ScriptureFlow Bible Data

Retrieve structured, multilingual Bible data as clean JSON: look up any verse or passage, discover available translations, list book names for a selected translation, validate Scripture references, and work with localized book names where available for Apify datasets, n8n automations, and AI agents. No scraping, no setup, just a reliable Bible API wrapped in an Apify Actor.

ScriptureFlow Bible Data is for builders who need Scripture data that is structured, translation-aware, language-aware, and ready to use in automation workflows. It calls the public ScriptureFlow API and writes predictable rows to the Apify default dataset.

It does not scrape BibleGateway, YouVersion, Blue Letter Bible, Logos, or any third-party Bible website. It does not generate sermons, devotionals, commentary, theological interpretation, embeddings, or RAG chunks. It does not modify Scripture source text.

What does ScriptureFlow Bible Data do?

ScriptureFlow Bible Data lets you request Bible data by translationId and reference, then returns structured JSON rows that are easy to use in apps, spreadsheets, n8n workflows, and AI-agent pipelines.

Because ScriptureFlow is translation-aware and language-aware, the same workflow can serve different audiences by changing the translationId. For translations with localized book aliases available in ScriptureFlow's canonical book map, reference lookup can also understand localized book names - for example, a Spanish Bible translation may resolve Juan 3:16 instead of requiring only John 3:16.

The Actor supports four focused modes:

• catalog - discover available translations.
• translation_books - list metadata-only book names available in a selected translation.
• passage - fetch a simple verse or same-chapter passage.
• validate_reference - check whether a reference resolves before using it downstream.

What can this Actor do?

• Look up verses and passages - fetch simple references such as John 3:16, John 3:16-18, Romans 8:28-30, Psalm 23, or 1 John 1:9, or use structured book, chapter, verse, and optional endVerse fields.
• Work with multilingual Scripture data - choose translations by language, return Scripture text for the selected translation, and use localized book names where ScriptureFlow's alias system supports them.
• Discover translations - list every available translation and its language, ideal for populating app dropdowns, supporting multilingual workflows, or letting an AI agent pick a valid translationId.
• List book names for a selected translation - return one metadata row per book, useful before passage lookup and helpful for multilingual workflows such as Swahili swh-onen.
• Validate references - check whether a user-provided reference resolves before sending it into an automation, database, or agent workflow.
• Return structured errors - invalid references, unsupported formats, and invalid translation IDs return dataset rows instead of crashing the run.
• Write a run summary - every successful or structured user-error run writes OUTPUT_SUMMARY.json to the default key-value store.

This Actor intentionally stays narrow. translation_books is metadata discovery only. It is not book mode, chapter mode, Scripture text export, full Bible export, or bulk export. The Actor does not provide random verse mode, scraping, browser automation, API key gating, monetization logic, sermon generation, devotional generation, commentary generation, embeddings, or RAG chunks.

What data can ScriptureFlow Bible Data return?

Field	Description
recordType	Row type: translation, book, verse, validation, or error.
mode	Actor mode that produced the row: catalog, translation_books, passage, or validate_reference.
source	Object describing ScriptureFlow as the provider, endpoint used, docs URL, CTA URL, and retrieval time.
translationId	ScriptureFlow translation ID, such as en-kjv or swh-onen.
languageCode	Language code for catalog rows when available.
translationName	Human-readable translation name when available.
reference	Resolved Scripture reference for verse rows.
inputReference	Reference originally supplied by the user.
normalizedReference	Reference normalized by ScriptureFlow validation when available.
book	Resolved book identifier or human-facing book name for book metadata rows.
bookSlug	Book slug when available.
canonicalBook	Canonical book key when available.
chaptersFound	Number of chapters found for a book metadata row or catalog metadata.
firstChapter	Lowest chapter number found for a book metadata row.
lastChapter	Highest chapter number found for a book metadata row.
totalVerses	Sum of available chapter verse counts for a book metadata row.
chapter	Resolved chapter number.
verse	Resolved verse number.
text	Scripture text returned by ScriptureFlow for passage mode.
valid	Whether the reference or result is valid.
errorCode	Structured code for user/input error rows.
message	Human-readable message for validation or error rows.
status	Translation status for catalog rows or HTTP/user-error status when available.
metadata	Optional supporting metadata from ScriptureFlow.

