Getting Started

Welcome! This section answers a few common questions developers ask when using API.Bible for the first time — especially around finding and using Bible IDs.

How do I find the Bibles I have access to?

Your API key determines which Bibles you can access. You can list them all by calling the /bibles endpoint:

GETapi-keyhttps://api.bible/v1/biblesYOUR_API_KEY

1234curl --request GET \  --url https://rest.api.bible/v1/bibles \  --header 'Content-Type: text/plain' \  --header 'api-key: API_KEY'

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132{  "data": [    {      "id": "de4e12af7f28f599-01",      "dblId": "de4e12af7f28f599",      "relatedDbl": null,      "name": "King James (Authorised) Version",      "nameLocal": "King James Version",      "abbreviation": "engKJV",      "abbreviationLocal": "KJV",      "description": "Ecumenical",      "descriptionLocal": "Ecumenical",      "language": {        "id": "eng",        "name": "English",        "nameLocal": "English",        "script": "Latin",        "scriptDirection": "LTR"      },      "countries": [        {          "id": "GB",          "name": "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland",          "nameLocal": "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"        }      ],      "type": "text",      "updatedAt": "2024-06-29T04:03:56.000Z",      "audioBibles": []    }  ]}

Each Bible in the response includes:

• id → the bible_id you'll use in your requests
• dblid → The Digital Bible Library source ID
• name, language, abbreviation, and other metadata

Use the id (for example de4e12af7f28f599-01) in your API calls, such as:

GET/v1/bibles/{bible_id}/verses/JHN.3.16

What's the difference between a DBL_ID and a Bible_ID?

Tip: If you see the same Bible name appear several times in /bibles, each one is a separate digital edition or format. Use the bible_id that corresponds to the edition you plan to reference.

Where can I see my Bible IDs inside the Dashboard?

You can always fetch your Bible IDs from the /bibles endpoint (see above). We also include contextual hints inside your Marketing List page:

• Hover over a Bible name to see a tip on how to find its ID (example: "Find your Bible ID using the /bibles endpoint" )
• Future updates may include a toggle to display the bible_id directly in this table.

Next Steps

Once you've identified your Bible ID:

• Use /bibles/{bible_id}/books to list the books in that Bible
• Use /bibles/{bible_id}/chapters or /bibles/{bible_id}/verses to retrieve text
• Explore parameters like include-notes, include-titles, and include-chapter-numbers for richer output

For more examples, visit our API Reference.

Summary

• Use /bibles to find your Bible IDs
• Always use bible_id in API calls - not dbl_id
• dbl_id helps track related editions (e.g., same Bible with different formats)
• Look for hover tips in your dashboard to help identify Bible IDs quickly