Bible Search Tool

This project is for searching and looking up verses with synonyms and other features that are not available in most public Bible search websites. The goal is progressive growth and practicing Rust language for terminal applications. Currently, this repository defaults to an English Revised Version (ERV) Bible because of its public access. It also supports ESV (--esv), NASB (--nasb), KJV (--kjv) and ASV (--asv). Hope to extend functionality to more versions in the future.

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Quick Start

1. Create Default Synonyms File

# Generate a synonyms.txt file with default biblical synonyms
./bible_tool --create-synonyms

# This creates synonyms.txt in the current directory
# You can now edit it to add/remove synonyms

2. Run Your First Search

# Search with synonym expansion
./bible_tool --search "god" --synonyms --limit 5

Command Line Usage

Basic Search

# Simple text search
./bible_tool --search "love"

# Search with synonyms (expands "god" to include "lord", "almighty", etc.)
./bible_tool --search "god" --synonyms

# Case-sensitive search
./bible_tool --search "Love" --case-sensitive

# Search within specific book
./bible_tool --search "peace" --book "Psalm"

# Limit results to first 5 matches
./bible_tool --search "faith" --limit 5

Reference Lookup

# Look up specific verse
./bible_tool --reference "John 3:16"

# Look up with short form
./bible_tool -r "Genesis 1:1"

Random Verse

# Get a random verse
./bible_tool --random

Cross-References

# Find verses similar to John 3:16 (default 30% Jaccard similarity)
./bible_tool --cross-references "John 3:16"

# Use synonyms for better matching
./bible_tool --cross-references "John 3:16" --use-synonyms-xref

# Adjust Jaccard similarity threshold (0.0 to 1.0)
./bible_tool -x "Psalm 23:1" --similarity 0.4

# Use n-gram phrase matching (finds verses with same 3-word phrases)
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram

# 2-gram matching (finds verses with same 2-word phrases)
./bible_tool -x "Romans 8:28" --similarity 2-gram --use-synonyms-xref

# 5-gram matching (finds verses with longer common phrases)
./bible_tool -x "Genesis 1:1" --similarity 5-gram

# Limit results
./bible_tool -x "Romans 8:28" --similarity 3-gram -l 10
./bible_tool -x "Romans 8:28" --use-synonyms-xref --similarity 0.25 -l 10

# Short form
./bible_tool -x "Genesis 1:1"

Interactive Mode

# Start interactive mode (original menu system)
./bible_tool --interactive

# Or just run without arguments
./bible_tool

Advanced Examples

# Search for "jesus" with synonyms, case-sensitive, in Gospel of John only, limit to 3 results
./bible_tool -s "jesus" --synonyms --case-sensitive -b "John" -l 3

# Use custom Bible file
./bible_tool -f /path/to/my_bible.txt -s "salvation"

# Use custom synonyms file
./bible_tool --synonyms-file /path/to/my_synonyms.txt -s "god" --synonyms

# Find cross-references with synonym matching and n-gram
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram --use-synonyms-xref -l 5

# Disable colors for scripting
./bible_tool --search "hope" --no-color

# Use supported translation (KJV, ASV, ERV)
./bible_tool --search "believeth" --kjv

Synonym File Management

Creating the Default Synonyms File

# Create synonyms.txt with default biblical synonyms
./bible_tool --create-synonyms

# Create with custom filename
./bible_tool --synonyms-file my_synonyms.txt --create-synonyms

Editing the Synonyms File

The synonyms file uses a simple format:

keyword: synonym1, synonym2, synonym3

Example synonyms.txt:

# Comments start with #
god: god, lord, almighty, creator, father
jesus: jesus, christ, savior, messiah, son
love: love, loved, beloved, charity, affection

# You can add your own groups
disciple: disciple, apostle, follower, believer

Format Rules:

• One synonym group per line
• Format: keyword: synonym1, synonym2, synonym3
• Keywords and synonyms are case-insensitive
• Lines starting with # are comments
• Empty lines are ignored
• Commas separate synonyms

Adding New Synonyms

Simply edit synonyms.txt and add new lines:

# Open in your editor
nano synonyms.txt

# Add new entries like:
temple: temple, sanctuary, tabernacle, house
covenant: covenant, promise, agreement, testament

No recompilation needed! Changes take effect next time you run the tool.

