diff --git a/web/templates/entry_view.html b/web/templates/entry_view.html
index 379ca6b..5a5a2eb 100644
--- a/web/templates/entry_view.html
+++ b/web/templates/entry_view.html
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ function showToast(message, duration = 3000) {
 }
 </script>
 
-<!-- Highlighter: wait until search data is present -->
+<!-- Highlighter with localStorage fallback + session/template support -->
 <script>
 (function(){
   const FIELD_TO_SELECTOR = {
@@ -477,52 +477,61 @@ function showToast(message, duration = 3000) {
     scripture_raw: "#scripture-text",
     source:        "#source-text",
     talk_title:    "#talk_title-text",
-    talk_number:   "#talk_title-text",
+    talk_number:   "#talk_title-text"
   };
 
-  let tried = 0;
-  function tryRun() {
-    tried++;
-    let q = (window.__lastSearchQ || "").trim();
-    let fields = Array.isArray(window.__lastSearchFields) ? window.__lastSearchFields : [];
-    if ((!q || !fields.length)) {
+  // Run under all scenarios (fresh load, bfcache, soft nav)
+  if (document.readyState === "complete" || document.readyState === "interactive") run();
+  else document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", run, { once: true });
+  window.addEventListener("pageshow", run);
+
+  let ran = false;
+  async function run(){
+    if (ran) return;
+
+    // 1) Respect per-user toggle
+    let enabled = true;
+    try {
+      const res = await fetch("/api/get-prefs/", { cache: "no-store", credentials: "same-origin" });
+      if (res.ok) {
+        const prefs = await res.json();
+        if (typeof prefs.highlight_search_hits !== "undefined") {
+          enabled = !!prefs.highlight_search_hits;
+        }
+      }
+    } catch(_) {}
+    if (!enabled) { ran = true; return; }
+
+    // 2) Obtain q + fields (prefer localStorage to avoid session timing issues)
+    let q = (localStorage.getItem('lastSearchQ') || '').trim();
+    let fields = [];
+    try { fields = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('lastSearchFields') || '[]'); } catch(_) {}
+
+    // If LS empty, fall back to template/session values
+    if (!q || !fields.length) {
+      q = (window.__lastSearchQ || '').trim();
+      if (!fields.length && Array.isArray(window.__lastSearchFields)) fields = window.__lastSearchFields;
+    }
+
+    // Final fallback: JSON script tag
+    if (!q || !fields.length) {
       const dataEl = document.getElementById("last-search-data");
       if (dataEl) {
         try {
           const payload = JSON.parse(dataEl.textContent || "{}");
           q = (payload.q || "").trim();
           fields = Array.isArray(payload.fields) ? payload.fields : [];
-        } catch (_) {}
+        } catch(_) {}
       }
     }
 
-    if (q && fields.length) {
-      highlight(q, fields);
-      return true;
-    }
-    if (tried < 20) { // retry up to ~2s
-      setTimeout(tryRun, 100);
-    }
-    return false;
-  }
-
-  async function highlight(q, fields) {
-    // Respect per-user toggle
-    let enabled = true;
-    try {
-      const res = await fetch("/api/get-prefs/", { cache:"no-store", credentials:"same-origin" });
-      if (res.ok) {
-        const prefs = await res.json();
-        if (prefs && typeof prefs.highlight_search_hits !== "undefined") {
-          enabled = !!prefs.highlight_search_hits;
-        }
-      }
-    } catch(_) {}
-    if (!enabled) return;
+    if (!q || !fields.length) { ran = true; return; }
 
+    // 3) Tokenize like your search: keep quoted phrases; strip wildcards
     const tokens = tokenize(q).map(t => t.replaceAll("*","").replaceAll("?","")).filter(Boolean);
-    if (!tokens.length) return;
+    if (!tokens.length) { ran = true; return; }
 
+    // 4) Highlight in the exact fields that were searched
     for (const f of fields) {
       const sel = FIELD_TO_SELECTOR[f];
       if (!sel) continue;
@@ -530,9 +539,11 @@ function showToast(message, duration = 3000) {
       if (!container) continue;
       for (const tok of tokens) highlightAll(container, tok);
     }
+
+    ran = true;
   }
 
-  // helpers
+  // ---- helpers ----
   function tokenize(s) {
     const out = [];
     let i = 0, buf = "", inQ = false;
@@ -542,7 +553,7 @@ function showToast(message, duration = 3000) {
         if (inQ) { if (buf.trim()) out.push(buf); buf = ""; inQ = false; }
         else { if (buf.trim()) out.push(buf); buf = ""; inQ = true; }
       } else if (!inQ && /\s/.test(c)) {
-        if (buf.trim()) out.push(buf); buf = "";
+        if (buf.trim()) out.push(buf), buf = "";
       } else {
         buf += c;
       }
@@ -558,6 +569,7 @@ function showToast(message, duration = 3000) {
   function highlightAll(root, needle) {
     if (!needle) return;
     const re = new RegExp(escapeRegExp(needle), "gi");
+
     const nodes = [];
     const walker = document.createTreeWalker(root, NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT, null, false);
     while (walker.nextNode()) nodes.push(walker.currentNode);
@@ -582,12 +594,10 @@ function showToast(message, duration = 3000) {
       if (textNode.parentNode) textNode.parentNode.replaceChild(frag, textNode);
     }
   }
-
-  // start
-  tryRun();
 })();
 </script>
 
 
 
+
 {% endblock %}