# Not Just Words — Bible Search + Thesaurus > Advanced Bible search with synonyms, word forms, and multiple versions. (iPhone/iPad app by Dependency.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-just-words/id483270916 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Dependency](https://appshunter.io/developer/481605737) - Category: Reference, Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.60/5 from 13 App Store ratings · 39 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16.0 · 148 MB - Languages: American English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified, China), Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan) - Released: 2011-12-02 - Data updated: 2026-08-19 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-just-words/id483270916/reviews.md ## What is Not Just Words? It's so frustrating when you think you remember a verse, but you have one or two words which are not quite right, and so you just can't find it. Perhaps you learned it in a different version. Perhaps you only vaguely remember it at all. Either way, if you don't know the right words to look for then you won't be able to find the verse. But Not Just Words is smarter than your average Bible Search app. As well as being able to search for combinations of words it also automatically searches for other forms and synonyms of your search words. So when you search for “pray”, it also looks for “prays”, “praying”, “prayer”, “prayers”, “prayed”... And then it uses a thesaurus to broaden the search even further. So search for “speak” and it also find verses with “talk”, “uttered”, etc... All that in a fraction of a second. You can also search for references like “rom 1:4” or “Gen 1:1;Ex 12:1”, or you can combine these with other searches to restrict them. For example you can search for “pray in Romans” to find the references to prayer in the book of Romans. Or “forgive in NT” to find the new testament references to forgiveness. You can also search for phrases like “holy spirit”. And those searches will also use the thesaurus for each word in the phrase. And you can combine searches with “and”, “or” or “not”. Or “near” to find words within a couple of verses of each other. This app includes the ability to search AMP Amplified Bible ASV American Standard Version CCB Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified) CCB Chinese Contemporary Bible (Trandiational) CEB Contemporary English Version CEV Contemporary English Version CSB Christian Standard Bible CUV Chinese Union Version (Traditional) CUVS Chinese Union Version (Simplified) DARBY Darby's Version ESV English Standard Version GNT Good News Translation ICB International Children’s Bible JCB Japanese Christian Bible JCOL Japanese Colloquial Bible JLB Japanese Living Bible KJV King James Version MSG The Message NASB New American Standard Version NIV New International Version NIV1984 New International Version (1984 Version) NKJV New King James Version NLT New Living Translation NRSV New Revised Stanard Version TLB The Living Bible WEB World English Bible WEBLWT World English Bible with Little Watchman Translation New Testament WYC Wycliffe Bible YLT Young's Literal Translation It also includes the Japanese Colloquial Version using the advanced search features, including the ability to find all the forms of the words you searched for. This version also includes settings which allow you to specify which kanji (if any) you recognise. Unknown kanji will then be replaced by your choice of furigana, hiragana, or romaji. You can also insert spaces between Japanese words to make reading easier for beginners. Similarly for the Chinese Union Version. Both traditional and simplified versions. And you can search either by Chinese characters or pinyin. And if you’re not interested in either Japanese or Chinese, you can just turn them off and never see them again. We also let you set up a daily reading plan, and you can have your phone read it to you each day (using Siri's voice) while you're commuting if that fits your lifestyle. We won’t nag, but we will politely remind you if you get behind. You can turn that off too if you don’t like it. All Bible data is stored locally and does not require an internet connection for reading or searching. Find the verse you’re looking for and make the most of every opportunity. ## Key features - Synonym and word form searching - Thesaurus-powered searches - Search by Bible reference - Combine search terms with logic operators - Support for multiple Bible versions - Japanese and Chinese Bible search with custom display ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Buy Us a Coffee? | $1.99 | one-time | ## Recent user reviews (10 of 39) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-just-words/id483270916/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Not just Words *2025-05-16, version 5.0* The best verse finder ever1 ### 5/5 — Good to excellent *2024-02-27, version 4.9.1* Takes a week to learn how to use it. Don’t give up. ### 1/5 — Frustrating *2023-07-23, version 4.4.2* Trying to find a Bible thesaurus. Not user friendly for me to be able to just search a word (logical) and have the thesaurus give me choices. Instead I search a word and the screen goes blank. Feel free to give any instructions as to what I’m doing wrong. It shouldn’t be that difficult. ### 5/5 — Best bible app I have used *2022-08-06, version 4.4.1* 4 reasons Very fast, has the 1984 niv version I grew up reading and memorizing, quick search engine, parallel Bibles. Keep up the good work. ### 5/5 — Review *2021-09-20, version 4.3.3* This app is excellent in its own unique way. I use it ### 5/5 — The absolute best *2021-08-25, version 4.3.3* This is absolutely the best bible search app I’ve ever had. ### 5/5 — A great little Bible app *2021-05-13, version 4.3.1* This app has loads of flexibility. Siri will read