Dwell: Audio Bible
Listening to the Bible is easier (and more fun!) than it’s ever been with the Dwell app.
Back in 2018, brothers Jon & Josh Bailey launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Dwell Scripture Listening App. They reached their $50,000 goal in less than three days, and went on to raise a total of $128,859. Later that year, Dwell made its debut in the App Store for iPhone, and in 2019 it became available for Android devices as well.
I feel like I’ve been seeing a ton of ads for Dwell over the past year (the likely result of spending all my time consuming and creating online content about the Bible), so I recently downloaded the app to see what it was all about, and what I discovered is that Dwell is a beautifully designed app with a ton of great features. It’s a whole new way of listening to the Bible that I quite enjoy.
I invited Becca to join me for the video review, and we had a blast chatting about Dwell and doing a full demo of the app.
**Watch the video, and keep reading for more details and a special DISCOUNT for Bible Review Blog fans.
Dwell – Overview
Dwell is an easy to use and beautifully designed app filled with unique ways to listen to the Bible. As Becca says in our video review, it’s like Spotify for the Bible, and that’s really a great way to think about it. You can listen to any passage of scripture by simply searching for the book, chapter, or verse, or you can subscribe to a number of carefully curated plans and playlists. And if you’re looking for an even more immersive experience, Dwell’s new “Read Along” feature provides the text of scripture to engage your eyes as well as your ears.
PLANS & PLAYLISTS
If you’re currently reading through the Bible in a year (or you’d like to), Dwell has several different plans that you can choose from. Simply find the one that’s right for you, subscribe to the plan, and then open the app every day and it will be there so you can listen. They also have a bunch of plans that last a week or a month, and more are always being added.
In addition to plans, Dwell has dozens of different playlists that are filled with a variety of Bible passages curated by topic. There are playlists for when you’re feeling stressed, angry, lonely, or tempted. There are playlists themed around spiritual disciplines like prayer, worship, and fasting. And one of my favorites is a 38-minute collection of all of the parables taught by Jesus.
CUSTOMIZABLE AUDIO
Perhaps the most impressive feature of the Dwell app is its customizable audio interface. Once you’ve chosen what you want to listen to, the audio player lets you choose between a variety of different voices and Bibles translations. As of today, Dwell offers twelve different voices in seven different English Bible translations (ESV, NIV, KJV, CSB, NKJV, NRSV, MSG), as well as one in Spanish, but they continue to expand their selections.
I’ve been listening to the British accent of “Rosie” reading the ESV, and Becca has been listening to an American called “Austin” read the CSB. You can control the speed as which the voice speaks (slowing them down or speeding them up at several intervals), and you have a selection of background music that was created just for the Dwell app.
Dwell includes several other unique features like a “Repeat” option that’s helpful for memorization, a “Reflect” option that gives you time to consider what you’ve just listened to before moving on, and a Sleep Timer that makes it possible to fall asleep while listening to scripture.
In one of Dwell’s recent updates, they added the “Read Along” feature for a more immersive experience.
Physical vs. Digital
There was a stretch of time a few years ago that I spent more time reading the Bible with apps like YouVersion and websites like BibleGateway.com than I did with a physical copy of the Bible. It was mostly a matter of convenience, but after awhile I started to miss the experience of holding a Bible in my hands, and the search for a physical copy of the Bible that I would truly love to read was what inspired me to start Bible Review Blog.
Despite my love of the tactile experience of reading scripture, I still think there’s room for technology in my rhythms of engagement with the Bible, and listening to scripture is one of the more unique ways to do this. I have been an avid podcast listener for years, and it might surprise you to learn that my two favorites are The Tony Kornheiser Show (“La Cheeserie”) and The Big Picture. I love listening to these podcasts when I’m in the car, when I exercise, or when I do yard work. And now that I have Dwell, I find myself much more inclined to listen to the Bible during these activities as well.
Right For You?
Unlike most of the physical Bibles I review, you can actually download Dwell for free and try it out for a week without paying a dime, and I’m confident that in those seven days you’ll be able to determine if Dwell is right for you. After that, you have the option to subscribe annually for $29.99 or pay a one-time fee of $149.99 for lifetime access to the app.
BUT WAIT !!!
I reached out to Dwell to see if they could do a little better than this for Bible Review Blog readers/watchers, and they created a special landing page where you can get 10% off the annual subscription ($26.99/yr) or 33% off the lifetime plan ($99.99). Click here to get one of those deals.
Bottom Line:
Dwell looks great, is easy to use, and is filled with great content and customizable features.
Listening to the Bible has never been better.
