NEW: Smart Bible Search, ready for beta testing on Desktop
This functionality requires a license to access it. Please join this Faithlife group if you'd like to participate in testing smart Bible search.
Smart Bible search gives you the ability to easily search individual Bibles for whatever you are looking for, without needing to know special syntax. Now you can use natural language to search your Bible in a brand new way, using this new mode to run searches like courageous women or care for the needy.
Smart Bible search typically finds more relevant verses faster than using Precise search and results will be shown in order of relevance rather than canonical or resource order. This search mode will also use the Smart search engine by default, unless you enter Precise search syntax (such as using an exact phrase/in quotes, query contains special syntax, or the entire query is in Greek or Hebrew).
With the release of smart Bible search, we will introduce the ability for users without a subscription to try it out. In order to receive beta testing on that, we will remove the license for smart Bible search from beta testing earlier than normal to allow for adequate time to test trying it without a license.
This new search mode is available on the desktop app, web app, and mobile app. Let us know what you think about smart Bible search in the comments below!
Comments
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Don't get me wrong - I see the need for it in the questions asked in the forums. But after my first test crashed, here is my second try:
For my personal use, I don't see extraneous answers as a good motivation for giving up counts and alternative display formats. I promise to play with it more to find bugs … but I don't promise to use it heavily in real life - occasionally it will be useful but I generally know precisely what I am looking for.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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But after my first test crashed
Thanks for the quick report, @MJ. Smith. The team is looking into it now.
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Smart Search tends to err on the side of including more verses, but it usually does a pretty good job of putting the most useful verses first.
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I searched the phrase: suffering in 1 Peter. The verses in the result are not all in verse order. The results are not in verses but in what look like pericopes. Also when I click more at the bottom of the results it starts to show verses that do not contain suffering or related words. As I continued to click more the results started to contain verses in other bible books.
As with M.J. I tried the same search in precise search, by specifying 1 Peter as the search parameter and suffering as the search term, and the results showed only verses containing the word suffering and its variations, all in verse order containing only the verses and not pericopes. which is what I expected to see. The results are longer than a screen shot can contain so I didn't make one.
I can't see any way to copy the verses except by Command A (CTRL A). I tried to make a passage list in the panel menu but to no avail. The way the results were in what looked like pericopes instead of individual verses wasn't a useful thing to copy. A copy button would be good, or the ability to make a Passage List.
[Edit] Eventually I found I could make a passage list by opening the passage list tool from the resource panel menu, then choose ADD then ADD FROM CLIPBOARD in the tool. Would be good if it just fit it from the panel menu selection.
When I changed the bible version from LEB to NKJV and hit return it kept searching and did not finish. I had to crash out of it by switching to ALL and come back to Bible then it worked when I tried again.
I am really interested in seeing what searched others try.
it doesn't seem to use significant AI tokens like a Smart Search Synopsis, which is a bonus.
👁️ 👁️
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I like it so far in limited use. The first one I tried was 'followed from behind' (no quotes), and it nailed the synoptic gospel verses of Jesus being followed by Peter when he was arrested. It followed it with other verses of people following. It was rather interesting to just browse the other verses (I was looking for the Peter verses)!
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The suggestions to improve the functionality of "Save as passage list" in Smart Bible Search are excellent.
I like how the verse results in Smart Bible Search are in order of relevance rather than in verse order. I do not mind seeing additional verses, as long as the most relevant ones are listed first. I like how I can type questions in an entirely different way and Smart Search will give me results that correspond to the meaning of my question without getting hung up on the words of my question (e.g. verses that I can share with a grieving friend).
I do not expect Smart Bible Search to replace Precise Bible Search. They serve different purposes and will both be useful in their own right.
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Just tried this in the web app and I really like it. Save as Passage List would be a great addition to get the result out of the search box. I ran several "Jesus talking about…. " searches that were very accurate and on point. Great start!!
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I searched "every time jesus quotes from deuteronomy" and not only got relevant quotes from Jesus, but ALSO the citation itself. Incredible!
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The suggestions to improve the functionality of "Save as passage list" in Smart Bible Search are excellent.
We agree that this functionality is important! We have already begun work in this area, along with Print/Export, but just couldn't quite get it into v40.
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I like this new Bible Smart Search, and the ability to save as passage list would make a good feature even better—thank you Logos.
