Bible verses in live translation
Scripture, from the Bible itself.
When the pastor names a passage and reads it, Voclyn shows it from a published Bible, not an AI translation. A Spanish reader sees the Reina-Valera 1909, a Korean reader 개역한글, and Chinese readers 和合本, in its 神 or 上帝 edition.
English readers see the Berean Standard Bible or the King James Version, whichever your church chooses, and every card says “Published text · not AI”.
See it
The reading, from the Bible.
The sample starts at the reading of Acts 2:6. Spanish, Korean and Chinese phones show it from their published Bible, marked “Published text · not AI”.
Why a reading shouldn't be machine-translated
People know their verses by heart, in the words of the Bible they grew up with. An AI translation of the pastor’s reading gives the meaning in new words: close, but not the words people know. When the pastor reads John 3:16, the grandmother in the third row should read 和合本, word for word.
Pastors feel this most. In a Barna survey published on 19 May 2026, 94% of US Protestant pastors and 83% of practicing Christians said they were concerned about AI misinterpreting Scripture. Scripture lock answers that for readings: the words on the card come from a published Bible, and the card says so.
The Bible each language shows
| Bible | Shown to readers in | Licence | Never shown from it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the default | English | Public domain since 30 April 2023; attribution not required | 16 verses it doesn't print, such as John 5:4 and Acts 8:37; the KJV has them |
| King James Version (KJV), the 1769 text, if your church chooses it | English | Public domain outside the UK, where the Crown's letters patent still apply | None |
| Reina-Valera 1909 (RV1909) | Spanish Español | Public domain | 23 places where the 1909 printing numbers verses its own way, such as Jonah 1–2 and Job 38–41 |
| 개역한글판, 1961 (개역한글) | Korean 한국어 | Public domain in Korea since 2012 | 20 verses or chapters around pairs it prints as one, such as Romans 9:1–2 |
| 和合本 (Chinese Union Version), Traditional characters: the 神 edition, or the 上帝 edition if your church chooses it | Cantonese 廣東話, Mandarin (Traditional) 國語（繁體） | The 1919 text is in the public domain | All of John 7 and John 8:1 (it prints 7:53 with 8:1), 3 John 14–15 and Revelation 12:17–13:1 |
| 和合本 (Chinese Union Version), Simplified characters: the 神 edition, or the 上帝 edition if your church chooses it | Mandarin (Simplified) 普通话（简体） | The 1919 text is in the public domain | All of John 7 and John 8:1 (it prints 7:53 with 8:1), 3 John 14–15 and Revelation 12:17–13:1 |
| No published Bible yet: the reading is translated like the rest of the service and labelled AI | Every other language | — | — |
Your church chooses, for each room, in Rooms › Languages › Bible readings: the BSB or the KJV for English readers, and the 神 or 上帝 edition of 和合本 for Chinese readers. The two editions are one text: where the 神 edition writes God as 神, the 上帝 edition writes 上帝. Listeners don’t choose, so every phone in the room shows the same Bible.
If your church reads the Reina-Valera 1960 or 개역개정, the cards still show the 1909 and 개역한글, and name them.
Licences are as each publisher or archive states them; the sources are listed at the end of this page.
How a reading is recognised
- The passage is named. “Turn with me to John three sixteen”, “San Juan capítulo tres, versículo dieciséis”, “요한복음 3장 16절”, “約翰福音三章十六節”: a reference said in English, Spanish, Korean or Chinese, numbers said as words included. A book name on its own opens nothing.
- The reading follows. Within 90 seconds, the next sentences are compared with that passage’s words in each Bible. A reading starts when most of a sentence is the passage’s words and enough of the verse has been heard.
- Each listener gets their own Bible. From then on, each sentence of the reading reaches English, Spanish, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin phones as the verses of their Bible, in place of a translation. If the opening line of a psalm went out translated, it is replaced in place once the reading is sure.
- The reading ends. After two sentences that don’t read on, 20 seconds without one, or a new passage named, the sermon is translated as before.
It is all rules, no AI: matching the words and numbers takes a few milliseconds a sentence, and the same reading always gives the same result. The reading itself can be in English, Spanish, Korean, Cantonese or Mandarin.
