Bible Verse — Obsidian Plugin

Look up and display Bible verses directly in your Obsidian notes. Powered by HelloAO Bible API, with support for multiple translations, comparison views, and links to popular Bible websites. No API key required.

Features

• Inline references — Type {John 3:16} anywhere in your notes to display a linked verse
• IntelliSense autocomplete — Typing inside {…} shows book name suggestions and confirms complete references
• Code block display — Use ```bible blocks for full verse rendering with custom translation
• Comparison view — Compare verses across multiple translations side by side
• Multiple display styles — Sidebar, Callout, Blockquote, or Inline
• Bible website links — Links to BibleHub, BibleGateway, Blue Letter Bible, or Bible.com
• Local caching — Fetched verses are cached locally to reduce API calls
• Markdown Support — Bold, italics, and highlights are preserved within "baked" scripture text
• Link-Only Mode — Access restricted translations (NIV, ESV, NLT, etc.) via beautiful hyperlinked "pills"
• Bake mode — Optionally persist verse text directly in your note source (Smart Non-Destructive Baking)
• Verse Numbers — Optional display of verse numbers (e.g. 1.) for easy reference
• Structural Formatting — Respects poetic line breaks and paragraphs from the source text
• IntelliSense Autocomplete — Suggestions for books, complete references, and translations
• Theme Integrated — Uses native Obsidian design tokens for a premium look in both Light and Dark mode
• No API key needed — Uses the free HelloAO Bible API with no registration required

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release
2. Create a folder obsidian-bible-verse in your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ directory
3. Copy the three files into the folder
4. Enable the plugin in Obsidian Settings → Community plugins

Community Plugin (when available)

1. Open Obsidian Settings → Community plugins
2. Search for "Bible Verse"
3. Install and enable

Usage

Inline Syntax

Wrap any Bible reference in curly braces anywhere in your notes:

{John 3:16}
{1 Corinthians 13:4-7}
{Psalm 23}
{John 3:16-21,25}

The plugin renders the verse inline in Reading view and Live Preview. In Edit mode, the {ref} marker remains as plain text so you always know what is embedded in your note.

IntelliSense Autocomplete

Typing inside {…} activates autocomplete suggestions:

• Book names — type a few letters (e.g. {co) to see matching books like Colossians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians
• Alias support — common abbreviations work too (e.g. {1co → 1 Corinthians)
• Complete reference — once you have typed a full reference like {John 3:16, the formatted reference appears as a single suggestion; press Enter or Tab to confirm and close the braces
• Translations & Styles — After a reference, type a comma and space (e.g., {John 3:16, ) to see a list of all supported translations (including "🔗 Link-only" versions) and display styles.

Selecting a book-only suggestion inserts it with a trailing space so you can continue typing the chapter and verse number.

Inline Translation and Style Overrides

Both a translation and a display style can be specified inside the braces by appending comma-separated tokens after the reference. Translation codes are matched first, then a known style keyword (sidebar, callout, blockquote, inline) wins when ambiguous.

{John 3:16, KJV}                  -- override translation
{John 3:16, KJV, DARBY}           -- side-by-side comparison
{John 3:16, sidebar}              -- default translation, force sidebar style
{John 3:16, KJV, sidebar}         -- KJV in sidebar style
{John 3:16, KJV, DARBY, callout}  -- comparison (style is ignored here)

Formatting Overrides

You can override your global settings for verse numbers and line breaks on a per-quote basis using these keywords:

• v / no-v — Force verse numbers on or off.
• nl / no-nl — Force each verse onto a new line (nl) or keep them in a single paragraph (no-nl).

{John 3:16-17, no-v}             -- hide verse numbers for this quote
{John 3:16-17, KJV, nl}          -- KJV with each verse on a new line
{John 3:16-17, KJV, nl, no-v}    -- KJV, new lines, no numbers

Link-Only Translations

Some commercially licensed translations (NIV, ESV, NLT, NKJV, NASB, AMP, CSB) cannot be fetched as text due to licensing restrictions. When these are selected, the plugin renders a beautiful "Link Pill" that takes you directly to the verse on your preferred Bible website.

{John 3:16, NIV}                 -- Renders as a hyperlink pill

Code Block

Use a bible code block for full verse display:

```bible
John 3:16
translation: KJV
style: sidebar
newline: true      -- override: each verse on a new line
numbers: false     -- override: hide verse numbers
```

The style: key accepts sidebar, callout, blockquote, or inline and overrides the global display style for this block only. The newline: and numbers: keys accept true or false.

Comparison View

Compare multiple translations:

```bible
Romans 8:28
compare: KJV, BSB, ASV
```

Available Translations

Text-Display Translations (Freely Available)

Abbreviation	Translation
KJV	King James Version
BSB	Berean Standard Bible
ASV	American Standard Version
WEB	World English Bible
NET	NET Bible
DARBY	Darby Translation
DRB	Douay-Rheims 1899
ERV	Revised Version
YLT	Young's Literal Translation
BBE	Bible in Basic English
FBV	Free Bible Version
LSV	Literal Standard Version
MSB	Majority Standard Bible
GNV	Geneva Bible 1599
OJB	Orthodox Jewish Bible

Link-Only Translations (Commercially Licensed)

The following translations render as a hyperlink to your preferred Bible website:

• NIV — New International Version
• ESV — English Standard Version
• NLT — New Living Translation
• NKJV — New King James Version
• NASB — New American Standard Bible
• AMP — Amplified Bible
• CSB — Christian Standard Bible

Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Default Translation	Which translation to use by default	KJV
Preferred Website	Which Bible website to link to	BibleGateway
Display Style	Visual presentation of verses	Callout
Show Verse Numbers	Toggle verse numbers (e.g. 1.)	On
New Line Per Verse	Each verse starts on a new line	Off
Persist Verse Text	Automatically bake verse text when rendering	Off
Bake Inline References	Convert {ref} to code block when baking	Off

Baking and Persisting Text

When "Persist Verse Text" is enabled, fetched verse text is stored directly inside the ```bible code block. This ensures your notes are offline-ready and readable by anyone, even if they don't have the plugin installed.

John 3:16
translation: KJV
---
16. For God so loved the world...

Markdown Support: You can use bold, italics, and ==highlights== within baked scripture text. These styles will be preserved if you refresh the verse later.

Commands

• Bake all verses in this note — Fetch and embed all {ref} verses in the current note
• Refresh baked verses in this note — Re-fetch and update all baked verses
• Refresh all baked verses in vault — Re-fetch across all notes
• Bake all existing verses across vault — Bake all {ref} markers in every note
• Strip baked text from all notes — Remove all baked text, keeping only {ref} markers
• Clear verse cache — Clear the local verse cache to free up space

Data Source

Bible text is provided by the HelloAO Bible API. No API key or registration is required.

License

GPL-3.0