Every dataset row includes recordType, mode, and source. The source field is always an object, never the string "ScriptureFlow".

How to use ScriptureFlow Bible Data

Quick start

Run the Actor with the default input:

{
  "mode": "passage",
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "reference": "John 3:16",
  "includeMetadata": true,
  "maxResults": 100
}

The Actor writes one verse row to the default dataset and writes OUTPUT_SUMMARY.json to the default key-value store.

Catalog example

Use catalog mode to list translations and language metadata:

{
  "mode": "catalog",
  "languageCode": "eng",
  "maxResults": 100
}

Translation books example

Use translation_books mode to list book names for a selected translation. This returns metadata only: one dataset row per book. It does not return Scripture text, every chapter as a row, or a full Bible export.

{
  "mode": "translation_books",
  "translationId": "swh-onen",
  "includeMetadata": true,
  "maxResults": 100
}

This is useful before passage lookup and helps discover valid localized book names for translations such as Swahili swh-onen.

Passage example

Use passage mode with a free-text reference to fetch Scripture text:

{
  "mode": "passage",
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "reference": "John 3:16",
  "includeMetadata": true
}

Structured localized passage example

Use structured passage input when localized book names or book slugs work better as API fields than as free-text references:

{
  "mode": "passage",
  "translationId": "swh-onen",
  "book": "yohana",
  "chapter": 3,
  "verse": 2,
  "includeMetadata": true
}

Structured same-chapter range example

Use endVerse for same-chapter structured passage ranges:

{
  "mode": "passage",
  "translationId": "swh-onen",
  "book": "warumi",
  "chapter": 8,
  "verse": 28,
  "endVerse": 30,
  "includeMetadata": true
}

Recommended multilingual workflow:

1. Run catalog with a language code, for example swh.
2. Run translation_books for the returned translation ID, for example swh-onen.
3. Use the returned bookSlug or book name in structured passage input.
4. Retrieve Scripture text.

Validate reference example

Use validate_reference mode to check a reference before using it downstream:

{
  "mode": "validate_reference",
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "reference": "Romans 8:28"
}

n8n example

Manual Trigger -> HTTP Request node calling Apify Actor -> Parse returned dataset item -> Use Scripture text downstream

Example Actor input:

{
  "mode": "passage",
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "reference": "John 3:16",
  "includeMetadata": true
}

After the run finishes, read the default dataset items and use fields such as text, reference, translationId, book, chapter, and verse in later n8n nodes. Use translation_books first when you need to discover localized book names before building a passage reference.

AI-agent and MCP usage notes

This Actor is useful for agents that need structured Scripture lookup, reference validation, catalog discovery, or translation book metadata, but it does not provide theological interpretation, sermon writing, devotional content, embeddings, or RAG chunks.

For agent workflows:

• Use catalog to discover valid translation IDs and language codes.
• Use translation_books to discover book names for a selected translation before lookup.
• Use validate_reference before taking downstream action on a user-provided reference.
• Use passage with structured book, chapter, verse, and optional endVerse fields when localized references are better represented as API fields than free text.
• Use passage with reference when the agent needs simple English/canonical free-text lookup.

Is ScriptureFlow Bible Data free?

This Actor does not include pay-per-event logic, API key gating, or custom monetization. Normal Apify platform compute and storage usage may still apply based on your Apify plan.

Default passage and validation runs are intentionally small. Catalog and translation book metadata output can be bounded with maxResults.

ScriptureFlow Bible Data Actor provides structured access to ScriptureFlow data. Users are responsible for confirming that their use of any translation complies with applicable copyright, licensing, and attribution requirements. ScriptureFlow does not grant rights to restricted Bible translations unless those rights are explicitly stated.

