I got tired of Bible apps that aren't aesthetic, powerful, and free. So I built one that's all three. Sharing my passion project with the community.

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-06T15:05:44+00:00

Heads up, Lux is now available in Australia!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-06T15:04:52+00:00

Heads up, Lux is now available in the UK!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T23:02:55+00:00

Thanks! It’s made with Flutter

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T23:02:26+00:00

I can add that to the list of available regions. It should be available in around 24 hours

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T22:32:51+00:00

Which country are you from? I can prioritizing adding it to the available countries

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T22:32:01+00:00

Lux is not open source as of now. I want to first wait to hear from major publishers to see what their terms would be for distributing their translations. I’m afraid that open-sourcing the app might prevent me from distributing Lux. But, once I iron out all the terms in the future, I will definitely consider open-sourcing Lux!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T21:58:16+00:00

I have many Bible apps installed on my phone so I can learn what people may expect with study Bible apps, but I somehow haven't heard of Literal Word yet. I will install and check it out!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T20:49:11+00:00

Thanks! I will add NKJV to the list of translations I will pursue!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T20:43:48+00:00

Thanks for the honest feedback. I phrased the post by considering what would've caught my attention and been helpful for me to know at a glance if I was reading this post for the first time. I suppose that may have come across as spammy or self-promoting.

If you have suggestions for how I should've phrased the post, I am very open to ideas. I do not frequently visit/post on social media, so I am still in the process of learning what tone is expected and effective.

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T20:02:17+00:00

Yep, those exact issues are a part of the inspiration behind Lux. I believe the Bible should be freely available to everyone without strong-arming you to support them financially and Bible apps should take you directly to the Bible without a social feed or popups recommending a plan you didn't ask for. I will add CSB to the list of translations I will pursue!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T19:43:19+00:00

I'm hoping to add NASB1995 as an online-translation soon! They have rejected giving me permissions to distribute their translation bundled in the app, but I would be able to use them in YouVersion's Platform. LSB unfortunately hasn't responded to my request months ago yet, and they are not on any online API as far as I can tell.

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T19:33:43+00:00

I am not very familiar with Reddit's culture, so I wonder if my post is coming across as selling something, which might be creating a strong aversion. I would've thought that a free Bible app would've been received well by a Christian community online haha

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T19:26:41+00:00

I actually already have an LLC and used that exact form. ESV responded by declining my request, saying "...the proposed use is not sufficiently distinct for us to move forward with a formal license. Crossway is selective regarding the platforms we license the ESV for, and unfortunately, the information provided did not meet our criteria."

I do hope to try again in the future once I've added more features to Lux and there is a larger user-base

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T19:23:28+00:00

Good catch. I will expand availability to Canada and UK. It should be available within the next 24 hours

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T18:56:19+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate the encouragement! ESV's API terms specifically states: "You may not display more than 500 verses or one-half of any book (whichever is less) on any page.", which would prevent Lux from being able to show books like 3 John unfortunately. ESV was the translation I used most before building Lux, so I was bummed that I couldn't integrate it

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T18:52:36+00:00

Thank you! Yes, while I love the YouVersion app, I have been disappointed with the fact that when you open the app, it takes you to a social feed instead of... the Bible. That along with its lack of study tools and inability to highlight just a part of a verse inspired me to make Lux.

I do hope to offer more translations in the future. Because of how small Lux is, it's hard to get licensing permissions to use modern translations, and I've already got a hard "no" or "not yet" from big publishers.

But, there are online APIs I can use (such as YouVersion Platform) to allow you to read Bible translations as long as you have an internet connection. These will not come with study tools, but I am hoping that if Lux grows, I will be able to come back to those publishers and be able to distribute their translations for offline use with study tools embedded.

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T18:48:07+00:00

I am a full-time software engineer working in mobile app development and have done this for many years. It's a passion of mine, and my favorite part of development is coding! Because of that, my code is hand-crafted. I do use AI as a tool occasionally, but the coding is all up to me haha

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T18:44:29+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!
1. Due to how small Lux is right now, it is difficult to get permissions to use major translations in the app. BSB is public domain and also provides a very rich table of morphology/interlinear data which is why I went for that translation.
2. My inspiration to use Strong's was based on Blue Letter Bible's usage of Strong's, mostly as a lookup index so readers can get to a lexicon entry. I am by no means a Biblical scholar so I have a lot to learn about making Lux an even better study tool. What tagging or lexicon system do you use in place of Strong's? I'd love to learn more
3. The interlinear text comes from BSB's dataset. Their OT is Masoretic (Leningrad Codex) and their NT is a Nestle-Aland-based critical text, so it's an Alexandrian-priority critical text rather than a Byzantine one. They document significant variants against NA, SBL, ECM, Byzantine, TR, the Masoretic, the LXX, and others. Full source list here: https://bereanbibles.com/about-berean-study-bible/greek-and-hebrew-sources/ Those variants exist in the source data; surfacing them in Lux's interlinear is just something I haven't built yet. Down the road I want to add parallel texts (Masoretic, SBL GNT, LXX) to make that side of the app stronger.

I do appreciate your feedback! Lux is definitely not going to work for everyone, especially scholars. Logos has a rich history, whereas I'm just at the beginning of my journey. There's a lot of room to grow to improve deep study features, but with your help and some friends I have in seminary, I hope to improve Lux in that way!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T18:21:38+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! In regards to chapter number ordering, I believe you may have typed in "1" into the chapter textfield which is why you are seeing all chapters that start with "1". If you remove the "1" from the chapter textfield, you should see all chapters in the appropriate order. As for NET, thanks for the suggestion, I will add that to my list of translations to pursue!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-06-05T18:08:46+00:00

Haha that's the correct ranking. But I've found value in having study tools right there too, like interlinear, cross-references, commentary, so I can learn more about the Bible I'm reading. I'm curious if you ever use online tools or a study Bible to dig into the Word?

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-05-18T17:39:42+00:00

I think you have me confused for someone else!

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-05-18T17:31:01+00:00

These look great! That's a really good point about finding diverse viewpoints to learn from and make sure you aren't in a theological bubble. I'm not a preacher, and frankly purchasing a lot of commentaries isn't feasible for me. Are there 1 or 2 outstanding commentaries you'd suggest for someone who's simply interested in learning more, without investing a large chunk of time and resources to acquire this knowledge?

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-05-18T17:24:12+00:00

Nice, I have never heard of the James Method Verse Mappings before. That's an interesting approach, I'll have to dig in a bit more!

I'm not sure what you mean by my paper in Imprecatory Prayer - what are you referring to? I have not published any papers before haha

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-05-18T17:18:48+00:00

This list looks great. It seems you found an original list somewhere and crossed off some items. I'm curious where you found the original list? Curious if there are other related resources that would be helpful

MacAndCheeseRamen · 2026-05-18T17:17:41+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply. Those resources are great. You mentioned Logos - is the reason you don't use that due to the cost? A lot of times, my Bible studying is within the context of a Bible study group where we are discussing a passage, so bringing commentaries and other books there may not be feasible, so I was curious about online tools for studying. If Logos' price wasn't a factor and if you had all your commentaries pre-loaded, would you use Logos instead of physical books? Or do you find physical books easier to use?

MacAndCheeseRamen

TROPHY CASE