For the fourth time in the last six years, Isaiah 41:10 was the most downloaded Scripture of the year on the YouVersion family of Bible apps, which according to its founder has been installed on 1 billion devices nationwide.
“I think this verse keeps rising to the top because it addresses one of our deepest needs, the assurance that we’re not alone,” YouVersion Founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald said Dec. 4 in announcing the top Scripture. “In a world full of anxiety and uncertainty, people are drawn to God’s promise to be with us, to strengthen us and to help us. That message never gets old because the need for it is universal and timeless.”
‘No huge surprise’
But the Scripture ranked 26th on Bible Gateway apps, where the 23rd and 91st psalms claimed all but one of the top 23 spots. At Bible Gateway, whose creators say was viewed hundreds of billions of times in the past year, Psalm 23:4 was the top Scripture, followed by the remaining verses of the psalm. Jeremiah 29:11 ranked 7th, followed by the 16th verses of the 91st Psalm, with Psalm 91:11 the most popular of that psalm.
“There were no huge surprises this year; most verses only shuffled a few points in one direction or another,” according to a Dec. 1 press release from Bible Gateway. “Psalm 91 continued its ascent (pushing John 3:16 all the way down to number 24), as did Psalm 121. Isaiah added a few verses this year, and Revelation (which did not appear at all last year) resurfaced with a few verses toward the bottom, knocking Ephesians’ ‘armor of God’ verse off the list altogether.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Diana Chandler and originally published by Baptist Press.
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