Verses

Fetch a single verse by its book, chapter, and verse number. The verse endpoint also returns any scripture cross-references parsed from the verse's footnotes.

Note: For all API url examples the url given is appended to the base url. The base url will include information like the desired API version, denomination, and language of the resource that you are requesting. If you simply append the endpoint to "openscriptureapi.org" you will get a 404 error.

The verse model

Properties

Name
reference
Type
string
Description
The human-readable reference string for this verse, e.g. "Alma 32:21"
Name
book
Type
string
Description
The title of the book containing this verse
Name
chapter
Type
integer
Description
The chapter number
Name
verse
Type
integer
Description
The verse number (1-indexed)
Name
text
Type
string
Description
The plain text content of the verse
Name
crossReferences
Type
array
Description
References parsed from the verse's footnotes. Each entry pairs the original footnote text with a structured array of references — both scripture (chapter:verse) and study help entries (Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, Triple Combination Index). Footnotes that don't parse to a valid reference are skipped.
Name
crossReferences[].raw
Type
string
Description
The raw footnote text, e.g. "Gen. 22:2 (1–14)" or "TG Faith; Hope".
Name
crossReferences[].prettyString
Type
string
Description
The normalized reference string, e.g. "Genesis 22:2" or "TG Faith; TG Hope".
Name
crossReferences[].references
Type
array
Description
The structured references parsed from the footnote text. Each element is one of two shapes — see the Reference Parser docs for the full schema.
Name
crossReferences[].references[].type
Type
string
Description
Discriminator. Either "scripture" (with book + chapters) or "studyHelp" (with studyHelpType + title + entryId).
Name
jstReferences
Type
array
Description
Joseph Smith Translation references mentioned in the verse's footnotes, parsed into structured form. Each entry links to a JST chapter stored as a study help (see the Study Helps docs).
Name
jstReferences[].raw
Type
string
Description
The reference as written, e.g. "JST Mark 9:40-48"
Name
jstReferences[].entryId
Type
string
Description
The study help entry ID for the corresponding JST chapter, e.g. "jst-mark-9". Use it with /api/study-helps/v1/lds/en/entry/:id to fetch the full JST text.
Name
jstReferences[].bookId
Type
string
Description
The book ID, e.g. "mark"
Name
jstReferences[].chapter
Type
string
Description
The chapter number
Name
jstReferences[].verseStart
Type
integer
Description
Starting verse number in the JST (often differs from KJV verse numbering)
Name
jstReferences[].verseEnd
Type
integer
Description
Ending verse number in the JST
Name
jstReferences[].isAppendix
Type
boolean
Description
true when the JST passage is too long to fit inline and lives in the appendix — the full JST text is only available via the entryId lookup
Name
jstReferences[].inlineText
Type
string
Description
For inline JST mentions, the JST text snippet that follows the reference (often containing ellipses where it differs from the KJV). null for appendix-only references.

GET/book/[book_id]/[chapter_number]/[verse_number]

Get a verse

Returns a single verse and its cross-references.

Required path parameters

Name
book_id
Type
string
Description
The ID of the book (e.g. alma, john, doctrineandcovenants)
Name
chapter_number
Type
integer
Description
The chapter number, 1-indexed
Name
verse_number
Type
integer
Description
The verse number, 1-indexed. Returns 404 if out of range.

Request

curl https://openscriptureapi.org/api/scriptures/v1/lds/en/book/alma/32/21

Response

{
  "reference": "Alma 32:21",
  "book": "Alma",
  "chapter": 32,
  "verse": 21,
  "text": "And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.",
  "crossReferences": []
}

Response with cross-references

{
  "reference": "John 3:16",
  "book": "John",
  "chapter": 3,
  "verse": 16,
  "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.",
  "crossReferences": [
    {
      "raw": "D&C 45:5",
      "prettyString": "D&C 45:5",
      "references": [
        {
          "type": "scripture",
          "book": "doctrineandcovenants",
          "chapters": [{ "start": 45, "end": 45, "verses": [{ "start": 5, "end": 5 }] }]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Response with study help cross-references

{
  "reference": "Alma 32:21",
  "book": "Alma",
  "chapter": 32,
  "verse": 21,
  "text": "And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.",
  "crossReferences": [
    {
      "raw": "TG Faith; Hope",
      "prettyString": "TG Faith; TG Hope",
      "references": [
        { "type": "studyHelp", "studyHelpType": "tg", "title": "Faith", "entryId": "tg-faith", "book": "", "chapters": [] },
        { "type": "studyHelp", "studyHelpType": "tg", "title": "Hope",  "entryId": "tg-hope",  "book": "", "chapters": [] }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Response with JST references

{
  "reference": "Mark 9:43",
  "book": "Mark",
  "chapter": 9,
  "verse": 43,
  "text": "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:",
  "crossReferences": [],
  "jstReferences": [
    {
      "raw": "JST Mark 9:40-48",
      "bookId": "mark",
      "chapter": "9",
      "verseStart": 40,
      "verseEnd": 48,
      "entryId": "jst-mark-9",
      "isAppendix": true,
      "inlineText": null
    }
  ]
}

Note: the Open Scripture API is still in beta, and these resources/endpoints can change at any time