bible-data

Open, machine-readable Bible texts in the public domain — 33 versions across 22 languages, with a consistent schema.

Each version is shipped in three formats:

• <slug>.json — the whole Bible in a single JSON file
• books/<OSIS>.json — one JSON per book, light and easy to stream
• <slug>.sqlite — SQLite database, indexed for fast queries

Plus a metadata.json per version with license, year, source, and stats.

Read these versions online: midvash.com — a free, ad-supported Bible reader in 9 languages, with search, daily readings, commentary, and AI study tools. This repository powers the underlying data.

---

Quick start

JavaScript / TypeScript

// Fetch one book
const res = await fetch(
  'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/midvash/bible-data/main/versions/en/kjv/books/John.json'
);
const john = await res.json();
console.log(john.chapters[2].verses[15].text); // John 3:16

Python

import json, urllib.request

url = 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/midvash/bible-data/main/versions/en/kjv/kjv.json'
bible = json.loads(urllib.request.urlopen(url).read())
john3 = next(b for b in bible['books'] if b['book'] == 'John').chapters[2]
print(john3['verses'][15]['text'])

SQLite (CLI)

curl -L -o kjv.sqlite \
  https://github.com/midvash/bible-data/raw/main/versions/en/kjv/kjv.sqlite

sqlite3 kjv.sqlite "SELECT text FROM verses WHERE book_id=43 AND chapter=3 AND number=16"

---

Available versions

Lang	Slug	Name	Year	License	Reader
ar	svd	الكتاب المقدس فان دايك (Smith-Van Dyck)	1865	public-domain	open
cs	bkr	Bible kralická	1613	public-domain	open
da	dansk1931	Dansk Bibel 1931	1931	public-domain	open
de	elb1905	Elberfelder Bibel 1905	1905	public-domain	open
de	luth1912	Lutherbibel 1912	1912	public-domain	open
en	asv	American Standard Version	1901	public-domain	open
en	dra	Douay-Rheims American Edition	1899	public-domain	open
en	geneva1599	Geneva Bible 1599	1599	public-domain	open
en	kjv	King James Version	1769	public-domain	open
en	web	World English Bible	2000	public-domain	open
eo	lsb	La Sankta Biblio	1926	public-domain	open
fr	darby-fr	Bible Darby Française	1885	public-domain	open
fr	lsg	Louis Segond 1910	1910	public-domain	open
fr	martin1744	Bible David Martin 1744	1744	public-domain	open
gr	tr	Textus Receptus (Stephanus 1550)	1550	public-domain	open
he	aleppo	Aleppo Codex	1000	public-domain	open
he	wlc	Westminster Leningrad Codex	2008	wlc-license	open
hu	kar	Károli Biblia	1908	public-domain	open
it	diodati	Bibbia Diodati 1649	1649	public-domain	open
it	riveduta	Bibbia Riveduta 1927	1927	public-domain	open
la	clem	Clementine Vulgate	1592	public-domain	open
la	vulg	Biblia Sacra Vulgata	405	public-domain	open
nb	nb1930	Norsk Bibel 1930	1930	public-domain	open
nl	dutch1917	De Heilige Schrift 1917	1917	public-domain	open
pl	bg	Biblia Gdańska	1632	public-domain	open
pt	almeida-livre	Almeida 1819 (Bíblia Livre)	1819	public-domain	open
ro	vdc	Biblia Cornilescu	1924	public-domain	open
ru	synodal	Синодальный перевод	1876	public-domain	open
sv	sv1917	Bibeln 1917	1917	public-domain	open
uk	kp	Куліш-Пулюй (1905)	1905	public-domain	open
vi	vi1934	Kinh Thánh 1934	1934	public-domain	open
zh	cuv	和合本 (Chinese Union Version, Traditional)	1919	public-domain	open
zh	cuvs	和合本 (Chinese Union Version, Simplified)	1919	public-domain	open

The reader column links to that version's online interface at midvash.com.

For full licensing details and provenance per version, see SOURCES.md.

---

Schema

The data follows a single consistent schema across every version. Book identifiers use OSIS codes.

See SCHEMA.md for the full spec, including TypeScript types and SQLite DDL.

---

What's included

• 66-book Protestant canon (Old + New Testament) for translations.
• Original-language texts:
  • Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC), Aleppo Codex
  • Greek: Textus Receptus (Stephanus 1550 / Scrivener 1894)
  • Latin: Vulgate, Clementine Vulgate

What's NOT included (and why)

Modern translations with active copyright (NIV, ESV, NLT, NVI, NAA, ARA, RVR1960, Schlachter 2000, etc.) are not included. This repository ships only texts in the public domain or with an explicit free-redistribution license.

If you need a modern licensed translation, use the publisher's API or read it at midvash.com.

---

Contributing

Spotted a transcription error, missing verse, or a new public-domain translation that should be added? See CONTRIBUTING.md.

To report content issues with the online reader, use the Midvash feedback form.

---

License

• Code (this repository's scripts and metadata): MIT — see LICENSE.
• Bible text data: each version's individual license, declared in its metadata.json and detailed in SOURCES.md. All included texts are public domain or under a free-redistribution license.

---

Related projects

• Midvash — online Bible reader and study platform powered by this dataset, in 9 languages.

---

Data generated on 2026-05-12. This repository is regenerated periodically.