Free Use Bible API

What the Free Use Bible API and three widely used Bible APIs let you do
What you may do	No account	No usage limit	No questions asked	Store & cache*	Open source
Free Use Bible API	Yes. No account, key or approval	Yes. No published usage limit	Yes. Nothing to accept. AO Lab adds no restrictions; each text keeps its own notice	Yes. Cache, store and download without expiry	Yes. MIT licensed
API.Bible	Not granted. Account and API key required	Not granted. 5,000 calls a month on Starter	Not granted. Accept API.Bible’s terms; commercial use adds a licence for each translation	Conditional. Cache allowed, but must refresh at least every 30 days	Conditional. Client SDKs are open source; the API itself is not
YouVersion Platform	Not granted. App registration and key required	Not granted. Rate limited, no published number	Not granted. Accept the platform terms, then a publisher agreement for each set of translations	Conditional. Set by each publisher agreement; some allow in-app offline use, some limit how much is shown at once	Conditional. Client SDKs are open source; the API itself is not
Bible Brain	Not granted. Key required, granted at their discretion	Not granted. None published, and access can be limited or revoked at any time	Not granted. Accept the licence; keys are approved at their discretion	Conditional. Offline use only via their download endpoint	Yes. The API is MIT licensed

Yes Conditional Not granted

*Copy and store on your own hardware, servers, or on a device so it works offline.

We built this because Jesus said:

“Freely you have received; freely give.”

Matthew 10:8 · AAB ↗

Likewise, Paul charged the churches to pass his letters on.

“I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.”

1 Thessalonians 5:27 · AAB ↗

We have Scripture because many generations obeyed these commands.

No original manuscripts survive. Scripture reached us through copying, translating, revising, adapting, and distributing.

Paul’s lettersYou

God’s word is absolute.

Yet many copyright terms forbid:

Copying
A whole Bible to distribute to those in need.
All rights reserved
Translating
Scripture into another language and sharing it.
NoDerivatives (ND)
Revising
A translation and publishing the revision.
NoDerivatives (ND)
Adapting
Scripture into an easy-read edition or audio Bible.
NoDerivatives (ND)
Distributing
Bible files online or offline.
All rights reserved

Under these terms, Timothy could not have obeyed Paul.

Without adapting and sharing Scripture, we would have no English Bible.

Yet many modern translators adapt work they cannot attribute, then demand attribution and forbid adaptation.

But that’s not Paul’s attitude.

“…we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 9:12 · AAB ↗

Even in our API, few translations are ideal.

Ideal102

Public domainNo conditions.Copy: Allowed.Translate: Allowed.Revise: Allowed.Adapt: Allowed.Distribute: Allowed.102

Viable319

CC BY 4.0 or attribution onlyCredit required.Copy: Allowed.Translate: Allowed.Revise: Allowed.Adapt: Allowed.Distribute: Allowed.36
CC BY-SA 4.0 or share‑alikeChanges only under the same licence.Copy: Allowed.Translate: Only in some cases.Revise: Only in some cases.Adapt: Only in some cases.Distribute: Allowed.283

Restricted835

CC BY-ND 4.0Unchanged copies only.Copy: Allowed.Translate: Forbidden.Revise: Forbidden.Adapt: Forbidden.Distribute: Allowed.92
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Unchanged copies, and nothing commercial.Copy: Only in some cases.Translate: Forbidden.Revise: Forbidden.Adapt: Forbidden.Distribute: Only in some cases.728
OtherNon-commercial or custom terms; each forbids at least one.Copy: Only in some cases.Translate: Only in some cases.Revise: Only in some cases.Adapt: Only in some cases.Distribute: Only in some cases.15

AllowedOnly in some casesForbidden

The answer is more public domain resources.

Start from free work
Build something new
Release it into the public domain
The next builder starts further ahead

Let’s start building.

Quick Start

Want to build with us?Contribute on Discord ↗

Create and review CC0 resources with us.

FAQ

Is this really a problem today?

Yes! It’s a massive problem, but most Christians are completely unaware of it because they have a Bible or have access to one they can read online. Because it is so easy to read a Bible online, the assumption is that the Bible must be easy to use and share, right? But anyone who has tried to get access to Scripture to make something (an app, a website, a new Bible translation, an audio Bible, etc.) knows that is not the case. And for a world that desperately needs the gospel, this is completely inexcusable.

What’s wrong with requiring others to attribute the creator of a Bible translation?

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory…”

Psalm 115:1 · AAB ↗

Requesting attribution is fine. Requiring it adds a human condition to passing on God’s word. Anyone may still copy, translate, revise, adapt, and distribute it, so we count it as viable, but it falls short of giving freely.

Isn’t share-alike a good way to protect Scripture?

Share-alike was built as a response to copyright in order to prevent anyone taking an open text, changing it, and locking the result away. It keeps all five uses (copying, translating, revising, adapting, and distributing) open, so we count it as viable. But it still forbids faithful work: a translator who builds on a share-alike text cannot release their translation into the public domain. But we would advocate that copyright is not the best response to copyright. Rather, the higher goal should be so much quality, public-domain material that anyone can adapt whatever they need for the kingdom.

What if I still want to put conditions on my translation?

Then at least make exceptions easy. Publish how to reach you, answer quickly, and grant exceptions for faithful uses. Plan who will answer when you no longer can, or release your work into the public domain at your death. If you cannot keep that up, release it now. Every request left unanswered closes a door for the kingdom, and even a quick yes fails the believer who cannot safely ask from a persecuted context.

But how will Bible translators and publishers make money?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:25–34 · AAB ↗

What’s wrong with requiring noncommercial use?

Non-commercial terms forbid faithful work, so we count them as restricted. There are many ways a Bible could be distributed commercially in a pure and faithful manner (for example, printing Bibles and selling them at just the price required to make a small profit to reinvest in the operation and increase distribution). The point, dear Christian, is that it is simply not your place to tell others how they can and cannot use God’s word.