Local Bible Ref
Quickly and easily reference Bible passages stored locally in your Obsidian vault.
Basics
Inspiration
This plugin takes heavy inspiration from the Bible Reference and Bible Linker plugins - please check them out! I've been using the Bible Reference plugin for a while (which has been great) and I love the simplicity of referencing passages using the -- prefix. I also loved the idea of storing a Bible locally because then I could reference Bible passages even when I'm offline, as well as use my vault Bible for reading. Unfortunately, the markdown format of the Bible Linker local Bible is not great for reading, and I prefer the simplicity of using the -- prefix to fetch Bible passages. There's also some referencing limitations in the Bible Reference plugin and occasionally some odd additions to passages returned from the Boll's Life API. So, this is an amalgamation of those two plugins.
Getting Started
To start with, you will need to create a Bible in your own vault. Some instructions on this can be found below (this plugin uses a different markdown format to Bible Linker). Once you've done that, open up the Local Bible Ref settings and fill out the Bibles Path and Default Version Shorthand fields. Then, to use the plugin, simply open a new note and use the -- reference prefix to grab a passage of scripture. There are also additional options (similar to terminal command options) you can provide to the reference to indicate which version to use and what markdown format to display the passage in. More information can be found below.
Usage
References
In order to fetch a Bible passage, simply type in a Bible reference prefixed with --: --John 1:1. Local Bible Ref currently supports Bible references in the form:
- Single verse:
--gen1:1 - Multi verse:
--gen1:1-3 - Single chapter:
--gen1 - Multi chapter:
--gen1-3 - Multi chapter & verse:
--gen1:3-3:9
The referencing syntax also allows for a lot of flexibility:
- Short and full name references:
--gen1+--genesis1 - Lowercase, uppercase and mixed-case references:
--gEnEsis1 - Spacing (not more than a single space):
-- Genesis 1:1 - 2:2
Options
Local Bible Ref also allows you to provide a few options to a reference to specify which version you would like to use as well as what markdown format to use. Add an option to a reference by adding a + followed by the option (in any order): --gen1:1-5+v:esv
Syntax: --<reference>[+<option>[:<value>]]...
| Option | Value | Usage | Example | Live |
|---|---|---|---|---|
version, v |
string - the version code |
Specifies what Bible version to use from the list of versions you have created in your vault. | +version:niv |
✔️ |
callout, c |
Specifies that the passage should be displayed in callout format. | +callout |
❌ | |
paragraph, p |
Specifies that the passage should be displayed in a standard paragraph. | +paragraph |
❌ | |
quote, q |
Specifies that the passage should be displayed in quote format. | +quote |
❌ |
Bible Markdown Format
The Bible markdown format required for this plugin is slightly more complex than the format used for the Bible Linker plugin. I chose this particular format because it makes the Bible much nicer to read if you simply wanted to use your vault Bible for reading (as I do). It looks something like this:
Most of the formatting shown here is unnecessary. You really only need to ensure your Bible adheres to the following:
- Verses are denoted by the verse number wrapped in the
suptag:<sup>1</sup> - Each chapter is a markdown file of it's own
- Chapters are named with the convention
<book name> <chapter>.md:Genesis 1.md - Chapters are grouped into folders with the full name of the book:
Genesis - Books are grouped into a folder with the version code of the Bible:
CSB
Doing things this way allows you to store and reference multiple different versions of the Bible:
Beyond that, everything else (section headings, footnotes, links) is optional. Be careful not to add odd characters or extra text in the verses, or they will show up when you reference them. Currently, referencing will ignore headings, footnotes and anything after a horizontal rule.
Limitations
- Bible referencing does not work with the Bible Linker style of markdown Bible.
- Referencing does not yet support multiple passages:
Genesis 1:1; John 1:1 - Currently, the passages will only display as a callout. I'll be adding paragraphs and quotes soon.