Quote Bible

Overview

Retrieve and display Bible verses from BibleHub and eBible corpus with optional language filtering. The skill executes a Python script that fetches verse data in standardized format and presents it in clear, formatted output. Supports 1000+ translations across hundreds of languages.

Data Sources

This skill fetches verses from two sources:

1. BibleHub (https://biblehub.com): ~67 major translations (fetched via web)
2. eBible corpus: 1000+ translations pre-processed as YAML files in .data/commentary

The eBible data is already processed and stored in the .data git repository. If a verse is not available in your sparse checkout, add the chapter using:

cd .data && git sparse-checkout add commentary/{BOOK}/{chapter:03d}
# Example: cd .data && git sparse-checkout add commentary/NAM/001

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• User explicitly says "quote" followed by a Bible reference
• Examples: "quote John 3:16", "quote Gen 1:1", "quote Matthew 5:3"
• User wants to see a verse in specific languages (e.g., "quote John 3:16 in English and Spanish")

Do NOT use this skill when:

• User is asking about a Bible verse without requesting a quote
• User is performing translation work (use other specialized skills)
• User is searching for a verse by topic or content (use search tools)
• User wants verse ranges (single verses only currently supported)

How to Use

Step 1: Parse the Bible Reference

Extract the Bible reference from the user's request. The reference format follows STANDARDIZATION.md:

• Book code: USFM 3.0 three-letter codes (e.g., "JHN" for John, "GEN" for Genesis, "MAT" for Matthew)
  • Common book names must be converted to USFM codes (e.g., "John" → "JHN", "Genesis" → "GEN")
  • See scripts/book_codes.py for complete mapping
• Chapter number: The chapter number
• Verse number: Single verse only (ranges not currently supported)

Step 2: Determine Language Filter (Optional)

If user specifies languages, determine ISO-639-3 codes:

• English → eng
• Spanish → spa
• French → fra
• Greek (Ancient) → grc
• Hebrew → heb

See STANDARDIZATION.md for complete ISO-639-3 language code list.

Step 3: Execute the Fetch Script

Use the script from the project root:

# All languages (1000+ translations)
python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "MAT-005-003"

# English only
python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "JHN 3:16" --lang eng

# Multiple languages
python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "GEN 1:1" --lang eng,spa,fra

# Original languages only
python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "ROM 8:28" -l grc,heb

Supported formats:

• Standardized: MAT-005-003 (recommended, per STANDARDIZATION.md)
• Convenience: "JHN 3:16", GEN.1.1 (also accepted)

Language filtering:

• No flag: Returns all available translations
• --lang / -l: Filter by comma-separated ISO-639-3 codes
• --all: Override any filtering (fetch everything)

Step 4: Display Results

Present the output from the fetch script. The script returns JSON with translation codes as keys and verse text as values.

Format the output clearly:

• Include the verse reference
• Show translation count (printed to stderr by script)
• Show each translation with its version identifier
• Translation codes follow STANDARDIZATION.md format: {lang}-{version} or {lang}-{version}-{year}

Examples

Example 1: Single Verse (All Languages)

User: "quote John 3:16"

Action: Convert "John" to USFM code "JHN", then execute:

python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "JHN 3:16"

Expected behavior: Display John 3:16 in 1000+ translations from all languages

Example 2: Single Language Filter

User: "quote Matthew 5:3 in English"

Action: Convert "Matthew" to USFM code "MAT", use eng language code:

python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "MAT 5:3" --lang eng

Expected behavior: Display Matthew 5:3 in English translations only (~50 versions)

Example 3: Multiple Languages

User: "quote Genesis 1:1 in English, Spanish, and French"

Action: Convert "Genesis" to USFM code "GEN", use multiple language codes:

python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "GEN 1:1" --lang eng,spa,fra

Expected behavior: Display Genesis 1:1 in English, Spanish, and French translations

Example 4: Original Languages

User: "quote Romans 8:28 in the original languages"

Action: Convert "Romans" to USFM code "ROM", use Greek and Hebrew codes:

python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "ROM 8:28" -l grc,heb

Expected behavior: Display Romans 8:28 in Greek (and Hebrew if available for NT context)

Example 5: Standardized Format

User: "quote Matthew 5:3"

Action: Convert to standardized format with zero-padding:

python3 src/tools/fetch_verse.py "MAT-005-003"

Expected behavior: Display Matthew 5:3 in all available translations (using STANDARDIZATION.md format)

Notes

• Data sources: Combines BibleHub (~67 translations via web) + eBible corpus (1000+ translations from .data/commentary)
• eBible data: Pre-processed as YAML files in .data/commentary/{BOOK}/{chapter:03d}/{verse:03d}/{BOOK}-{chapter:03d}-{verse:03d}-translations-ebible.yaml
• Sparse checkout: If a verse is missing, add the chapter to sparse checkout:

  cd .data && git sparse-checkout add commentary/{BOOK}/{chapter:03d}
  

• Performance: Fast lookups - eBible data is read from pre-processed YAML, not raw corpus files
• Language filtering: Use --lang to filter by ISO-639-3 codes (e.g., --lang eng,spa,fra)
• Format flexibility: Script accepts multiple formats (MAT-005-003, "JHN 3:16", GEN.1.1)

If the script returns an error, check:

• The reference format is valid (USFM 3.0 book codes)
• The verse exists in the Bible
• Network access is available (for first-time BibleHub fetch)
• Language codes are valid ISO-639-3 codes

Resources

scripts/

• fetch_verse.py - Main verse fetcher with language filtering
• book_codes.py - USFM 3.0 book code mappings and reference parser
• biblehub_fetcher.py - BibleHub integration

Project Documentation

• STANDARDIZATION.md - Verse reference format, language codes, and citation standards
• SCHEMA.md - Data structure and citation requirements
• ATTRIBUTION.md - Source credits and citation codes