any version to you. You can set your own Bible plans and there’s good access to some foreign languages which are worth checking out for those working in missionary contexts. ### 5/5 — Not Just Words *2020-06-03, version 4.1* Sin e recent App “upfix” using it is frustrating it now can only save in html-poor choice over previous app versions: imho were better than the newer versions! Also support link for email doesn’t work. Since its a “free app” that is commendable for that-good job; still, the newer version leads me ro depreciate its usefulness and functionality over the previous version where copy and paste was straightforward text to do so. Would have sent this via email support link; but as i said the support link in the app is non operational! ### 5/5 — I like it overall..... *2020-03-07, version 4.0* This is a great app. Although, they can make a few adjustments like changing the audio voice which sounds like a robot. However, I would still recommend this app because it is free, easy to search, and it helps you with your Bible vocabulary. ### 5/5 — Love this app *2020-02-25, version 4.0* The title says it all, when you're looking for a verse and only can think of a few disjointed words in it, this app will find it for you. Update as of 7/4/16 - this app will do a much better search than any other Bible software. Also on two occasions I've gotten in touch with the developer and his response was terrific. I contacted him about adding a new Bible version and then again about phrase searching and both times he responded quickly and both times the changes were made. I have a lot of Bible and other software and it's extremely unusual for the developer to go above and beyond to be so accommodating. Very good app and even better developer. 2/24/20 10:05 pm ct I'M ADDING TO THIS HOPING THE DEVELOPER WILL SEE IT. I'VE GOT THE LATEST UPDATE AND I BELIEVE THERE TO BE BUGS INCLUDING THAT THE LINK TO EMAIL THEM DOES NOT WORK. THE BIBLE WON'T STAY ON THE THE BIBLE YOU CHOOSE AND I DON'T SEE A WAY TO COPY THE VERSE OR VERSES THE SEARCH FINDS. ## Frequently asked questions about Not Just Words ### What does Not Just Words do? Not Just Words is a Bible search application that goes beyond simple keyword matching. It intelligently finds verses by searching for synonyms and different forms of your search words, making it easier to locate passages even if you don't remember the exact wording. ### How does the advanced search work? The app uses a thesaurus to broaden your searches, finding verses with related words. It also automatically accounts for different grammatical forms of your search terms (e.g., 'pray', 'prays', 'praying'). You can combine search terms using 'and', 'or', 'not', or 'near' to refine your results. ### What Bible versions are supported? The app supports a wide array of Bible versions including AMP, ASV, CEB, CSB, ESV, KJV, MSG, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NRSV, and many more. It also offers specific advanced search features for Japanese and Chinese Bible versions. ### Is this app free to use? The application is free to download and use, offering its core advanced search functionalities. There are in-app purchases available, likely for additional features or content. ### Who would benefit from using this app? This app is ideal for anyone who studies the Bible, whether for personal devotion, academic research, or sermon preparation. It's particularly helpful for those who struggle to find verses due to variations in wording or memory. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 5.2 — 2026-08-15 We just fixed a couple of issues with the tool bar buttons in the "Context" view. ### 5.1 — 2026-06-18 Fixed a few little bugs, and updated the help for reading Japanese and Chinese. ### 5.0 — 2024-12-02 We fixed a formatting issue with Old Testament poetry in some Bibles. So now they display more like poetry. We added a "Random Chapter" button to the Home Screen. ### 4.9.5 — 2024-04-22 updated NIV ### 4.9.2 — 2024-04-15 fixed a bug which could crash the app when changing bible version. ## Apps similar to Not Just Words | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Women Indonesian Bible + Audio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/women-indonesian-bible-plus-audio/id1606893280) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Reference | | [一沐考编考编库事业单位ABCDE类-2023最新版](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abcde-2023/id1621671540) | — | Free | Reference | | [Catholic Jerusalem Bible+Audio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/catholic-jerusalem-bible-plus-audio/id1605531940) | 4.4 (31) | Free | Reference | | [Angelology](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/angelology/id1607575000) | 5.0 (4) | Free | Reference | | [北京版小学英语-学生最新同步点读口语专家](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id1616159800) | 4.0 (4) | Free | Reference | | [Telugu Bible + Audio Mp3](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/telugu-bible-plus-audio-mp3/id1606887420) | 4.5 (17) | Free | Reference | ## More apps by Dependency - [1000+ Japanese Flash Cards](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/1000-plus-japanese-flash-cards/id481605734) - [Japanese Dictionary + Grammar](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-dictionary-plus-grammar/id481623106) - [Visual To-Do Plus](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-to-do-plus/id485860283) - [1000+ Kanji Flash Cards](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/1000-plus-kanji-flash-cards/id490077984) - [Kanji Writer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kanji-writer/id492004783) All apps by Dependency: https://appshunter.io/developer/481605737 ## Related topics [dependency](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dependency) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-19.*