Did you know that you can build your own library of Bible study and reference books at the new Bible Gateway?

For many years, Bible Gateway has made a varied selection of Bible reference works freely available alongside your Bible reading. (They’re available in the Related Resources drawer alongside any Bible passage page. This video tutorial shows how to access them.) Those free resources are still present, but you can now add to them by purchasing digital products at Bible Gateway!

For the first time in Bible Gateway’s history, you can unlock Bible references and other books to read alongside Scripture. When you unlock one of these digital products, it appears in the Related Resources drawer, providing context-sensitive study material based on the Bible passage you’re reading. You’ll have your very own customized Bible study library, easily accessible anytime you’re logged into your Bible Gateway account.

We’re launching this feature with a handful of select titles, with more on the way. Here’s what’s available right now:

• NIV Quest Study Bible Notes: thousands of study notes from top Bible scholars to help you answer all your Bible questions.
• NIV Study Bible Notes: study notes from the world’s most popular Bible study resource.
• NIV Student Bible Notes: study notes aimed at helping high school and college readers engage the Bible.
• Halley’s Bible Handbook Notes: the classic layperson’s Bible companion.
• How to Read the Bible Book by Book: a tour guide that walks you through the entirely of Scripture.
• Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: the perfect Greek and Hebrew companion to the Bible.

You can see a complete list of available digital products here. These books—and additional ones we’ll make available for purchase in the future—were chosen to be Bible Gateway digital products because we think they add a lot to the Bible reading experience and work seamlessly with the new Bible Gateway site.

So how do you purchase a digital product on Bible Gateway? Just follow these steps:

1. Go to the Bible Gateway beta website. This new feature is only available on the new Bible Gateway—and yes, you can buy these titles with confidence; anything you purchase and unlock on the beta website will carry over when we officially launch the new Bible Gateway.

2. Create or log into your Bible Gateway account.. When you purchase an unlockable digital product, it’s stored in your account, so you must be logged in to access it. Here’s how to create an account if you haven’t already done so (it’s easy!).

3. Look up a Bible verse or passage and click the Related Resources button. It looks like this:

This drawer shows all available reference materials. Titles that are available to be purchased and unlocked are noted with the icon. Here’s what the open resource drawer looks like:

4. Select the title you want to unlock. Clicking on an unlockable title provides some additional information about it. Click on its title or cover image to be taken to the Bible Gateway Store.

5. Add the item to your shopping cart in the Bible Gateway Store and purchase it. Please note that the Bible Gateway Store, which is powered by Christianbook.com, requires you to use or create a Store account for the purpose of processing your purchase. Your Store account and your Bible Gateway account are separate, although your digital product will be unlocked in your Bible Gateway account. This and other common questions are explained in our digital product FAQs.

6. Unlock your digital product by following the instructions in your email. After the purchase, you’ll be emailed simple instructions for unlocking the title in your Bible Gateway account.

7. Enjoy! Your digital product is now available in the Related Resources drawer—right alongside your Bible reading—anytime you’re logged into your Bible Gateway account. You can access your purchased digital titles in the same way that you access the free reference titles—look for your purchased titles in the Resource Drawer, where they’re marked with the word Purchased like this (click to enlarge image):

Just like the other reference works in the Resource Drawer, your purchased products will display information that’s relevant to the Scripture passage you’re reading. For example, if you’re reading the book of Proverbs, you’ll be presentated with information related to Proverbs and, when applicable, to the specific chapters and verses you’re reading (click to enlarge image):

We’re very excited to finally make this feature available to Bible Gateway users—we hope you’ll use it to build up a Bible study library that’s customized to your interests and reading style. It’s a good way to expand your study tools beyond the free options already available on Bible Gateway; and like any purchase at our store, it’s a great way to support the ongoing work of Bible Gateway. So take a look at our digital products and see if any of them catch your interest. And look for more titles to be added soon!