Why Accordance | Shop Now | Archives | Forums

Combined Resources in Accordance 13 for Windows and macOS

Anyone even mildly familiar with Accordance Bible Software knows about the Add Parallel button at the right of the screen when viewing any biblical text. This powerful button allows you to add other Bibles, commentaries, cross reference systems, and even the powerful InfoPane that will scroll along with your Scripture readings. Did you know, however, that you can combine Accordance resources to fit within a single pane next to the Bible? In this month’s newsletter, we will show you what we mean by “Combined Resources” and how to create your own.

Perhaps in the past, you’ve set your Accordance workspace up with an English translation as your primary text. Then, using the Add Parallel button, you add a Hebrew Bible and a Greek New Testament. However, there’s a tremendous waste of screen space because one column will remain blank according to which testament you’re in. For instance, in the image below, the column for the Greek New Testament is empty because the text is currently set to Genesis.

The Accordance solution to this problem is found in our Combined Resources feature. If you go to the Add Parallel button, you should see a section called “Combined Resources.” Clicking on that button will display a preset list of combinations we’ve already created for you. Note that your list may vary somewhat from the image below based on when you installed Accordance and whether you have already created any custom Combined Resources of your own.

If I choose MT-ETCBC + GNT28, I will now have a combined Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament that continually runs beside my English Bible. Now, no matter what passage I’m studying, I will always have my translation plus my original language Bible side by side. Note that among the preselected options in the screenshot above, there are also options for the Septuagint and Greek New Testament together and a few other suggested combinations.

What if the combination you want to use is not in the list? It’s really easy to set up a new Combined Resource. Let’s say I wanted to have a Hebrew Bible that is combined with a Modern Hebrew New Testament. Here’s what I would do: first, I’d use the Add Parallel button to put my Hebrew Bible alongside by English translation. Then, I’d click on the button that looks like two overlapping boxes (indicated in the image below with a pink circle) to combine a second text to my Hebrew Bible—in this example, the Modern Hebrew New Testament with Strong’s numbering. Now I have a combined Hebrew text covering both Old and New Testaments.

Not only can texts be combined, but also any resource that follows verse numbering such as commentaries. For instance, Accordance has separate files for the Old Testament and New Testament books of the Word Biblical Commentary because this series is so large and file sizes have to remain under 2 GB. But with the ability to combine content, you could combined the Old and New Testament Word Biblical Commentaries together in one parallel pane beside your biblical text.

You can also combine a series that has more than two modules. Let’s say you wanted to put all three modules of 22-volume Pulpit Commentary in one parallel pane. Just like before, you would add the first section (Genesis to Job), then the second module (Psalms to Malachi), and finally the third New Testament module. Now you have all three modules in one parallel pane as opposed to just two. By the way, once you combine two or more resources together, Accordance will indicate this with a round red circle behind the Combined Resources button.

Once you’ve created a Combined Resource, if it seems like one you’d frequently want to use, click on the Combined Resources button (with the red background) and select Save This Combined Tool.

Now, anytime you go to Add Parallel: Combined Resources, the newly created combination will appear in your list. Unfortunately for this example of the Pulpit Commentary, currently, it shows up with a really odd name: Pulpit Gen-Job + Pulpit Ps-Mal + Pulpit NT. We can do better than that!

On the Combined Resources menu, choose Manage Combined Resources. In the dialog box that appears, select the new Combined Resource with the funny name and title it “Pulpit Commentary.” Determine where it appears in the menu with the Up and Down buttons. Once it looks right, select OK and it’s set! Now this Combined Resource will always appear in your list from the Add Parallel menu.