Prayer Pulse Bible API Documentation

Introduction

The Prayer Pulse Bible API provides programmatic access to multiple Bible translations, search functionality, and user features. All endpoints return JSON responses with CORS enabled for cross-origin requests.

Authentication

Most read endpoints do not require authentication. User-specific features (bookmarks, history, notes) require authentication via Django session or OAuth.

🎉 What's New

🌍 Multilingual Support - Get Languages Endpoint

Build truly multilingual Bible apps with our new language-organized endpoint. Get all translations grouped by their native language:

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-languages/

Supported Languages (27 total):

• 🇺🇸 English - 40+ translations (KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, NLT, etc.)
• 🇪🇸 Spanish - 7+ translations (Reina-Valera 1960, NVI, NTV, etc.)
• 🇵🇹 Portuguese - 14+ translations (Almeida, NVI, NTLH, etc.)
• 🇺🇦 Ukrainian - 12+ translations
• 🇷🇺 Russian - 7+ translations
• 🇨🇳 Chinese - 5+ translations (Traditional & Simplified)
• 🇰🇷 Korean - 2 translations
• 🇯🇵 Japanese - 3 translations
• 🇩🇪 German - 6 translations
• 🇫🇷 French - 5 translations
• 🇮🇱 Hebrew - 5 translations (with vowels, accents, Strong's numbers)
• 🇬🇷 Greek - 4 translations (Septuagint, Textus Receptus, Tischendorf)
• 🇸🇦 Arabic - 1 translation (with RTL support)
• 🇮🇷 Farsi - 2 translations (with RTL support)
• And 13 more languages: Dutch, Czech, Hindi, Malayalam, Nepali, Indonesian, Tamil, Polish, Romanian, Norwegian, Swahili, Swedish, Vietnamese

See it in action: View full endpoint documentation →

📖 User-Friendly Book Codes

You can now use readable book names in your API calls:

https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/KJV/John/3/16/
https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-text/NIV/Genesis/1/
https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-chapter/ESV/Matthew/5/
https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-text/KJV/Psalms/23/

https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/KJV/43/3/16/
https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-text/NIV/1/1/

Supported book name formats:

• 📖 Full names: Genesis, Matthew, Revelation
• 📖 Short codes: Gen, Matt, Rev
• 📖 3-letter codes: GEN, MAT, REV
• 📖 With spaces: 1 Samuel, 1 Corinthians, Song of Solomon
• 📖 Numeric IDs: 1, 40, 66 (backward compatible)

✨ Clean Text Parameter

Some translations (like KJV, ASV) include Strong's Concordance numbers for Bible study. You can now toggle these on/off:

https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/KJV/John/3/16/

Response:
{
  "text": "For<S>1063</S> God<S>2316</S> so<S>3779</S> loved<S>25</S> the world<S>2889</S>..."
}

https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/KJV/John/3/16/?clean=true

Response:
{
  "text": "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son..."
}

Works with all endpoints:

• ✅ /bible/get-verse/{translation}/{book}/{chapter}/{verse}/?clean=true
• ✅ /bible/get-text/{translation}/{book}/{chapter}/?clean=true
• ✅ /bible/get-chapter/{translation}/{book}/{chapter}/?clean=true
• ✅ /bible/search/{translation}/{query}/?clean=true

💡 Use case: Enable this in your app settings to let users choose between clean reading text or scholarly study mode!

📑 Understanding Section Titles

Some translations (like NIV, ESV, NLT) include section titles embedded in verse text. These are editorial additions that help organize the Bible into logical sections for study.

GET https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/NIV/Genesis/1/1/

Response:
{
  "pk": 2568649,
  "verse": 1,
  "text": "The Beginning<br/>In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
}

GET https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/NIV/Genesis/1/1/?clean=true

Response:
{
  "pk": 2568649,
  "verse": 1,
  "text": "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
}

How to Display Section Titles in Your App:

// Fetch verse with section title
fetch('https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/NIV/Genesis/1/1/')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => {
    const fullText = data.text;

    // Check if text contains section title
    if (fullText.includes('<br/>')) {
      const parts = fullText.split('<br/>');
      const sectionTitle = parts[0].trim();
      const verseText = parts[1].trim();

      // Display section title separately
      console.log('Section:', sectionTitle);  // "The Beginning"
      console.log('Verse:', verseText);       // "In the beginning..."

      // Render in your UI
      // <h3>{sectionTitle}</h3>
      // <p>{verseText}</p>
    } else {
      // No section title
      console.log('Verse:', fullText);
    }
  });

Section Title Use Cases:

• 🔍 Bible Study: Users can search by section titles like "Sermon on the Mount"
• 📖 Navigation: Display section titles as chapter headings
• 📚 Context: Help readers understand the theme of each passage
• 🎨 Formatting: Style section titles differently (bold, larger font)

📖 Cross-References & Commentaries

The Bible API provides cross-references (also known as concordance or parallel passages) and commentaries that enrich Bible study by showing how verses relate to each other and providing scholarly notes.

🔗 What are Cross-References?

