Source register

Copyright, Bible licenses, and dataset attributions

BibleBot can display Bible translations plus cited references, language, lookup, and geography data. This page collects attribution and permission language for sources used in the app; inline notices still apply when a source requires them.

Scripture Provider terms remain visible

Bible text is attributed by translation and provider; licensed text is not treated as a bundled replacement module.

Datasets Rows stay source-labeled

Lookup, references, language, maps, and Study rows preserve dataset provenance where the feature exposes it.

Candidates Internal is not public

Staged or diagnostic sources remain gated until attribution, license, and product-boundary reviews finish.

Source usage by feature

How to read this map

The source map links sources to feature areas. Active sources can surface in Passage, Studies, Workbench, Explore Map, or Composer when deployment configuration and data permit. Staged or internal-only sources are listed for transparency and may not appear as primary rows in the main UI until reviews complete. Runtime display always depends on configuration, availability, and feature gates.

Active product-visible when configured Staged gated or sparse-fill only Internal-only diagnostics, provenance, or review Candidate not promoted until source review finishes

Source families by BibleBot feature area
Feature area	Sources	How BibleBot uses them	License / posture
Scripture reading, compare, Study source text	World English Bible; King James Version where configured; ESV API where enabled; API.Bible-backed translations such as NIV, CSB, and NKJV where enabled	Passage reading, Study source passages, comparison rows, Composer handoff, and Workbench scripture lookup.	Active WEB and KJV use public-domain posture; ESV and API.Bible translations use provider/publisher terms.
References and related passages	Treasury of Scripture Knowledge; BibleBot curated cross-reference rows; OpenBible Cross References (CC BY 4.0 bulk dataset)	Passage References, Workbench reference lists, Study Compare rows, Composer gathered sources, and compact Ask grounding.	ActiveStaged Public-domain / attributed open data where applicable; curated and imported rows remain first; OpenBible targets fill sparse lists only where the runtime flag is enabled.
Original-language tools and key terms	MACULA Greek; MACULA Hebrew; STEPBible data; Strong-linked lexical sources	Passage Language, Greek/Hebrew word-study routes, morphology, Study Language rows, and key-term diagnostics.	Active MACULA and STEPBible are tracked as CC BY 4.0; public-domain lexical material is used with source provenance.
Lookup, topics, and entities	Easton's Bible Dictionary; Smith's Bible Dictionary; International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; Nave's Topical Bible	Workbench Lookup and Topics, Passage Lookup/Topics, Study Lookup/Topics, entity matching, and Composer source inserts.	Active Public-domain source editions with attribution and row-level provenance where available.
Maps, places, and geography	BibleBot curated places; OpenBible Bible Geocoding and OpenBible GitHub geography data	Passage Maps, Explore Map (including journeys), place profiles, Study place context, Workbench map links, and Composer map handoff.	Active OpenBible geography is tracked as CC BY 4.0; curated rows preserve source/provenance notes as coverage expands.
Historical context and passage boundaries	File-backed BibleBot timeline bands; OEB / source-derived context-unit headings; curated Study context points; OpenBible section counts	Passage Historical Insights, Passage Insights buckets, Study Insights rows, broad-unit diagnostics, and fallback orientation.	ActiveInternal-only BibleBot curated/runtime data plus attributed source rows; OpenBible section counts are internal boundary diagnostics under CC BY 4.0.
Red-letter and speech cues	Trusted translation markup such as bundled WEB USFM; candidate speech/quotation diagnostics	Passage and Study red-letter segments, red-letter toggle availability, and future speech attribution diagnostics.	ActiveCandidate Uses trusted source markup only; candidate speech datasets remain gated until source-specific review is complete.
Ask (guided questions)	Deployment-configured model providers; grounded scripture and tool payloads supplied with each request	Passage Ask and Workbench Ask assemble answers from retrieved context and user questions; output is assistance layered on scripture, not a replacement translation.	Active Follow the hosting deployment’s provider terms, model choice, and data-handling posture; inline UI distinguishes assistance from sourced dataset rows.
Internal source-depth candidates	UBS Open License Resources; OpenText contextual annotation corpus; SemanticBible metadata only (no bundled ESV/RSV or other copyrighted translation text); Bible Aquifer / ACAI; Theographic metadata; Perseus; Sefaria; open media and linked-data authority sources	Tracked for future Insights-aligned datasets, Studies, Lookup, Maps, source-packet diagnostics, provenance expansion, and internal registry/source-mapping diagnostics.	Internal-onlyCandidate Mostly internal, diagnostic, metadata-only, or candidate status until source-specific field selection, attribution, and product gates are complete.

Where Studies shows inline Sources details on a row, those disclosures complement this page and repeat dataset-level attribution for that content. Curated explanatory notes use the AI-assisted Study Note label where applicable, distinct from factual lexical or dataset rows. Links from Study into Explore Map (including Journeys) follow the maps and geography sourcing summarized above.

English Standard Version® (ESV®)

How BibleBot uses the ESV: When ESV is enabled for a deployment, passage text is retrieved from Crossway’s servers using the ESV API (HTTP requests with an application API key; text is shown in the BibleBot interface, not bulk-stored as a replacement Bible module). General information about the translation: ESV.org.

Crossway describes API access as follows:

“Crossway allows you to access the ESV Bible text from our server and include it on your website or app, free of charge for non-commercial use. To learn more or register for the API, visit api.esv.org.”

