This is a cool project. I have a few suggestions that would really make this into a powerful tool:
Add the verse numbers in the results and turn them into links so that the full passages can be read
Include other translations, especially the KJV and Greek interlinear, since those are still widely used and referenced. Different churches have particular reasons for using the versions that they've chosen, and cross-examining translations is highly important in Bible study
Include optional commentaries as search sources since those can lend a lot of insight into different passages, even serving as cross-references to other related passages
My first release used the KJV! The vector DB includes metadata (book, chapter, verse), working towards optionally rendering those. I like the idea of including multiple translations (with side by side comparisons). I'm limited to public domain texts for storage but I can query the ESV API after retrieval. Good idea about commentaries. Thanks for your input!
One thing to keep in mind here: the KJV is still under copyright in the UK (and possibly other members of the Commonwealth). It's safe to use in other countries, but not there (although I gather it's rarely enforced).
While copyrights for most things in the UK expire after a time, the same as other countries, that historically has not been true for works produced under the aegis of the Crown. In the case of the KJV, King James paid for the translation, so it falls under Crown Copyright.
As the saying goes, "It's good to be the King".
I think some Crown Copyright works are going to fall out of copyright in 2040, but I'm not sure if that includes the KJV.
Comments
This is a cool project. I have a few suggestions that would really make this into a powerful tool:
Add the verse numbers in the results and turn them into links so that the full passages can be read
Include other translations, especially the KJV and Greek interlinear, since those are still widely used and referenced. Different churches have particular reasons for using the versions that they've chosen, and cross-examining translations is highly important in Bible study
Include optional commentaries as search sources since those can lend a lot of insight into different passages, even serving as cross-references to other related passages
My first release used the KJV! The vector DB includes metadata (book, chapter, verse), working towards optionally rendering those. I like the idea of including multiple translations (with side by side comparisons). I'm limited to public domain texts for storage but I can query the ESV API after retrieval. Good idea about commentaries. Thanks for your input!
One thing to keep in mind here: the KJV is still under copyright in the UK (and possibly other members of the Commonwealth). It's safe to use in other countries, but not there (although I gather it's rarely enforced).
While copyrights for most things in the UK expire after a time, the same as other countries, that historically has not been true for works produced under the aegis of the Crown. In the case of the KJV, King James paid for the translation, so it falls under Crown Copyright.
As the saying goes, "It's good to be the King".
I think some Crown Copyright works are going to fall out of copyright in 2040, but I'm not sure if that includes the KJV.