Plain text
Download the Bible as text
Short answer
Each translation is one plain text file with one verse per line, free to keep, print or load into other programs. To read in the browser with no connection instead, use Save offline.
| Translation | Plain text | JSON |
|---|---|---|
| King James Version | kjv.txt (4.4 MB) | kjv.json (4.1 MB) |
| World English Bible | web.txt (4.2 MB) | web.json (3.9 MB) |
| American Standard Version | asv.txt (4.4 MB) | asv.json (4.0 MB) |
Or keep it in the browser
File format
The text files start with a short header, then one verse per line as Book chapter:verse text, for example John 3:16 For God so loved the world.... The JSON file is an object keyed by book code (GEN to REV); each book is a list of chapters and each chapter a list of verse strings.
In the KJV and ASV files, words in [square brackets] are the words the translators supplied, printed in italics in most editions. A pilcrow (¶) in the KJV marks the start of a paragraph. Verse numbers the ASV and WEB leave out are present as empty lines, so verse numbering matches across translations.
License
- KJV: Public domain outside the United Kingdom. In the UK the text is under perpetual Crown rights, so printing it there needs permission; reading it online is not printing.
- WEB: Public domain. "World English Bible" is a trademark of eBible.org; the text here is unchanged, so the name applies.
- ASV: Public domain in the United States since January 1, 1957, when its copyright expired.
The texts come unchanged from eBible.org.