Mantis Bible Study

I’ve been using Mantis for several years now. Yes, it seemed like the developers had forgotten about it, but they’ve been hard at it in the silence. This version (Mantis X) was worth the wait. It’s much easier to use and has more than enough scope for handheld devices. For general search and convenience reading, it’s hard to beat.

The new features which relate to Markers and Notes are too problematic to use at the moment. The main issue is once the keyboard is displayed it is very hard if not impossible to get rid of. If you make a note and return to the bible the keyboard remains in place. Keyboard generally gets in the way. In iOS Notes app you now have to swipe down to get rid of the keyboard rather than a specific keyboard key to get rid of keyboard- however this does not work in Mantis X. If after reading a bit more using half the screen you want to make a second note then you can see only “Bookmark” “Highlight” and “Note” You cannot see or get to “Copy” or “More” My suggestion is: Settings icon > Settings - scroll to bottom and select “Bottom bar off” Setting icon > Show markers off Close app and reopen This will return the app to the functionality of the previous app until these bugs are fixed.

New version is getting there. Missing the scrolling and voices. Almost everyday there had been an update recently- haven’t yet tried it on windows but look forward to doing so. Have had this app for years and bought many titles. Great for Strongs references.

I realise you guys are working flat out on the update. Could you please fix first the need to log in every time I open the app. Three stars because old app was exactly what I needed and am hoping new version will get there soon.

The app had not been working for some time, which is frustrating having bought add ons. The interface is very old fashioned now. Not nice to read on an iPad, especially with Strongs numbers. But it is one of the heavyweight apps that can help with delving into word dictionaries, lexicons, commentaries, etc. The ability to compare versions inline is quite good, sling with the daily reading plans. But the lack of a personal journal feature is a big weakness. The ability to copy and share is limited to a one-verse-at-a-time process, so is not great for sharing or sermon preparation. It is a good that Vines is available, but disappointing that you can't jump to entries straight from the bible (rather you have to remember the strongs number, switch to search, type it in, and manually look the reference up). In summary, could be great, but without some love and attention, is going to get left behind by newer fresher apps.

But you can't stand still when asking for £10+ for every version you want. There is a current glitch trying to copy and paste out verses (you have to do it twice before it works), it crashes a lot more often and it takes twice as long to load. I would have rated this five when I first got it and I don't mind paying a bit for a new interface.. the irony is the lesson in patience!

Some reviewers have perhaps been a little hasty in writing this one off. Although it has not been updated very recently, the existing product installs fine on new devices running iOS 9. If you have experienced crashes or launch failures before, try deleting and re-installing this app. Mantis Bible Study remains one of my tools for portable Bible Study, not least because of the wealth of resources available, and the ease of use. Recommended for the serious Bible student.

Has this stopped working for other people on the iPhone 6? Works on an iPhone 5 but not iPhone 6

Now it consistently crashes every single time I open it (iPhone 5). It has been doing this for the past 5 or so months. I've had to get a replacement app because I'm serious - it always always crashes; it never opens. :( Did it in iOS 6 and I hoped iOS 7 would fix the problem. Nope :'( Please fix this...

It doesn't open on iPad, please fix.