Translations
BibleLine ships four English translations, and every one of them is free in the fullest sense — not only free to read, but free to copy, host, and redistribute without a fee or a signature. That constraint narrows the shelf on purpose: it keeps the project open to everyone and beholden to no one. What follows is the reasoning behind that choice, and what it means for the text you read here.
What you’ll find
BSB (Berean Standard Bible) — default. Modern, readable, and published under a Creative Commons public-domain dedication
KJV (King James Version) — public domain in the United States; historic choice
WEB (World English Bible) — modern, public-domain dedication
ASV (American Standard Version) — public domain; more literal than the KJV
Switch between translations via the header toggle. Your choice persists across pages and reloads (stored locally in your browser).
What you WON’T find, and why
ESV, NIV, NLT, NASB, CSB — all licensed translations. BibleLine is built to remain free to host and redistribute; licensed text would introduce per-seat or per-view fees and legal friction.
BibleLine reproduces no licensed text and links to none — there is no NIV link anywhere on the site. Holding to public-domain translations end to end is exactly what keeps the project free to read, host, and redistribute. To read a licensed translation like the NIV, use your own copy or a licensed reader such as Bible Gateway.
How it’s delivered
Each translation is delivered as a per-book JSON shard. Opening a character page loads only the shards that contain the verses listed on that page, in the active translation — you don’t pay the cost of unused translations on initial page load.
When a verse is omitted
Some translations drop verses that appear in others (e.g., Matthew 17:21 is absent from most modern translations based on the earliest manuscripts). BibleLine shows a labeled “Not in <translation>” note rather than a silent blank, so you always know whether the verse is missing or the page is broken.