For example, Genesis 3:24 (the cherubim guarding Eden) has cross-references to Ezekiel 1:5-12 and 10:21, which also describe cherubim.

📚 How to Access Cross-References

Cross-references and commentaries are automatically included in the comment field when you request verses or chapters using certain translations (currently RNKSV Korean translation has extensive cross-references).

GET https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/RNKSV/Genesis/3/24/

Response:
{
  "pk": 123456,
  "verse": 24,
  "text": "이렇게 그분께서는 사람을 쫓아내시고...",
  "comment": "[12] 살아 있는 피조물, 날개와 얼굴을 가지고 있는 것으로 생각됨(<a href='/RNKSV/26/1/5-12'>겔  1:5-12</a>; <a href='/RNKSV/26/10/21'>10:21</a>)"
}

GET https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-chapter/RNKSV/Genesis/1/

Response:
[
  {
    "pk": 1,
    "verse": 1,
    "text": "태초에 하나님이 하늘과 땅을 창조하셨다.",
    "comment": "[1] 또는 '태초에 하나님이 천지를 창조하실 때에'..."
  },
  {
    "pk": 2,
    "verse": 2,
    "text": "땅은 형체가 없고 텅 비어 있었는데...",
    "comment": "[2] 또는 '하나님의 바람' 또는 '강한 바람'"
  }
  // ... more verses with commentaries
]

🔍 Understanding the Comment Field

The comment field contains:

• 📝 Textual Notes: Explanations of translation choices and alternative readings
• 🔗 Cross-References: HTML links to related passages (format: <a href='/TRANSLATION/BOOK/CHAPTER/VERSE'>Reference</a>)
• 📚 Scholarly Commentary: Context and theological insights

💻 Parsing Cross-References in Your App

// Fetch verse with commentary
fetch('https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/RNKSV/Genesis/3/24/')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => {
    if (data.comment) {
      // Parse HTML to extract cross-reference links
      const parser = new DOMParser();
      const doc = parser.parseFromString(data.comment, 'text/html');
      const links = doc.querySelectorAll('a');

      links.forEach(link => {
        const href = link.getAttribute('href');
        const text = link.textContent;

        console.log(`Reference: ${text}`);
        console.log(`Link: ${href}`);

        // Convert to API URL format
        const apiUrl = `https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible${href}`;
        console.log(`API URL: ${apiUrl}`);

        // You can now fetch these related verses
        // fetch(apiUrl).then(...)
      });
    }
  });

import re
import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup

# Fetch verse with commentary
response = requests.get('https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/RNKSV/Genesis/3/24/')
data = response.json()

if 'comment' in data:
    # Parse HTML comment to extract links
    soup = BeautifulSoup(data['comment'], 'html.parser')
    links = soup.find_all('a')

    for link in links:
        href = link.get('href')
        text = link.get_text()

        print(f"Reference: {text}")
        print(f"Link: {href}")

        # Convert to API URL and fetch related verse
        api_url = f"https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible{href}"
        related_verse = requests.get(api_url).json()
        print(f"Related text: {related_verse['text'][:50]}...")

🎯 Use Cases for Cross-References

• 📖 Bible Study Apps: Show related passages to help users understand context
• 🔍 Topical Study: Trace themes across the entire Bible (e.g., prophecy fulfillment)
• 📚 Sermon Preparation: Find supporting verses for teaching
• 🧭 Navigation: Allow users to jump between related passages
• 🎓 Educational Tools: Display scholarly notes and translation variants

⚙️ Loading Commentaries (For Self-Hosted Deployments)

If you're self-hosting the Prayer Pulse Bible API, you'll need to load the commentaries into your database:

# Navigate to the Django directory
cd django/

# Load all commentaries and cross-references from CSV
python manage.py load_commentaries

# This will import 3,780+ commentary entries including cross-references

Quick Start

Get started with a simple request to fetch John 3:16 using the new user-friendly format:

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/KJV/John/3/16/

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/KJV/43/3/16/

{
  "pk": 26133,
  "verse": 16,
  "text": "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son..."
}

Get All Translations

Before fetching Bible text, get a list of all available translations and their books. This is essential for knowing which translations you can work with.

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-languages/

[
  {
    "language": "English",
    "translations": [
      {
        "short_name": "KJV",
        "full_name": "King James Version 1769",
        "updated": 1750968212682
      },
      {
        "short_name": "NIV",
        "full_name": "New International Version, 1984",
        "updated": 1626349711821
      }
      // ... 40+ more English translations
    ]
  },
  {
    "language": "Spanish Español",
    "translations": [
      {
        "short_name": "RV1960",
        "full_name": "Reina-Valera 1960",
        "updated": 1635446313426
      }
      // ... more Spanish translations
    ]
  }
  // ... 25+ more languages
]

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-translations/

[
  {
    "short_name": "YLT",
    "full_name": "Young's Literal Translation",
    "updated": 1613548800000
  },
  {
    "short_name": "KJV",
    "full_name": "King James Version",
    "updated": 1613548800000
  }
]

Verses & Chapters

Retrieve Bible verses, chapters, and random verses. You can get individual verses or entire chapters with or without commentaries.

