The Text Comparison tool allows you to compare multiple texts to quickly spot similarities and differences.
Skip ahead to:
Open the Text Comparison Tool
You can access the Text Comparison tool in two different ways:
Use the Tools Menu
- Click Tools and select Text Comparison.
- Verbum opens the Text Comparison tool in a new panel.
Use the Context Menu
- Right-click a word in the verse you want to compare. Select either of the top two links in the left-hand column of the Context Menu.
- In the right-hand column, click Text Comparison.
- Verbum opens the Text Comparison tool in a new panel.
Select Versions to Compare
Verbum opens the Text Comparison tool using the current (or most recent) active version as your base text.
Note: To change your base text version, open a Bible in your desired version and re-open the Text Comparison tool.
- Click the link displaying your version to the right of the reference box.
- Choose your desired comparison versions in one of these ways:
- Enter the version name/abbreviation in the Find box and check the box to the left of the version.
- Select a collection (e.g. Top Bibles).
- Scroll down and select individual versions by checking the box to the left of each version you want to compare.
- Click Save. Verbum displays your base text and selected versions. In the future, you can select your saved batch of versions from the dropdown menu. If you click outside the selection menu without clicking Save, Verbum applies your selections in the Text Comparison tool but does not save these changes for later use.
- Click outside the version selection menu to apply your changes.
Text Comparison Tool Features
Layout
Verbum automatically optimizes your version display according to the panel size. Click the panel menu icon to manually switch between vertical and horizontal (column) layouts.
Note: Click any version abbreviation in the column heading to open the version to the passage in a new panel.
Show Differences
Clicking the Show differences icon displays the places where each comparison version differs from the base text. Words in black are the same as your base text. Words in blue are those which differ from your base text. Hover over any of the small red circles to display how your base text differs from the chosen translation. At the end of the verse, Verbum displays the percentage of difference between a version and your base text.
Show Base Text
Click the Show base text icon to display the base text along with a different version. Verbum inserts the base text into a comparison version. Words in your base text that occur in the comparison version display in black. Words that are in your base text but not in the comparison version display in gray with a line through them.
Note: In order to activate Show base text, the Show differences button must be clicked first.
Verses/Interlinear
Click the dropdown menu to display your text as Verses or in an Interlinear format. Choosing Interlinear aligns the words of each selected version with the closest corresponding word in the base text. When this results in a different word order than the base text, Verbum indicates the word order of the different version with superscript numbers preceding the word.
Note: If you use an English version for your base text and an original language text for your comparison text, the Interlinear view alters the word order of the original language text to correspond to the word order in the base text. If you use an original language text as your base text, the Interlinear view alters the word order of the comparison versions. (Learn more about other interlinear resources in Verbum.)
Follow a Version
Verbum allows you to sync the Text Comparison tool with an open Bible resource. When this feature is active, the Text Comparison tool automatically follows the location of the active Bible resource.
To activate this feature:
- Click the panel menu icon
.
- Select Follow.
- When you enter a new reference in the Reference box of your open Bible, the Text Comparison tool automatically displays the new active reference.
Note: To completely link the Text Comparison tool with a resource, select one of the link set letters. Learn more about Link sets.
To disconnect a Bible version from the Text Comparison tool, click the panel menu icon and deselect Follow. Open a new Bible panel. The Text Comparison tool remains open to the current Bible reference and does not display reference changes in the newly opened Bible panel.
Print/Export
When the Text Comparison tool is in the Verses display mode, you can print or export the results from the Text Comparison Tool by clicking the panel menu icon and selecting Print/Export. This allows you to send the current display to a printer or other application, such as a word processor or web page.
Note: Verbum prints/exports the text range displayed in the reference box. Edit this range by entering the passage you want to export into the reference box before selecting this option.
Additional Resources
Verbum Help: Text Comparison