Is there a free Bible API with no API key?

Yes. The Sovereign Logos Scripture API is free and needs no key or account. Send a GET request and you get JSON or Markdown back, with a citation link for every passage. Requests are rate-limited per IP to keep it available for everyone.

What is an MCP server, and why use one for the Bible?

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is the open standard AI assistants use to call outside tools. Connect an assistant to the Sovereign Logos MCP server and it can look up the exact wording of a verse instead of reciting it from memory, which is where language models misquote scripture.

Which Bible translations does the API include?

The Septuagint in two English translations (the 2012 American English and Brenton), the King James Version with the Apocrypha, the 1599 and 1560 Geneva Bible, the World English Bible with the Deuterocanon, and the R.H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch. All are public domain.

Can I use the scripture text in a commercial app?

Every translation served is in the public domain, so the text itself is free to use. Please keep the citation link from each response so readers can check the passage in context.

Why does Psalm 23 come back as Psalm 22?

The Septuagint keeps the original Psalm numbering; the Masoretic tradition behind the KJV renumbered by merging and splitting psalms. By default you can ask in KJV numbering and the API converts it, then tells you so in the notes field. Pass psalmNumbering=native to use Septuagint numbers directly.

What are the rate limits?

Anonymous access allows 60 requests a minute, 1,000 an hour and 5,000 a day per IP. Past that you get HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. Cache responses where you can: scripture does not change.

For Developers and AI

Free Bible API and MCP Server

Verbatim, public-domain scripture for apps, websites and AI agents. The Septuagint, the King James Version with the Apocrypha, the Geneva Bible, the World English Bible and 1 Enoch, served as JSON or Markdown with a citation link on every passage.

No API key, no account, no cost. Text comes straight from the database, never generated, so an assistant connected here quotes scripture exactly instead of from memory.

Connect an AI assistant REST API OpenAPI spec

MCP server for AI assistants

The MCP endpoint speaks Streamable HTTP and needs no authentication. Any client that supports remote MCP servers can connect to it.

https://sovereignlogos.com/api/mcp

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http sovereign-logos https://sovereignlogos.com/api/mcp

Clients configured with JSON (Cursor, VS Code and others; the exact key names vary by client):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sovereign-logos": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://sovereignlogos.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude and ChatGPT apps: add a custom connector and paste the endpoint URL above.

Tools the server exposes, all read-only:

get_passage: Return the verbatim text of a Bible passage (up to 200 verses) in one public-domain translation, with a citation link. Examples: "John 3:16", "Psalm 23", "Genesis 1:1-2:3", "Esther 4", "Tobit 12", "1 Enoch 1:9".
compare_translations: Return the same reference side by side in 2 to 6 translations, e.g. Septuagint vs KJV. Default: lxx2012 and kjv. Useful where the Septuagint and Masoretic-based Bibles differ (Isaiah 7:14, Psalm 40:6, Deuteronomy 32:43, Esther, Daniel).
search_scripture: Find verses containing a phrase (case-insensitive substring match) in one translation. Returns up to 50 hits in canonical order with references and links.
list_translations: List the public-domain translations available, with translator, date, licence reasoning and upstream source.
list_books: List books in canonical order with chapter counts and which translations carry them, including the deuterocanonical books of the Septuagint.

REST API

Base URL https://sovereignlogos.com/api/v1/scripture. GET only, CORS open, JSON by default. The default translation is lxx2012.

GET /passage: One passage, up to 200 verses. Params: ref, translation, psalmNumbering, format (json or md). Try it
GET /compare: One reference in 2 to 6 translations side by side. Params: ref, translations (comma-separated). Try it
GET /search: Phrase search in one translation, up to 50 hits in canonical order. Params: q, translation, limit. Try it
GET /translations: Every translation with translator, date, licence reasoning and upstream source. Try it
GET /books: Books in canonical order with chapter counts and which translations carry them. Try it

A passage response:

{
  "reference": "John 3:16",
  "book": "John",
  "translation": {
    "code": "kjv",
    "name": "King James Version, with the Apocrypha",
    "shortName": "KJV",
    "licenceLabel": "Public domain"
  },
  "verses": [
    {
      "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."
    }
  ],
  "citation": {
    "url": "https://sovereignlogos.com/bible/kjv/john/3",
    "translation": "King James Version, with the Apocrypha",
    "licence": "Public domain",
    "publisher": "Sovereign Logos"
  },
  "notes": []
}

References accept book names and common abbreviations, single verses, ranges and whole chapters: Psalm 23, Genesis 1:1-2:3, Tobit 12, 1 Enoch 1:9.

Translations

geneva-1560 Geneva Bible (1560), Apocrypha: The 1560 Geneva translators; transcribed from the printed page by Sovereign Logos. Public domain.
lxx-brenton Brenton's Septuagint Translation: Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1807–1862). Public domain.
lxx2012 Septuagint in American English (2012): Brenton (base translation); Michael Paul Johnson (language updates). Public domain by dedication.
kjv King James Version, with the Apocrypha: Six companies of translators appointed by James I; final revision by Thomas Bilson and Miles Smith. Public domain.
web World English Bible, with the Deuterocanon: Michael Paul Johnson and the WEB translation committee. Public domain by dedication.
geneva-1599 Geneva Bible, 1599 edition (Tomson New Testament): William Whittingham and the Marian exiles at Geneva; New Testament revised by Laurence Tomson, 1576. Public domain.
charles-1917 The Book of Enoch, translated by R.H. Charles: R.H. Charles (1855–1931). Public domain.

Full provenance for each text, including licence reasoning and upstream source, is on the sources page.

Limits, caching and citation

Anonymous access is limited per IP to 60 requests a minute, 1,000 an hour and 5,000 a day. Over the limit you get HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. Scripture does not change, so cache freely.

Every response carries a citation.url pointing to the chapter on this site. Please show it alongside quoted text so readers can check the passage in context.

For AI crawlers and agents

llms.txt summarizes the site, the API and the MCP server for language models, and llms-full.txt adds full provenance for every translation. Chapter pages follow one URL pattern, /bible/{translation}/{book}/{chapter}.

Questions

Is there a free Bible API with no API key?: Yes. The Sovereign Logos Scripture API is free and needs no key or account. Send a GET request and you get JSON or Markdown back, with a citation link for every passage. Requests are rate-limited per IP to keep it available for everyone.
What is an MCP server, and why use one for the Bible?: MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is the open standard AI assistants use to call outside tools. Connect an assistant to the Sovereign Logos MCP server and it can look up the exact wording of a verse instead of reciting it from memory, which is where language models misquote scripture.
Which Bible translations does the API include?: The Septuagint in two English translations (the 2012 American English and Brenton), the King James Version with the Apocrypha, the 1599 and 1560 Geneva Bible, the World English Bible with the Deuterocanon, and the R.H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch. All are public domain.
Can I use the scripture text in a commercial app?: Every translation served is in the public domain, so the text itself is free to use. Please keep the citation link from each response so readers can check the passage in context.
Why does Psalm 23 come back as Psalm 22?: The Septuagint keeps the original Psalm numbering; the Masoretic tradition behind the KJV renumbered by merging and splitting psalms. By default you can ask in KJV numbering and the API converts it, then tells you so in the notes field. Pass psalmNumbering=native to use Septuagint numbers directly.
What are the rate limits?: Anonymous access allows 60 requests a minute, 1,000 an hour and 5,000 a day per IP. Past that you get HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. Cache responses where you can: scripture does not change.