One call returns any passage of Scripture with the Douay-Rheims English and the Clementine Vulgate Latin set verse against verse. Citations are parsed from ordinary human form — 'John 1:1-5', 'Ps 22', 'Sir 24:16' — and the archive answers with the verses it can vouch for, or declines the citation outright. It never guesses at a reference it cannot resolve.
The request
curl "https://api.torchandlily.com/v1/veritas/bible/passage?cite=John%201:1-5" \
-H "X-API-Key: tl_your_key_here"Every read endpoint takes the same header. Keys are free.
The response
{
"citation": "John 1:1-5",
"book_slug": "john",
"book_name": "The Gospel According to St. John",
"archive_reference": "The Gospel According to St. John 1:1-5",
"numbering_differs": false,
"is_partial": false,
"attribution": "English: Douay-Rheims. Latin: Clementine Vulgate. Both public domain. This is not the proclaimed lectionary text.",
"verses": [
{
"id": "24ac4aac-3bd8-4f00-bd11-d394b374be47",
"book_id": 50,
"chapter": 1,
"verse_number": 1,
"text_en": "In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God.",
"text_latin": "In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum."
},
{
"id": "363877ab-8fca-482d-8efd-72a44da261ce",
"book_id": 50,
"chapter": 1,
"verse_number": 2,
"text_en": "The same was in the beginning with God.",
"text_latin": "Hoc erat in principio apud Deum."
}
]
...
]
}Abridged for display — the live response carries every field in full.
The same response, set as a reader reads it
The Gospel According to St. John
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God.
In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Hoc erat in principio apud Deum.
3 All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made.
Omnia per ipsum facta sunt : et sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est.
4 In him was life: and the life was the light of men.
In ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum :
5 And the light shineth in darkness: and the darkness did not comprehend it.
et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebræ eam non comprehenderunt.
English: Douay-Rheims. Latin: Clementine Vulgate. Both public domain. This is not the proclaimed lectionary text.
Build on it
The archive is public domain and the API is free to read. Sign in with Google or GitHub, mint a key, and make the call above yourself.
Responses captured 4 September 2026 · All examples