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The verses in the result are not all in verse order.
Thanks for beta testing, @Antony Brennan! Correct. They are not expected to be in verse order, but instead are ordered by relevancy.
When I changed the bible version from LEB to NKJV and hit return it kept searching and did not finish. I had to crash out of it by switching to ALL and come back to Bible then it worked when I tried again.
I wasn't able to reproduce this and would appreciate more details, if possible. Was your query still "suffering in 1 Peter"? Did you have any additional versions displayed, or just LEB?
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[Edit] Eventually I found I could make a passage list by opening the passage list tool from the resource panel menu, then choose ADD then ADD FROM CLIPBOARD in the tool.
@Antony Brennan This is a helpful workaround, thanks!
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Okay, I asked some questions that got impressive results:
- aforti arguments in Paul
- inclusio in Ephesians
- antimetabole in the Gospels
- beatitudes in Revelation
- beatitudes in the wisdom literature
- type scene woman at the well
- scripture plus tradition
- personal names given folk etymologies
- passages frequently read with Gen 1:1-2:3
- angels in 1Enoch
- colophon to Job
However, I also realized that there are a few issues in terms of using the results:
- without counts, I have no indication if I need to narrow my search
- "chreia in apocrypha" and "cheria in apocrypha" both give results, actually different results with no indication of the spelling error, how it was corrected, etc. leaving me vulnerable to continuing on not knowing my results may be crap.
- requests such as "passages frequently read with Gen 1:1-2:3" require that I know more about how the routine works to know whether the data is actually meaningful.
- As a matter of habit, I distrust Logos tagging (a stance Logos has duly earned) so I always try to confirm the results by running a second search which should duplicate the results. However, I have already discovered that looking for the institution of Lord's supper, communion, Eucharist produces different results, including differences in the boundaries of the selected passages. However, it is not obvious why.
In short, it works well for casual use where definitions and completeness are without consequence but lacks the checks and balances necessary for use in academic and teaching positions.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Hi Anna
I was using suffering in 1 Peter. I cannot duplicate it myself 😀. I didn’t realise it was in relevance order that makes sense to me now. Thanks
👁️ 👁️
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Is it intentional that the smart search is limited to a single Bible?
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Yes. (You can add additional versions to the results display, of course.)
How would you envision it being used to search multiple Bibles at once?
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Most obvious: Searches for things like the colophon to Job … I always remember I need to look in LXX resources but don't remember which LXX. The same issue arises in all text that is omitted/added to particular version.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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I have plenty of AI credits and it is telling me that I have used up my limit. This is only true for Bible Smart Search. Other AI features work fine. I am on Version 40.0 Beta 1. Apple Silicon Mac.
I also went through the process of uninstalling the app completely. Reinstalling it, updating to beta. And I still get the same issue.
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Looks like I needed to join the early beta tester group again. Seems to be fixed.
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It appears to have been trained on a diet of Rapture theology where any allusion is a rapture.
A query for rapture prioritized passages like 1 Thess 4:16-17**, Jn 14:3, Rev 3:10, Titus 2:13, 1Thess 1:10 (used by defenders of Pretribulationism). Coming passages Rev 1:7, 16:15, 22:7 are listed but the Coming of Rev 3:11 and 19:11-14 are omitted. This is significant only for the lack of consistency, particularly as Zech 14:5 is listed.
A query for caught up (ESV) prioritized Rev 12:5 below 1 Thess 4:16-17**. It is the only passage with that phrase and it is not listed with rapture. Acts 1:9-11 was prioritized higher than the rapture query. But it cannot be said that it is a rapture with "taken up" any more than John 17:15 (not listed by either query) is with "take them out", whist Rev 3:10 is listed with "keep you from" as is John 17:15!
** the obvious #1 passage for the Rapture.
I am concerned that users will be presented with a distorted/confusing picture of topics like the Rapture with the many allusions provided in Smart Bible Search.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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You shouldn't treat Smart Bible search as being able to provide exhaustive answers. Rather, it suggests passages that are likely to be helpful to you. It starts with the most relevant and errs on the side of caution, so if you click "More" often enough, you'll likely to end with results that are only tangentially related. That's one of the reasons why we don't provide counts. The count would only mean, "here are ten suggestions of passages in Revelation you might consider to be beatitudes". It wouldn't mean, "there are definitely ten beatitudes in revelation — not nine, and not eleven".
