For Agents
Look up Bible verses by reference, browse books and chapters, and fetch a random verse from public-domain Bible translations.
Get started with Bible API in minutes using your preferred integration method.
# Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf)
{
"jentic": {
"url": "https://api.jentic.com/mcp",
"auth": "oauth"
}
}
# Then ask your agent:
"look up a Bible verse by reference"
# → Jentic returns the GET /events tool with parameter schema, agent executes.What an agent can do with Bible API API.
Look up a Bible passage by reference such as John 3:16 or Romans 8:28-30
List the available Bible translations supported by the API
Browse the books inside a specific translation
List the chapters available within a specific book
Retrieve every verse in a chapter for full chapter reading
GET STARTED
Use for: I need to look up John 3:16 in the World English Bible, Get a random Bible verse, List the available Bible translations, Retrieve every verse in Genesis chapter 1
Not supported: Does not handle audio, commentary, or licensed translations such as NIV and ESV — use for free public-domain Bible verse lookup only.
Bible API is a free Bible verse lookup service that returns scripture passages by reference, lists available translations, and serves random verses. The default translation is the World English Bible (WEB) and additional translations are exposed under /data/{translationId}. Agents can fetch a verse by passing a human-readable reference such as 'John 3:16' directly in the path, or browse books, chapters, and verses through the structured /data tree. There is no authentication required, which makes it well suited to side projects and embedded scripture displays.
Fetch a random verse for a daily-verse widget
Patterns agents use Bible API API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Daily Verse Widget
Display a random Bible verse on a homepage or send one to subscribers each morning. The /data/{translationId}/random endpoint returns a complete verse object with reference and text. Because the API is unauthenticated, the widget can call directly from the browser; for higher reliability, cache the verse server-side to reduce origin load.
Call /data/web/random and return the reference and verse text for a homepage banner.
Reference Lookup Chat Bot
Build a chat bot that resolves user-typed references like 'show me Romans 8:28' into the verse text. The /{reference} endpoint accepts the reference directly in the URL, supporting single verses, ranges, and multi-chapter references. Because no API key is required, the bot can run as a lightweight serverless function with no credential management.
Call /John+3:16 and return the verse text in the WEB translation.
Multi-Translation Comparison Reader
Render the same chapter across multiple translations side by side. Call /data to list translations, then /data/{translationId}/{bookId}/{chapter} for each translation chosen. The structured /data endpoints return JSON arrays of verses, making side-by-side rendering straightforward.
Fetch /data/web/genesis/1 and /data/kjv/genesis/1 and align verses by verse number for a comparison view.
AI Agent Scripture Reference Resolver
An AI assistant explaining a sermon can fetch the cited verse text on demand through Jentic. The agent issues an intent like 'look up John 3:16', loads the schema, and executes /{reference}, then quotes the verse with citation in its answer. Because the API is unauthenticated, Jentic discovery still helps by routing the right operation without the agent parsing the path scheme.
Search Jentic for 'look up Bible verse by reference', execute /John+3:16, and return the verse text.
6 endpoints — bible api is a free bible verse lookup service that returns scripture passages by reference, lists available translations, and serves random verses.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
/{reference}
Look up verses by reference string
/data
List available translations
/data/{translationId}
List books in a translation
/data/{translationId}/{bookId}/{chapter}
Read a chapter
/data/{translationId}/random
Get a random verse
/{reference}
Look up verses by reference string
/data
List available translations
/data/{translationId}
List books in a translation
/data/{translationId}/{bookId}/{chapter}
Read a chapter
/data/{translationId}/random
Get a random verse
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
Bible API requires no credentials, but Jentic still mediates the call so agent traffic can be metered and the agent's identity is preserved without exposing infrastructure details — there is no secret to leak.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search by intent (e.g., 'look up Bible verse by reference') and Jentic returns the matching operation with its path parameter shape, so agents do not need to know that the reference is encoded directly in the URL.
Time to first call
Direct integration: an hour to handle URL-encoded references and translation parameters. Through Jentic: under 15 minutes — search, load schema, execute.
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
API.Bible (Scripture API)
API.Bible by American Bible Society offers commercial-grade Bible content with more translations behind an API key.
Choose API.Bible when you need licensed translations such as NIV or ESV; choose Bible API for free, public-domain translations.
Al Quran Cloud API
Al Quran Cloud serves Quran lookups when the application also covers Islamic scripture.
Pair with Bible API in a multi-faith scripture app: Bible API for Christian texts, Al Quran Cloud for the Quran.
Bhagavad Gita API
Bhagavad Gita API covers Hindu scripture lookup alongside Bible API's Christian content.
Use both in a comparative-religion study app to surface verses from each tradition.
Specific to using Bible API API through Jentic.
What authentication does Bible API use?
Bible API requires no authentication — every endpoint is public and rate-limited only by fair-use conventions. Through Jentic, calls still flow through the platform so usage can be tracked and the agent can be billed centrally even when the upstream API is free.
Can I look up a verse by reference like John 3:16?
Yes. Pass the reference directly in the URL path, for example /John+3:16 or /Romans+8:28-30. The response includes the parsed reference, verse-by-verse text, and the translation identifier (default WEB).
Which Bible translations are available?
Call GET /data to retrieve the list of supported translations. The default for unauthenticated requests is the World English Bible (WEB), a public-domain modern English translation. Other translations exposed by /data can be selected via the /data/{translationId} tree.
How do I get a random verse through Jentic?
Search Jentic for 'random Bible verse', load /data/{translationId}/random, and execute with translationId 'web' for the default. With the SDK: pip install jentic, then SearchRequest, LoadRequest, ExecutionRequest in an async flow.
Is Bible API free?
Yes — bible-api.com is operated as a free public service. Use it responsibly: cache responses where possible and avoid re-fetching the same verse repeatedly. There are no paid tiers in the OpenAPI spec.