A library of the world's sacred texts
Read the world's sacred texts.
The Bible, the Qur'an, the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching and more — carefully sourced, clearly attributed, and beautifully set for reading.
Explore the collection
Choose a tradition.
Each text is presented in its own structure and order — books and chapters, surahs and ayahs, banis, episodes. No tradition is the default.
Judaism
The Torah — the five books of Moses — read in the JPS translation with the Hebrew Masoretic text alongside.
The Torah · 187 chaptersChristianity
The complete Bible in the King James Version: 66 books, 1,189 chapters, with the translators' marginal notes kept separate from the text.
The Bible · 1,189 chaptersIslam
Twenty-six surahs of the Qur'an in Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English translation, with the Arabic Uthmani text alongside.
The Qur'an · 26 surahsHinduism
Selections from all eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita in Sir Edwin Arnold's verse translation, The Song Celestial.
Bhagavad Gita · 18 chaptersBuddhism
Short readings from each part of the Pali Canon — Vinaya, the five Nikayas and the Abhidhamma — retold in plain English.
The Tipitaka (selections) · 7 readingsSikhism
The daily prayers (Nitnem): Japji Sahib and Anand Sahib from the Guru Granth Sahib, Jaap Sahib and Chaupai Sahib from the Dasam Granth.
Sikh Daily Prayers (Nitnem) · 4 banisTaoism
All eighty-one chapters of the Tao Te Ching in James Legge's 1891 translation.
Tao Te Ching · 81 chaptersShinto
The Kojiki, Japan's oldest chronicle: the preface and seven condensed episodes from the Age of the Gods to the first emperors.
The Kojiki (selections) · 8 episodesThe Bahá'í Kitáb-i-Aqdas and further texts are in preparation. See what's coming →
Featured texts
Begin anywhere.
Psalms
Songs of grief, praise and trust. 150 chapters.
Al-Fatiha
The Opening — seven verses recited in every prayer.
Bereishit (Genesis) 1
In the beginning. With the Hebrew alongside.
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2
Krishna's counsel on the field of battle.
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring Tao.
Japji Sahib
Guru Nanak's morning prayer.
Read in your language
English, Hebrew and Arabic today. More scripts next.
Every text is available in English translation. The Torah can be read with the Hebrew Masoretic text alongside, and the Qur'an with the Arabic Uthmani text. Sanskrit, Gurmukhi and Classical Chinese editions will follow — and no language is ever marked as available before it is.
Bereishit 1 · JPS translation with Hebrew
1When God began to create heaven and earth—
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
2the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
Psalm 23 · King James Version
1A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Translator's notes stay out of the text until you ask for them.
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Typography that gets out of the way.
A measured line length, generous leading, dark and light themes, four type sizes, verse-level links, and keyboard navigation. Scripture, translator's notes and any explanation are always visibly distinct.
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Why Divine Reader
Quiet, honest, and made for the long read.
Honest sourcing
Every chapter names its translation, translator, edition and licence. Selections and retellings are labelled as such.
Made for reading
Typography tuned for long passages. Dark and light. Your size, your pace, your place remembered.
Every tradition, equal footing
No tradition is the default. Each text is presented in its own structure and canonical order.
Understanding, kept separate
When you want help, ask The Scripture Guide. AI explanations are always labelled and never mixed into the text.
How Divine Reader works
Where the texts come from, and what we do with them.
Where texts come from
Public-domain and openly licensed editions: the King James Version, Yusuf Ali, JPS via Sefaria, Legge, Arnold, the Tanzil Arabic text. Each is named on the page you read.
How accuracy is maintained
Texts are checked against their source edition, kept in canonical order, and never silently edited. Errors are listed and fixed publicly on the Sources page.
What AI does and does not do
Nothing on a reading page is AI-generated. Explanations live in The Scripture Guide, are labelled as AI, and cite the passage they discuss.