here.
Does the Bible Gateway offer a search form I can put on my website
Yes, the Bible Gateway provides the HTML code to put a Bible Gateway search box on your website. You can read more about it and get the code here.
Can I modify the Bible Gateway's search form on my website?
Yes, with the following two restrictions:
- the Gospelcom and Bible Gateway logos must remain visible and must link back to their respective homepages
- the Bible Gateway interface may not be surrounded by advertisements or any other potentially misleading information
Are the Bibles at the Bible Gateway in the public domain?
The King James Version is in the public domain in the United States; you may copy and quote from it without restriction. The other Bibles at the Bible Gateway, however, are not in the public domain, unless otherwise specified. You can find copyright information for all of the Bibles at the Bible Gateway here.
Are there any copyright or other restrictions on how I can use or quote from the online Bibles?
Versions which are in the public domain, such as the King James Version, can be quoted and used without restriction. Most of the other Bibles at the Bible Gateway are copyrighted by their publishers, however; these generally allow for some limited personal use and quotation, but you should check each version's specific copyright information before using them outside the Bible Gateway. You can find copyright information for the various Bible versions here.
Why Are Modern Bible Translations Copyrighted?
Many modern Bible translations are copyrighted, and thus place restrictions on the extent to which you can quote or reprint passages from them. Why would a Bible publisher put copyright restrictions on a translation of God's Word? Are they trying to keep the Bible to themselves or prevent you from using it?
Not at all. Publishers retain rights to their translations because producing a Bible translation is an enormously extensive (and expensive) project. A single translation can represent years of work by hundreds of scholars, theologians, and editors, all of whom need to be reimbursed for their work. By retaining their copyright to the translation and asking you to respect that copyright, publishers are able to pay their translators and ensure continued translation work.
This means that downloading or distributing the entire text of a copyrighted Bible translation is not permitted. Fortunately, most publishers do allow you to quote passages from their translations within a reasonable limit. We've listed the copyright information for each Bible version at the Bible Gateway on our list of available Bible versions. For an example of typical Bible version copyright information, read the copyright info for the New International Version, which allows you to quote up to several hundred verses, with a few reasonable restrictions.
If you are looking for a Bible without any copyright restrictions at all, you do have several options. Some older Bible translations are in the public domain and may be freely reprinted, quoted, and copied without any restrictions at all; the King James Version is the most well-known of these. And if you have the skills and dedication, there is nothing stopping you from creating your own Bible translation--there are online projects dedicated to doing just that!
To sum up, Bible versions are copyrighted to make sure that translators are fairly reimbursed for their hard work. Most copyrighted Bible versions have relatively lenient quoting rules that should cover most common situations. But if for whatever reason the copyright rules prevent you from using the Bible as you like, you're free to use a non-copyrighted Bible version.
How can I get a print copy of the Bible in a particular version or translation?
You can purchase many of the translations found on the Bible Gateway at GospelDirect.com. Each Bible purchased at this site helps support the Bible Gateway financially.
You can also contact Bible publishers directly. A list of publishers can be found here.
Does the Bible Gateway have any Bibles for PDAs or other handheld devices
The Bible Gateway doesn't currently feature any PDA-specific Bibles, but there are companies making these available. Two such companies are Olive Tree Software and Laridian Electronic Publishing.
Who maintains the Bible Gateway
The Bible Gateway is maintained by Gospel Communications International, a non-profit, non-denominational Christian ministry dedicated to spreading the Gospel by means of the Internet and other media.
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