SpokenWord Audio Bible

Screenshots

About SpokenWord Audio Bible

World English Bible translation - The entire Bible in audio form read by a real person with no drama or background music. All the audio is embedded so you can listen at any time, without the need for a wireless connection.

The audio is the recording of a real person reading carefully and slowly in an American accent without dramatic effect or background music which many find distracting. If you find it too fast or slow for your preference, you can adjust the playback speed while still maintaining the natural voice sound. You can hear a sample of the actual audio by going to this URL in your browser:

http://www.audiotreasure.com/mp3/John/John1.mp3

The program remembers the audio position so you can start listening where you last left off. The audio will keep playing even after the screen is locked so you can save battery power while continuing to listen.

The program is simple to use

- Touch the book icon to select the Book/Chapter/Verse to start at

- You can fast forward, rewind, pause, and skip forward and back chapters & verses.

- Read along with scripture text presented in synch with the audio

- Navigate by Book, chapter and verse

- Sleep timer

- Repeat playback between books/chapters/verses

- Change audio speed to suit your taste without affecting the voice sound.

The World English Bible is a public domain Modern English update of the American Standard Version of 1901 and can be found at http://ebible.org/web/

Version

App Information

Simple doesn't mean outdated

Ever download a Bible app only to get hit with subscription pop-ups, feature gates, and social sharing prompts? SpokenWord Audio Bible goes the opposite direction. One purchase gets you the entire World English Bible read by a real person, no internet required. The app launched in 2009 and somehow still feels relevant, though that simplicity cuts both ways.

Downloaded it expecting another typical audio Bible. What arrived was 776MB of actual embedded audio—the whole thing living on my phone. No streaming hiccups during my commute. No panic when the subway went underground. Just press play and the narrator starts reading Genesis.

Two weeks of listening during my morning routine

Started using this while making breakfast and getting ready for work. The voice is... fine. It's a Midwest American accent, clear and steady. Not dramatic, not emotionally charged, just someone reading Scripture like they're reading to you in a library. Some reviews mention wishing for a more "distinguished" voice, and honestly? I get it. After hearing apps like Dwell with their professional voice actors, this feels more like your uncle reading at Thanksgiving.

The repeat function became my favorite feature by week two. You can loop any section—single verse, three verses, entire chapter. Tried memorizing Philippians 4:6-7 and just had it repeat twenty times while doing dishes. Worked better than I expected.

But then there's the interface. It's functional but dated. Navigation means scrolling through book names with your finger. Want to jump from Matthew to Revelation? Get ready for some scrolling. The sleep timer works great though—set it for 30 minutes and it fades out naturally.

Week two brought the first real annoyance. The text display (which costs an extra $0.99 to unlock, by the way) occasionally doesn't match what's being said word-for-word. Close enough to follow along, but if you're the type who needs perfect sync, it'll bug you.

The pros and cons

How it stacks up

What people are actually saying

App Store reviews sit at 4.86 stars from 301 people, which is pretty solid for an app that's been around since 2009. The common theme? People appreciate that it just works without drama. One chaplain mentioned using the repeat function to memorize three verses weekly—that seems to be the killer feature nobody talks about.

The complaints are consistent too. Multiple people mention wanting a better voice. Someone noted they use this as their "favorite audio Bible app" but admitted other apps have more distinguished narrators. Fair point.

Couldn't find much Reddit discussion specifically about this app, but the broader audio Bible threads on r/Christianity mention people gravitating toward either free options (YouVersion) or premium experiences (Dwell). SpokenWord sits in this weird middle ground—not free, but also not premium.

The translation nobody mentions

Here's something interesting: this uses the World English Bible, which is basically a modern update of the 1901 American Standard Version. It's public domain, which explains the low price. But it's not on anyone's "most accurate translation" list. Scholarly sites mention NASB, ESV, NIV—never WEB.

For casual listening? Probably fine. For serious study, you might want something else. The WEB aims for readability over word-for-word accuracy, so keep that in mind.

Bottom line

Is SpokenWord Audio Bible worth a buck? If you want the simplest possible way to listen to the entire Bible offline, yeah. It delivers exactly what it promises without any nonsense. But in 2025, you're trading features and voice quality for simplicity and a one-time payment.

I'm still using it for my morning routine, mostly because I've already paid and it works. Would I choose it if starting from scratch today? Probably not. YouVersion gives you more translations for free, and if I cared about audio quality, Dwell's yearly fee starts looking reasonable.

But here's the thing—it's 99 cents. Less than a coffee. If you just want to listen to Scripture without creating accounts, linking social media, or managing subscriptions, this gets the job done. Just don't expect it to wow you.