We'll consider explicit (rather than implicit) spelling correction.
Regarding your last two points, to a certain extent, AI is a black box that we can't truly peer inside. I can explain the broad principles of how it works, but I do not have insights into how individual results are generated for specific queries. Not even the top AI data scientists earning millions at OpenAI or Google can do that.
But I can theorize about some of these differences. It's likely that people who use the term "Eucharist" are likely to do so in the context of a particular set of passages. Those passages will overlap significantly with but not be the same as those passages used to talk about "the Lord's supper." It's likely the AI is reflecting that nuance.
John 6:53-58 is the first result for "eucharist", but the sixth for "lord's supper." Given that this passage can be used to argue for transubstantiation, and given that proponents of transubstantiation are more likely to use the word "eucharist" than "lord's supper", then it seems reasonable that a Bible search for "eucharist" would give more prominence to John 6 than a search for "lord's supper" would. (To be clear, I don't know that is what's happening. But it's a reasonable guess, and it's certainly the sort of thing that's happening.)
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@Mark Barnes (Logos) this is a great point you are making that needs to be communicated as this feature goes live. Many will be concerned about bias and your explanation helps to define limitations in its use. It is not necessarily be what marketing would want.
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Great explanation, especially the nuanced example. Thanks @Mark Barnes (Logos)
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The explanation is still buried in a forum most don't visit. My impression is the AI tools (especially Bible) present as more 'confident', than the traditional search. Sort of a flawed commentary (not criticizing).
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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This is something we care about. Would it help to have a support article or FAQ that explained more about how our AI tools worked? If so, what sort of questions should that cover?
One of the reasons we named the traditional search "Precise" was to try to help communicate the difference between it and the AI/Smart search. We also make clear that Smart searches are AI-generated and give this advice when you hover over that.
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I guess I'd plant the caution on the results page. Mainly because the AI Bible search will be so good (to basic users). It'll do what the 'old' commentaries did.
I'd suspect experienced users would say keep 'as is'.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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@DMB has me pegged in that I like the caution as in on the Bible search. Having it any more prominent would just get in the way imo. I see Bible smart search as the least "dangerous" of all the smart searches, because it produces nothing except Bible verses as search results. What's the worst that could happen? Is it even possible to read irrelevant Scripture? Ok, no more philosophizing.
I noticed All and Books smart search do not have this same caution (though I did see it at the bottom of the synopsis if you maximize that). It may be even more useful in these locations.
Would it help to have a support article or FAQ that explained more about how our AI tools worked?
Most certainly. I prefer a support article over FAQ because it could be integrated into the Help Center and thus be more searchable/accessible. It would be pretty cool if the Help Center query "how does AI work in logos" would yield a helpful result at the top of the page.
If so, what sort of questions should that cover?
I think the more the better. This is one area where less is not more. People are skeptical about AI and I believe would profit from gaining insight into Logos' use of it. I'm talking everything from the theoretical approach to why you think it's helpful (I know this exists in other places, but it could be summarized and brought together) to the technical details of how it performs the search (I read something about smart search using precise search to grab results and then using AI to sort them? It would be so much nicer if this information wasn't only scattered in the forums but rather organized in one easy-to-find location), to the superficial elements of why the AI counter takes a sabbatical every month and disappears. Perhaps multiple articles on AI could be bundled together in some fashion if that would work better from an organizational standpoint.
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So, distilling that into questions...
How does Logos use AI?
How is Logos AI helpful to me?
How does Logos AI prioritise its answers?
Is Logos AI a chatbot?
Should I trust Logos AI search or summarisation results?
Where has my AI counter gone?
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How does Logos use AI?
a variety of ways from summarization, to illustrations, to assisting searches …
How is Logos AI helpful to me?
It depends upon what you use Logos for and how you study. For myself I use it primarily to find a starting resource or two for a rabbit trail to follow when I know little about the subject and to write a synopsis when I am too lazy to write my own.
How does Logos AI prioritise its answers?
I don't know.
Is Logos AI a chatbot?
Definitely not
Should I trust Logos AI search or summarisation results?
No, you need to check and verify just as you always do with Logos. No more and no less.
Where has my AI counter gone?
It resets once a month and disappears until it has a non-zero value.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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