I have been using the YouVersion Bible application on my phone and tablet for quite a while now. It has proved very helpful for reading the Bible, following scripture references and church, and keeping up with daily reading goals by using the “plans” feature. The application is available on Google Play and the Apple Store; Just search for “YouVersion Bible App” to find it.
If you use the YouVersion Bible application on your phone or tablet AND have a voice device (Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa) you can also access YouVersion Bible audio features.
What you need:
- YouVersion App on phone or tablet
- Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice device
If so, you can access certain features from YouVersion via your home device.
How to Access
The first time using YouVersion on a voice device, its a good idea to just activate it.
For Google assistant, say the wake word “OK Google” and then:
talk to YouVersion Bible
For Alexa, say the wake word “Alexa” and then:
open YouVersion
The device will welcome you to YouVersion, may make a suggestion such as the daily devotional, and let you ask for something further.
After activation, the simplest way to access features is to use the phrase “ask YouVersion Bible” and then say what you’re interested in. It looks something like this:
[Wake Word] [ask YouVersion Bible] [Feature I want]
Note: you can also say “tell YouVersion Bible” instead of “ask YouVersion Bible”.
Features
What can you do with your voice device? Check out these available features.
Reading any book, chapter or verse
Starting with the best feature, ask to read any book, book / chapter, or book / chapter / verse. Here are some examples.
Say the [Wake Word] then:
# Book
ask YouVersion Bible to read Jude
ask YouVersion Bible to read Ruth
# Chapter
ask Youversion Bible to read Romans eight
ask Youversion Bible to read Psalms thirty-four
ask Youversion Bible to read Acts chapter three
# Verse
ask YouVersion Bible to read John three sixteen
ask YouVersion Bible to read Ephesians four five
ask YouVersion Bible to read Ephesians chapter four verse five
Listen to your current Bible plan
If you have a reading plan set up in the application, you can access it!
The voice device will begin reading at the first incomplete spot, making this a great way to catch up if you’ve fallen a couple of days behind on your reading plan.
When testing this out; listening to the plan did not credit it in the app. I have had some problems with my current plan being credited. So, I don’t know if the problem is with the app, the plan, or with reading from the voice device. So, if you do listen over the voice device, be sure to check in the app later to see if you were credited appropriately.
[Wake Word]
ask Youversion Bible to read my Plan"
If your reading plan includes a devotional that is text only, it will be read aloud by an AI voice just like the app.
If you have never set up a reading plan in YouVersion, I highly recommend it. I like plans that read the entire Bible or the New Testament within a certain time frame (e.g. 1 year, 6 months). To access a plan from your voice device, it will need to be set up in the app first.
Ask to hear the “verse of the day”
This is a quick one. It will read the “Verse of the Day” found on the home screen of the app.
[Wake Word]
ask YouVersion Bible for the Verse of the Day
Hear the daily devotional
The daily devotional corresponds to the “Daily Refresh” found on the home page of the app. This includes listening to the “Guided Scripture”, the “Guided Prayer”, and then the “Verse of the Day”.
I believe it also credits your daily refresh streak on the app if you listen to it on the voice device.
[Wake Word]
ask YouVersion Bible for the Daily Devotional.
Pray through your prayer list
I haven’t really used the prayer list. But, this feature makes me rethink whether I should use it or not. I’m part of a weekly “prayer cell” meeting from my church and it could be a great way to capture prayer requests and go through them during “prayer cell”.
In the app, this feature is called “Prayer” and is found under the “More” button. To access it from your voice device use:
[Wake Word]
ask YouVersion Bible for my prayer list.
Activate “YouVersion Rest”.
This one is interesting. You can go to sleep listening to background sounds like ocean waves, rain, or piano music while the Psalms are read to you in either a male or female voice.
The first time you use it, your voice device will ask to set up the different options for background sound and voice.
[Wake Word]
open YouVersion rest.
# change up the "rest" options.
ask YouVersion rest to change my background
Select the Bible translation
Choose between five different Bible translations for your listening. These include ESV, KJV, NIV, NLT, and the Message. Hopefully, as time goes by, YouVersion will add additional translations. I would like to see the NASB 1995 and the NKJV added to this list.
[Wake Word]
ask YouVersion Bible to switch to the English Standard Version.
ask YouVersion Bible to use the King James.
ask YouVersion Bible to use the New International Version.
ask YouVersion Bible to make my version the NLT.
ask YouVersion Bible to start using the Message.
ask YouVersion Bible what translations are available
Note: The app has many more audio Bible versions available and the web site has even more. At this time, 1801 audio versions in a large number of languages is available on bible.com.
Summary
YouVersion is already a great app with a lot of helpful features. Enabling voice device access just makes it all the more useful.
Here are some handy links for information referenced in this article.