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.

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.

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