Crossway’s published notice of copyright for digital works quoting the ESV reads:

“Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Limits on copying or downloading ESV text: Crossway’s Terms of Service for ESV.org (which governs use of Crossway’s ESV-related web services) state in part:

“You may download or print information from the Website, but you may not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses or more than one-half of any book of the Bible or their equivalent measured in bytes.”

See the full Terms of Service for definitions (including what Crossway means by the “Website”), the rest of the license grant, and other conditions.

For broader context only: Crossway’s Guide to Permissions also describes standard-use rules for quoting the ESV in print, digital, and audio formats (for example when preparing your own publications or media). Those guidelines can include additional conditions—such as how much of your overall work may consist of quoted Scripture—that are distinct from viewing passages through an API-integrated app. Consult Crossway’s site for authoritative, up-to-date wording.

Authoritative policies and permission requests: Crossway — Guide to Permissions.

World English Bible (WEB)

BibleBot’s default English translation is typically the World English Bible, served from this project’s own database copy. The WEB is widely described as a public-domain English translation; for the source project’s own statements and files, see World English Bible. BibleBot does not provide legal advice; confirm terms with the publisher or project before redistributing text yourself.

New International Version 2011 (NIV)

How BibleBot uses the NIV: When enabled for a deployment, BibleBot retrieves passage text on demand from API.Bible. Bible text remains served from the upstream provider rather than redistributed here as a replacement Bible module.

“The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.”

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

How BibleBot uses the CSB: When enabled for a deployment, BibleBot retrieves passage text on demand from API.Bible.

“© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers”

New King James Version (NKJV)

How BibleBot uses the NKJV: When enabled for a deployment, BibleBot retrieves passage text on demand from API.Bible.

“New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.”

Other translations

Additional translations may appear if configured in a given deployment. Refer to the publisher or license associated with each translation in your environment.

Bible geography dataset

OpenBible Bible Geocoding is the first provenance-backed source BibleBot now exposes on map/place rows where dataset provenance is available. OpenBible describes the project as “the location of every identifiable place mentioned in the Bible” and publishes the dataset for reuse at openbible.info/geo.

OpenBible’s published usage statement says the geography dataset as a whole is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). BibleBot therefore preserves attribution to OpenBible.info when this dataset is surfaced in the product.

Primary source pages used for attribution and data access:

Some BibleBot place rows still rely on the project’s existing curated summaries and references while provenance-backed coverage expands. When provenance is shown in the UI, BibleBot is intentionally distinguishing sourced coordinate confidence from its own product copy.

Structured Bible data and internal source families

BibleBot also uses or stages structured source data for cross references, original-language tools, context diagnostics with source metadata, and lookup features. Some of these source families are visible in the product today; others are internal, diagnostic, or staged only until product and license guardrails are complete.

For operators using a repository checkout: diagnostics CLI inventory for npm run report:* is documented at docs/batch-summaries/source-diagnostics-cli-inventory.md.

Cross references

BibleBot cross-reference data may include curated rows, public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge rows, and OpenBible Cross References where available. OpenBible Cross References are published by OpenBible.info under CC BY 4.0.

Original-language and lexical aids

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at Clear-Bible/macula-greek, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets, available at Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
STEPBible Data, available at stepbible.github.io/STEPBible-Data, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit to “STEP Bible” linked to STEPBible.org.

Lookup and dictionary sources

BibleBot lookup features may use public-domain dictionary and encyclopedia sources such as Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Smith’s Bible Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, and constrained exact-reference topic labels from Nave’s Topical Bible. These sources are used as attributed source rows, not as BibleBot-authored conclusions.

Internal/staged source families

OpenBible Bible Section Sankey section counts are stored internally as boundary diagnostics only. The data is from OpenBible.info Bible Section Sankey Diagrams and is treated as CC BY 4.0. BibleBot normalizes the rows for section-boundary diagnostics and does not use them as generated section titles or interpretation.

UBS Open License Resources dictionaries are staged internally under CC BY-SA 4.0 obligations. Runtime display remains gated until attribution, ShareAlike, field selection, and presentation rules are approved.

OpenText contextual annotation, available at OpenText-org/context-annotation, is a high-value New Testament discourse/context candidate licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. It is not currently a whole-Bible pericope replacement, and any future use must preserve OpenText attribution and avoid turning discourse labels into BibleBot-authored interpretation.

SemanticBible metadata from SemanticBible / Sean Boisen is tracked as a metadata-only candidate source family for reference structures, semantic indexes, and gospel-harmony/pericope diagnostics such as the Composite Gospel Pericope Index. SemanticBible-origin metadata is attributed to SemanticBible / Sean Boisen under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0; see the SemanticBible license page. BibleBot does not bundle, copy, transform, or display the ESV or RSV scripture text shown on SemanticBible pages; those Bible translations remain separate third-party rights. If SemanticBible metadata is promoted into a public feature, rows must retain SemanticBible / Sean Boisen attribution, license links, provenance, change notices, and NonCommercial/ShareAlike markers.

ESV API and digital copyright wording above is quoted from Crossway’s public permissions content. The copy/download limit is quoted from Crossway’s Terms of Service for ESV.org. “ESV” and “English Standard Version” are registered trademarks of Crossway.