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-verse/YLT/1/1/1/

{
  "pk": 1,
  "verse": 1,
  "text": "In the beginning of God's preparing the heavens and the earth --"
}

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-text/YLT/43/3/

[
  {
    "pk": 26118,
    "verse": 1,
    "text": "And there was a man of the Pharisees..."
  },
  // ... more verses
]

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-chapter/NKJV/43/3/

[
  {
    "pk": 26118,
    "verse": 1,
    "text": "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus...",
    "comment": "<i>Nicodemus was a prominent Jewish leader...</i>"
  }
]

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-random-verse/YLT/

{
  "pk": 31073,
  "translation": "YLT",
  "book": 9,
  "chapter": 24,
  "verse": 19,
  "text": "and that a man doth find his enemy..."
}

Search

Search for verses containing specific keywords or phrases. Supports Hebrew, Greek, and any language. Advanced filters available for precise searching.

curl "https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/v2/find/YLT?search=love"

curl "https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/v2/find/YLT?search=Haggi&match_case=false&match_whole=true&book=ot&page=1&limit=50"

{
  "exact_matches": 12,
  "total": 534,
  "results": [
    {
      "pk": 26133,
      "translation": "YLT",
      "book": 43,
      "chapter": 3,
      "verse": 16,
      "text": "for God did so <strong>love</strong> the world..."
    }
  ]
}

Books & Metadata

Retrieve book lists, verse counts, and translation metadata. Perfect for building book navigation, table of contents, and Bible reading apps.

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-books/KJV/

[
  {
    "id": "GEN",
    "bookid": 1,
    "name": "Genesis",
    "chapters": 50
  },
  {
    "id": "EXO",
    "bookid": 2,
    "name": "Exodus",
    "chapters": 40
  },
  {
    "id": "MAT",
    "bookid": 40,
    "name": "Matthew",
    "chapters": 28
  },
  {
    "id": "REV",
    "bookid": 66,
    "name": "Revelation",
    "chapters": 22
  }
  // ... 62 more books
]

// Fetch book list
const books = await fetch('https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-books/KJV/')
  .then(res => res.json());

// Current book: "MAT" (Matthew)
const currentBookId = "MAT";
const currentIndex = books.findIndex(b => b.id === currentBookId);

// Navigate to next book
const nextBook = books[currentIndex + 1];
console.log(`Next: ${nextBook.name}`); // "Mark"

// Navigate to previous book
const prevBook = books[currentIndex - 1];
console.log(`Previous: ${prevBook.name}`); // "Malachi"

// Fetch next chapter using the clean book ID
const nextChapter = await fetch(
  `https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-chapter/KJV/${nextBook.id}/1/`
).then(res => res.json());

User Features

Authenticated endpoints for user bookmarks, notes, and reading history.

Compare Versions (Parallel Verses)

Compare the same verses across multiple Bible translations side-by-side. Perfect for Bible study and translation comparison!

fetch("https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-parallel-verses/", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    translations: ["YLT", "KJV", "WEB"],
    verses: [3, 4, 5],
    book: 43,
    chapter: 1
  })
}).then(res => res.json())

curl -X POST https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/get-parallel-verses/ \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"translations":["YLT","KJV"],"verses":[16],"book":43,"chapter":3}'

[
  // YLT Translation
  [
    {
      "pk": 26133,
      "translation": "YLT",
      "book": 43,
      "chapter": 3,
      "verse": 16,
      "text": "for God did so love the world..."
    }
  ],
  // KJV Translation
  [
    {
      "pk": 2743736,
      "translation": "KJV",
      "book": 43,
      "chapter": 3,
      "verse": 16,
      "text": "For God so loved the world..."
    }
  ]
]

Fetch Multiple Verses

Need to fetch several verses from different books or chapters in one request? This endpoint lets you grab multiple verses efficiently!

fetch("/get-verses/", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify([
    {
      translation: "YLT",
      book: 19,
      chapter: 23,
      verses: [1, 2, 3]
    },
    {
      translation: "KJV",
      book: 43,
      chapter: 3,
      verses: [16]
    }
  ])
}).then(res => res.json())

Hebrew & Greek Dictionary

Look up definitions for Hebrew and Greek words directly from Strong's Concordance and other lexicons. Perfect for word studies!

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/dictionary-definition/BDBT/אֹ֑ור/

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/bible/dictionary-definition/BDBT/H216/

[
  {
    "topic": "H216",
    "lexeme": "אוֹר",
    "transliteration": "'ôwr",
    "pronunciation": "ore",
    "short_definition": "light",
    "definition": "<p>light, daylight, illumination...</p>",
    "weight": 1.0
  }
]

Download Full Translations

Download entire Bible translations as JSON or ZIP files for offline use or bulk processing.

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/static/translations/YLT.json -O

curl https://api.prayerpulse.io/static/translations/KJV.zip -O

Available Translations

Currently available Bible translations in the API:

Book Reference Numbers

Books are referenced by their canonical order (1-66):

Error Codes

Standard HTTP response codes are used:

Best Practices

Support

Need help or have questions?