Input

Default input:

{
  "mode": "passage",
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "reference": "John 3:16",
  "includeMetadata": true,
  "maxResults": 100
}

Input fields:

• mode - one of catalog, translation_books, passage, or validate_reference.
• translationId - ScriptureFlow translation ID, such as en-kjv or swh-onen; required for translation_books, passage, and validate_reference.
• reference - e.g. John 3:16; used for simple English/canonical free-text passage and required for validate_reference. Localized book names such as Juan 3:16 may work when the selected translation and ScriptureFlow canonical book map support that alias.
• book - structured passage book value, such as yohana; use the bookSlug or book name returned by translation_books.
• chapter - structured passage chapter number; required when any structured passage field is used.
• verse - structured passage starting verse number; required when any structured passage field is used.
• endVerse - optional same-chapter ending verse for structured passage ranges.
• languageCode - optional catalog filter for translation language.
• includeMetadata - include available non-text metadata in verse rows.
• maxResults - maximum number of catalog or translation book metadata rows to write.

Supported reference formats: John 3:16 - John 3:16-18 - Romans 8:28-30 - Psalm 23 - 1 John 1:9. ScriptureFlow also supports localized book aliases where they are available in the canonical book map, so some translations may resolve references such as Juan 3:16 or other language-specific book names. Multi-reference input such as John 3:16; Romans 8:28 is not supported in this version.

For multilingual workflows, structured passage input is often more reliable than free-text localized references. If any structured fields are provided, the Actor uses structured lookup and requires book, chapter, and verse; endVerse is optional for same-chapter ranges.

Apify may validate the public input schema before the Actor starts. Because mode is a dropdown enum in the Apify UI, invalid mode values can be rejected by the platform before runtime. The Actor still keeps its code-level INVALID_MODE handler as a defensive fallback for local runs and direct API calls.

Output

The Actor writes results to the default Apify dataset and writes OUTPUT_SUMMARY.json to the default key-value store.

Translation row

{
  "recordType": "translation",
  "mode": "catalog",
  "source": {
    "provider": "ScriptureFlow",
    "endpoint": "/public-catalog.json",
    "docsUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev",
    "apiCtaUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev?utm_source=apify&utm_medium=actor&utm_campaign=scriptureflow_bible_data",
    "retrievedAt": "2026-06-13T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "languageCode": "eng",
  "translationName": "King James Version",
  "status": "ready"
}

Book row

{
  "recordType": "book",
  "mode": "translation_books",
  "translationId": "swh-onen",
  "book": "Yohana",
  "bookSlug": "yohana",
  "canonicalBook": "john",
  "chaptersFound": 21,
  "firstChapter": 1,
  "lastChapter": 21,
  "totalVerses": 879,
  "source": {
    "provider": "ScriptureFlow",
    "endpoint": "/swh-onen/chapters.json",
    "docsUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev",
    "apiCtaUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev?utm_source=apify&utm_medium=actor&utm_campaign=scriptureflow_bible_data",
    "retrievedAt": "2026-06-13T00:00:00.000Z"
  }
}

Verse row

{
  "recordType": "verse",
  "mode": "passage",
  "source": {
    "provider": "ScriptureFlow",
    "endpoint": "/api/verse",
    "docsUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev",
    "apiCtaUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev?utm_source=apify&utm_medium=actor&utm_campaign=scriptureflow_bible_data",
    "retrievedAt": "2026-06-13T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "valid": true,
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "reference": "John 3:16",
  "book": "john",
  "chapter": 3,
  "verse": 16,
  "text": "For God so loved the world..."
}

Validation row

{
  "recordType": "validation",
  "mode": "validate_reference",
  "source": {
    "provider": "ScriptureFlow",
    "endpoint": "/api/verse",
    "docsUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev",
    "apiCtaUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev?utm_source=apify&utm_medium=actor&utm_campaign=scriptureflow_bible_data",
    "retrievedAt": "2026-06-13T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "valid": true,
  "translationId": "en-kjv",
  "inputReference": "Romans 8:28",
  "normalizedReference": "Romans 8:28",
  "book": "romans",
  "chapter": 8,
  "verse": 28
}