The pastor doesn’t have to read from these Bibles. In our tests, verses read from the NIV, ESV, KJV, Reina-Valera 1960, 개역개정 and 和合本修訂版 were all recognised; very free versions, such as the NLT, sometimes aren’t. The card always names the Bible it shows, so nobody is misled when the pastor reads another.
A wrong card is worse than none
A verse card tells people “this is the Bible”, so it has to be right. Scripture lock would rather miss a loose reading than show the wrong verse.
- A paraphrase gets no card. “God loved the world so much that he gave his Son” is close to John 3:16, but it isn’t a reading, so it is translated like the rest of the sermon and labelled AI.
- A line about a verse gets no card, and neither does a reading the pastor never named.
- A verse whose number may mean another verse is never shown. The Reina-Valera 1909 keeps its own numbering in places (its Jonah 2:1 is the KJV’s 1:17), 개역한글 prints a few pairs of verses as one, and 和合本 prints John 7:53 with 8:1. Readers of those Bibles get the AI translation there, labelled AI.
On phones, the big screen and in the voice
On phones, the reading arrives as a verse card where the sentence would have been: the book as the listener’s Bible names it, the version, and “Published text · not AI” in their language. The sentences of one reading grow one card, verse by verse, and “About these captions” names the listener’s Bible.
A Spanish phone · Juan 3:16 · RV1909
Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado á su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.
Texto publicado · no es IA
A Korean phone · 요한복음 3:16 · 개역한글
하나님이 세상을 이처럼 사랑하사 독생자를 주셨으니 이는 저를 믿는 자마다 멸망치 않고 영생을 얻게 하려 하심이니라
출판된 성경 본문 · AI 번역 아님
A Cantonese phone · 約翰福音 3:16 · 和合本
神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的，不致滅亡，反得永生。
出版譯本 · 非 AI 翻譯
On the big screen, the verse rolls up in its language band like any sentence, cited with its version (使徒行传 2:6 · 和合本), and while it is the newest line the band’s corner says “Published text” and the version instead of “AI translation”. Captions on the big screen.
In the voice, with Listen on, the AI voice reads the published verse instead of a translation. The saved transcript keeps the published verse too.
What isn't built yet
- Licensed versions such as the Reina-Valera 1960, 개역개정, NIV and ESV, which need an agreement with their publishers. None is used today.
- Recognising a reading that was never named.
- A published Bible for other languages: their readers get the reading translated and labelled AI.
- An Undo at the sound desk to take a card back from every phone, which is one more reason the rules above are strict.
Questions
What churches ask.
Something else on your mind? Write to us at hello@voclyn.com.
Not yet. Those versions are under copyright and need an agreement with their publishers, and none is used today. Your pastor can still read from them: the reading is recognised, and each card shows and names the public-domain Bible for that language.
Then there is no card. A paraphrase, a line about a verse or a reading that was never named is translated like the rest of the sermon and labelled AI. A wrong card is worse than none.
Yes. References are understood when said in English, Spanish, Korean or Chinese, numbers said as words included, and the reading is matched in English, Spanish, Korean, Cantonese or Mandarin.
Readers in other languages get the reading translated like the rest of the service, labelled AI. Published Bibles are shown in English, Spanish, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin.
The verse isn't: it is the published Bible, word for word, marked Published text · not AI. Matching the reading isn't AI either; it compares the words the speech engine heard with the passage's words. The rest of the service is AI translation and is labelled so.
The Berean Standard Bible (BSB), unless your church chooses the King James Version (KJV) for the room in Rooms › Languages. The BSB is the default because its wording is close to the NIV and ESV, which many pastors read from; it has been in the public domain since 30 April 2023.
Yes. In Rooms › Languages › Bible readings, choose the 神 or the 上帝 edition for Chinese readers. It is the same text; only the word for God differs. The church chooses, not the listener, so every phone in the room shows the same edition.
The verse your congregation already knows.
Name a passage in the demo and read it aloud: phones set to English, Spanish, Korean, Cantonese or Mandarin show it from their Bible. 30 days of the Church plan free, no card.
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