Off-topic: forum Bibleworks help?

I have a new powerful laptop, a 14" MacBookPro m5 with 32GB RAM. I used to be a big Bibleworks user, but was unable to run it on my older Mac. Somewhere in these new forums— which I struggle to use and search— there were instructions on how to use some combo of Terminal and/or Homebrew to install Wine and emulate Bibleworks. (I still have all the files.) Does anyone else remember that thread, or have the search skills to find that thread?

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John

There was discussion about this in another thread. The concise version of how to do it is here:

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1305640#Comment_1305640

This is the picture I posted back then. It was Bibleworks 7, which was the last version that was able to be installed without the online activation servers. I installed it on a MacBook Air as an experiment just to see if it worked, and amazingly, it did. The only issue was that the resolution on my iMac retina 5k display made it look very small on the screen and so would be practically unusable without adding another monitor that ran at 1080p.

Bibleworks 10 added scaling features which allow you to adjust the scaling for a high resolution display. I currently still use Bibleworks 9 on an old Windows 7 machine.

Here is what I remember from memory:

If you have not already done so, the first step would be to follow the instructions at https://www.bibleworks.com to obtain new files to enable activation. (The forum and activation servers are gone now. But new installations are still possible for licensed users by emailing proof of your purchase.)
Installing WineHQ can be done in more than one way. Homebrew worked flawlessly for me in the past. If you do not already have home-brew installed, you would have to install it first.
https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/wikis/MacOS#homebrew
Once WineHQ is installed, you would follow WineHQ documentation to install and run BW.

I am planning on doing a new install of Bibleworks 10 soon so I can help if you have trouble with any of this.

John

Possible caveat for long term use: Someone on the forum had recently pointed out the possibility that Apple might deprecate rosetta2 in the future.

Running the ARM version of Windows 11 in a virtual machine is another alternative, since Windows for ARM has its own translation/emulation system.

Here is how Chatgpt responded on this issue:

✅ Current Situation

Right now (as of late 2025):

Rosetta 2 is still available in macOS on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 chips).
WineHQ and related compatibility layers (like CrossOver) can use Rosetta 2 to translate Intel x86 instructions for Windows apps on ARM Macs.
This combination works because macOS allows:
- x86 → ARM translation via Rosetta 2
- User-level frameworks like WineHQ to run x86 Windows binaries.

⚠️ Apple’s Track Record

Apple has a history of deprecating translation layers once the transition period ends:

Rosetta 1 (for PowerPC → Intel) was removed just two macOS versions after the Intel transition was complete (Rosetta was gone by macOS Lion, 2011).
Apple doesn’t commit to Rosetta 2’s long-term future. The company says it’s for a “transition period.”

So:

Apple could remove Rosetta 2 in a future macOS release, once they feel developers and users have mostly moved to ARM-native software.
If that happens, WineHQ for ARM would still run, but x86-only Windows apps would stop working unless Wine or a virtualization tool can emulate x86 in software (which would be much slower).

🧩 What You Can Do

If you depend on this setup long-term:

Stay on macOS versions that support Rosetta 2 — you can delay upgrading when Apple announces its removal.
Watch the CrossOver / WineHQ project — they are already improving ARM support and building native ARM-to-Windows-ARM translation layers (so that x86 translation isn’t needed).
Keep an ARM Windows VM (using Parallels or UTM) as a backup plan, since Microsoft’s ARM Windows can now run many x86 apps natively.

🧠 Summary

Question	Answer
Is Apple going to remove my ability to run Windows apps via WineHQ + Rosetta 2?	Eventually, possibly yes. There’s no announced date, but Apple has precedent for removing such layers.
Will it happen soon?	Unlikely before 2026–2027, but possible after that.
What’s the safe path?	Track Rosetta 2 support in macOS release notes, and plan a fallback (ARM-native Wine or Windows ARM VM).

Ben

THanks all! I got this figured out now with your help :)

Dr. Nathan Parker

Windows 11 on ARM runs great on my M2 MacBook Air in a VMWare VM for running Windows apps, so even when Apple phases out Rosetta 2, that'll be an option. VMWare is now free, but you'll still need a Windows license. All my Windows apps are running on it though.

John

@Dr. Nathan Parker … VMWare is now free …

Yes it is free, but only for personal use. Since being acquired by Broadcom, VMware has infuriated its corporate user base by requiring expensive subscription packages.

But I have always preferred VMWare to the many alternatives, and because it is still free for personal usage, I consider it still the best choice. But many other people have their own favorite and would disagree with me.