Error row

{
  "recordType": "error",
  "mode": "translation_books",
  "source": {
    "provider": "ScriptureFlow",
    "endpoint": "/bad-id/chapters.json",
    "docsUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev",
    "apiCtaUrl": "https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev?utm_source=apify&utm_medium=actor&utm_campaign=scriptureflow_bible_data",
    "retrievedAt": "2026-06-13T00:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "valid": false,
  "errorCode": "REFERENCE_NOT_FOUND",
  "message": "ScriptureFlow could not resolve the requested translation.",
  "translationId": "bad-id",
  "inputReference": null,
  "status": 404
}

User/input errors do not fail the Actor. They write structured rows and exit successfully. Infrastructure errors, such as ScriptureFlow API downtime, malformed JSON, request timeouts after retries, unexpected required response shapes, unhealthy status output, or Apify storage failure, fail clearly.

The Actor does not fake Scripture data and does not use fallback Scripture text.

Use cases

• Bible verse lookup for apps, spreadsheets, and dashboards.
• Multilingual Scripture workflows where users select a translation by language.
• Discovering localized book names for translations such as Swahili swh-onen.
• n8n automations that need clean Scripture text and reference fields.
• AI agents that need safe catalog discovery, translation book metadata, reference validation, or structured passage lookup.
• Form validation for Bible references before writing to a database.
• Translation dropdowns powered by ScriptureFlow catalog metadata.
• Lightweight Scripture lookup without scraping Bible websites.

Need higher volume or a custom integration? Use the ScriptureFlow API directly

For higher-volume API access, custom integrations, or direct ScriptureFlow API use, visit the ScriptureFlow developer docs:

https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev?utm_source=apify&utm_medium=actor&utm_campaign=scriptureflow_bible_data

For Actor run support, include the run ID, input JSON, and OUTPUT_SUMMARY.json content when requesting help.

FAQ

Can this Actor fetch an entire Bible?

No. This Actor supports catalog lookup, metadata-only translation book discovery, passage lookup, and reference validation only. It does not provide full Bible export, book mode, chapter mode, random verse mode, or bulk export.

Does this Actor scrape Bible websites?

No. It calls the public ScriptureFlow API only. It does not scrape BibleGateway, YouVersion, Blue Letter Bible, Logos, or any third-party Bible website.

Does this Actor generate sermons, devotionals, or commentary?

No. It returns structured Scripture data and validation results. It does not generate theological interpretation, sermon content, devotional content, commentary, embeddings, or RAG chunks.

Does ScriptureFlow Bible Data support multilingual Bible references?

Yes. ScriptureFlow is built around translation-aware and language-aware Bible data. Use catalog mode to discover available translations and language codes, then choose the translationId you want to use. Where ScriptureFlow has localized book aliases available, the Actor can resolve localized book names such as Juan 3:16 for Spanish workflows. Alias availability can vary by language and translation, so validate references before using them in downstream automations.

Use translation_books mode when you want to discover book names available in a selected translation before building passage references.

What do the error codes mean?

• UNSUPPORTED_REFERENCE_FORMAT - the reference is outside the supported simple-reference formats.
• REFERENCE_NOT_FOUND - ScriptureFlow could not resolve the requested reference or translation.
• INVALID_MODE - the requested mode is not supported. Use only catalog, translation_books, passage, or validate_reference.
• REQUEST_FAILED_AFTER_RETRIES - ScriptureFlow returned a retryable infrastructure error after bounded retries.

Can I use this in n8n or AI agents?

Yes. The Actor writes predictable dataset rows and includes output and dataset schemas to help automations and agents understand the result structure.

Is this machine translation?

No. The Actor does not translate Scripture text or convert references between languages. It looks up ScriptureFlow translations and can use localized book aliases only where ScriptureFlow already has those aliases available.

Where is the changelog?

See ./CHANGELOG.md.