Red Letter Bible API

API Documentation

Authentication

The Bible API offers free access to all Bible text data. No API key is required for basic usage.

Free Access

curl "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/chapters/KJV/John/3"

To access character-range Red Letter data for Jesus' words, include your API key in the x-api-key header.

With Subscription

curl -H "x-api-key: bible_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/chapters/KJV/John/3"

Rate Limits

Rate limits apply to authenticated red letter requests only. Free Bible text access has no rate limits. The following headers are included in authenticated responses:

X-RateLimit-Limit - Your daily request limit
X-RateLimit-Remaining - Requests remaining today
X-RateLimit-Reset - When your limit resets (ISO 8601)

Plan	Red Letter Daily Limit	Red Letter Data
Free (no key)	Unlimited Bible text requests	No
Standard ($9.99/mo)	1,000 red letter requests	Yes
Unlimited ($49.99/mo)	Unlimited red letter requests	Yes

Red Letter Data

The jesusWordsRanges field contains an array of character ranges indicating where Jesus speaks in each verse. Each range has a start and end index (0-based, exclusive end), so clients can render red letters without parsing pre-rendered HTML.

Subscription Required: Red letter data is only included in responses when you authenticate with a valid API key. Responses include a hasRedLetterAccess field indicating whether red letter data is available.

Note: Red letter data (jesusWordsRanges) is available for the KJV translation.

Example: To highlight Jesus' words in your application:

React

function VerseText({ text, jesusWordsRanges }) {
  if (!jesusWordsRanges?.length) return <span>{text}</span>;

  const parts = [];
  let lastEnd = 0;

  jesusWordsRanges.forEach(({ start, end }, i) => {
    if (start > lastEnd) {
      parts.push(<span key={`text-${i}`}>{text.slice(lastEnd, start)}</span>);
    }
    parts.push(
      <span key={`jesus-${i}`} style={{ color: '#F44336' }}>
        {text.slice(start, end)}
      </span>
    );
    lastEnd = end;
  });

  if (lastEnd < text.length) {
    parts.push(<span key="text-end">{text.slice(lastEnd)}</span>);
  }

  return <>{parts}</>;
}

List Translations

GET/api/v1/translations

Get a list of all available Bible translations. Currently the King James Version (KJV). Free to use without an API key.

Example Request

bash

# Free access (no API key required)
curl "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/translations"

Example Response

json

{
  "data": [
    { "id": 4, "name": "King James Version", "abbreviation": "KJV" }
  ]
}

List Books

GET/api/v1/translations/:translation/books

Get all books with their chapter counts for a specific translation. Free to use without an API key.

Parameters

Name	Description
`translation`	Translation abbreviation (currently KJV)

Example Request

bash

# Free access (no API key required)
curl "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/translations/KJV/books"

Example Response

json

{
  "data": {
    "Genesis": [1, 2, 3, ... 50],
    "Exodus": [1, 2, 3, ... 40],
    "Matthew": [1, 2, 3, ... 28],
    ...
  }
}

Get Chapter

GET/api/v1/chapters/:translation/:book/:chapter

Get all verses in a chapter with groupings and summaries. Character-range red letter data (jesusWordsRanges) requires a subscription.

Parameters

Name	Description
`translation`	Translation abbreviation (currently KJV)
`book`	Book name (e.g., John, Genesis)
`chapter`	Chapter number

Example Request

bash

# Free access (text only)
curl "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/chapters/KJV/John/3"

# With subscription (includes character-range red letter data)
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/chapters/KJV/John/3"

Example Response

json

{
  "data": {
    "translation": "KJV",
    "book": "John",
    "chapter": 3,
    "verses": [
      {
        "verse": 1,
        "text": "There was a man of the Pharisees...",
        "jesusWordsRanges": null
      },
      {
        "verse": 16,
        "text": "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...",
        "jesusWordsRanges": [{ "start": 0, "end": 147 }]
      }
    ],
    "groupings": {
      "groups": [
        {
          "title": "You Must Be Born Again",
          "verses": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15],
          "description": "Nicodemus visits Jesus at night..."
        },
        {
          "title": "For God So Loved the World",
          "verses": [16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21],
          "description": "Jesus explains God's love for the world..."
        }
      ],
      "summary": "This chapter contains Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus..."
    },
    "hasRedLetterAccess": true
  }
}

Get Verse

GET/api/v1/verses/:translation/:book/:chapter/:verse

Get a specific verse with its text. Character-range red letter data (jesusWordsRanges) requires a subscription.

Parameters

Name	Description
`translation`	Translation abbreviation (currently KJV)
`book`	Book name
`chapter`	Chapter number
`verse`	Verse number

Example Request

bash

# Free access (text only)
curl "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/verses/KJV/John/3/16"

# With subscription (includes character-range red letter data)
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/verses/KJV/John/3/16"

Example Response

json

{
  "data": {
    "book": "John",
    "chapter": 3,
    "verse": 16,
    "translation": "KJV",
    "text": "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.",
    "jesusWordsRanges": [{ "start": 0, "end": 147 }]
  },
  "hasRedLetterAccess": true
}

Search Verses

GET/api/v1/search

Search for verses in the KJV. The 'jesus' search type requires a subscription.

Parameters

Name	Description
`q`	Search query (required, min 3 characters)
`page`	Page number (default: 1)
`type`	Search type: 'exact' for phrase match, 'jesus' for Jesus' words only (requires subscription)

Example Request

bash

# Free search (text only in results)
curl "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/search?q=love%20your%20neighbor"

# Search only in Jesus' words (requires subscription)
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://bible.simplecohortllc.com/api/v1/search?q=follow%20me&type=jesus"

Example Response

json

{
  "data": [
    {
      "translation": "KJV",
      "book": "Matthew",
      "chapter": 22,
      "verse": 39,
      "text": "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.",
      "jesusWordsRanges": [{ "start": 0, "end": 72 }]
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "page": 1,
    "pageSize": 100,
    "total": 15,
    "totalPages": 1
  },
  "hasRedLetterAccess": true
}