Scriptorium

Every verse, down to the words underneath it.

Tap a word. This is what the app does for every verse of the Bible.

Join the beta See what’s inside

31,102 verses, each tagged word by word.

The wordsRead the Bible you know, with the original a tap away.

Scriptorium opens like any Bible: a chapter, a clean page, your translation. Tap a verse and the Hebrew or Greek is underneath it, one word at a time.

Each word shows its dictionary form, what it means, and exactly how it’s parsed. Tap it again for the full lexicon entry and every other place it appears, so you can watch a word like λόγος work through all 329 of its uses in the New Testament.

  1. Eight texts, including the Berean Standard Bible, the King James and Young’s Literal, side by side if you like.
  2. Hebrew and Greek for every verse, with lexicons and full parsing.
  3. Cross references, search, notes, and a map of the places in the passage.
Fig. 1 Word by word, John 1:1, recorded in the app.

Texts from Sefaria’s library, shown with their translation and license.

The sourcesWhat the sages actually said, in their own words.

Study Genesis 12 and the Midrash view opens with the texts themselves: Bereshit Rabbah, the Tanchuma for that week’s portion, the Aramaic Targum, Rashi and Ramban.

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is analogous to one who was passing from place to place, and saw a building with a candle burning in it. He said: ‘Is it possible that this building has no one in charge of it?’ The owner of the building looked out at him and said: ‘I am the owner of the building.’

They come from Sefaria’s open library, and every one links back to it. For a New Testament passage, Scriptorium finds the Old Testament verses it quotes and shows how Jewish tradition read those.

Fig. 2 From the sources, Genesis 12:1–9.

Written by Claude, Anthropic’s AI, when you ask.

The guidesA study guide for any passage, that shows where it got things.

Ask for a guide and Claude writes one for the passage in front of you: the setting, the words worth slowing down for, the questions it raises.

  1. Passage guide, history and timeline, and commentary in four voices: exegetical, historical, the early church, devotional.
  2. The Hebraic reading, built on the sources above. Every source Claude cites is checked against them; anything from memory is marked as such.
  3. Word studies and Ask, for the question you actually have.

AI can be wrong. Scriptorium keeps the text and the sources in front of you so you can check it, and the Bible, the original languages and the sources all work without it.

Fig. 3 A Passage Guide, John 3:16–21.
Fig. 4 Genesis 12. A check means the source is on Sefaria.
Fig. 5 Ask: why did Abram have to leave?

Read aloud with the best voice on your iPhone. Reminders, widgets and iCloud sync.

The rhythmA place to read, pray and write every day.

If your church hands out a Bible-in-a-year plan, take a photo of the month’s page. Scriptorium reads the dates and passages, makes the days, and reminds you each morning.

Some mornings you’ll want to listen. Tap Listen and Scriptorium reads the chapter aloud, marking each verse as it goes, so you can follow along or simply hear it.

Your prayer list remembers what you’ve prayed and what’s been answered. Your journal sits beside the passage it’s about. A widget on your Home Screen keeps today’s reading one tap away.

Fig. 6 Listen: Psalm 23, read aloud.

Why this exists.

A note from the maker

I am not a Bible scholar. I wanted a place to study Scripture closely and to spend time with the God I know and love, and I wanted both in the same place. Study on its own can slide into knowing about God more than knowing Him. The Pharisees knew the text better than anyone.

So Scriptorium holds both. There’s the study: the Hebrew and Greek word by word, the real sources, and Claude as a tool to help me understand what I’m reading. And there’s the time with Him: learning a verse by heart, a slow quiet time in a psalm, prayer, a journal, and looking back each night for where I saw God.

Claude helps with the study. It never sees your prayers or your journal unless you choose to send it an entry, and memorizing, quiet time and the evening Examen don’t use it at all. Those parts are between you and God.

It has become the app I open every morning. I’d love to know whether it helps you too.

Jacken, who makes Scriptorium

Invites go out in small groups through TestFlight, Apple’s beta app.

The registerTry it before it launches.

Add your name and I’ll send a TestFlight invite when the next group opens, and one email when Scriptorium reaches the App Store. Nothing else.

Would you chip in $5 to help it launch sooner?

By joining you agree to hear from me about Scriptorium. Unsubscribe any time. See the privacy policy.

If you’d like to help it along

Testing costs real money: the AI isn’t free, and neither is the App Store. If Scriptorium is something you want to exist, $5 helps it launch sooner. It’s support for an independent developer, not a charitable donation, so it isn’t tax-deductible.

QuestionsAsked so far.

When can I use it?
It’s in testing on TestFlight now. Join the register and I’ll invite you when the next group opens. The App Store release comes after that.
What will it cost?
The Bible, the Hebrew and Greek, the sources, reading plans, prayer list and journal are free. The AI guides will be an optional subscription, and early testers will get extra free time.
Can I trust the AI?
Check it, the way you’d check any commentary. The app shows the text and the sources beside what Claude writes, marks what it says from memory, and the core of the app works without AI at all. If you find a mistake, tell me.
Android?
iPhone first. If enough people ask, Android could follow. Say so in the note above.
Is my data private?
Your journal, prayers and notes stay on your phone and in your own iCloud. There are no ads and no tracking. The privacy policy has every detail.