Removing Synonyms

• Delete entire lines to remove synonym groups
• Remove individual synonyms from comma-separated lists
• Comment out lines with # to temporarily disable them

Example Output

Search with Synonyms

$ ./bible_tool --search "god" --synonyms --limit 3

Loading Bible from bible.txt...
✅ Bible loaded successfully (31102 verses).
✅ Loaded 18 synonym groups from synonyms.txt
Searching for 'god' (with synonyms: almighty, creator, father, god, high, jehovah, lord, most, yahweh)...

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Found 3 matching verses.

Cross-References

$ ./bible_tool --cross-references "John 3:16" --use-synonyms-xref -l 5

Loading Bible from bible.txt...
✅ Bible loaded successfully (31102 verses).
✅ Loaded 18 synonym groups from synonyms.txt
Source Verse:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Found 5 cross-reference(s) with similarity >= 30.0%:
(Using synonym matching)

45.2% - John 3:17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.

38.5% - 1 John 4:9 Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

35.7% - Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

32.1% - 1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

30.4% - Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us.

N-Gram Cross-References

$ ./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram --use-synonyms-xref -l 5

Loading Bible from bibles/bible.txt...
✅ Bible loaded successfully (31102 verses).
✅ Loaded 18 synonym groups from synonyms.txt
Source Verse:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Found 5 cross-reference(s) with 3-gram phrase matching:
(Using synonym matching)

3 match(es) - John 3:17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.

2 match(es) - 1 John 4:9 Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

2 match(es) - Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 match(es) - John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name.

1 match(es) - 1 John 5:11 And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

N-Gram Cross-References

$ ./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram --use-synonyms-xref -l 5

Loading Bible from bible.txt...
✅ Bible loaded successfully (31102 verses).
✅ Loaded 18 synonym groups from synonyms.txt
Source Verse:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Found 5 cross-reference(s) with 3-gram phrase matching:
(Using synonym matching)

3 match(es) - John 3:17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.

2 match(es) - 1 John 4:9 Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

2 match(es) - Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 match(es) - John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name.

1 match(es) - 1 John 5:11 And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Reference Lookup

$ ./bible_tool --reference "John 3:16"

Loading Bible from bible.txt...
✅ Bible loaded successfully (31102 verses).
✅ Loaded 18 synonym groups from synonyms.txt
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Interactive Mode

$ ./bible_tool --interactive

Loading Bible from bible.txt...
✅ Bible loaded successfully (31102 verses).
✅ Loaded 18 synonym groups from synonyms.txt

=== Interactive Bible Search Tool ===

--- Bible Tool Menu ---
1. Lookup Verse (e.g., Genesis 1:1)
2. Search Text
3. Exit
> 2
Enter search query: love
Use synonyms? (y/n): y
Searching for 'love' (with synonyms: affection, beloved, charity, devotion, love, loved, loveth)...

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Romans 8:28 And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Found 3 matching verses.

When Synonyms File is Missing

$ ./bible_tool --search "god" --synonyms

Loading Bible from bible.txt...
✅ Bible loaded successfully (31102 verses).
⚠️  Could not load synonyms file (synonyms.txt): No such file or directory (os error 2)
   Using exact word matching only.
   Run with --create-synonyms to create a default synonyms file.
Searching for 'god' (no synonyms defined for these terms)...

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
...

Built-in Default Synonyms

When you run --create-synonyms, the following synonym groups are created:

Deity References:

• god: god, lord, almighty, creator, father, jehovah, yahweh, most high
• jesus: jesus, christ, savior, saviour, redeemer, messiah, son, lamb

Spiritual Concepts:

• love: love, loved, loveth, beloved, charity, affection, devotion
• peace: peace, tranquil, calm, serenity, rest, quiet, still
• joy: joy, happiness, gladness, delight, rejoice, joyful, glad
• wisdom: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, insight, prudence, wise, discernment
• faith: faith, belief, trust, confidence, hope, believe, believing
• fear: fear, afraid, terror, dread, reverence, awe

Sin and Salvation:

• sin: sin, transgression, iniquity, wickedness, evil, trespass
• salvation: salvation, save, saved, deliverance, rescue, redeem, redeemed

Virtues:

• righteousness: righteousness, righteous, just, justice, upright
• mercy: mercy, merciful, compassion, compassionate, grace, gracious
• truth: truth, true, truthful, verity, honest, honesty

Actions:

• praise: praise, worship, glorify, exalt, magnify, honor
• prayer: prayer, pray, petition, supplication, intercession
• repent: repent, repentance, turn, return, humble

Additional Concepts:

• spirit: spirit, soul, heart, mind
• word: word, words, scripture, law, commandment, testimony
• kingdom: kingdom, reign, dominion, rule

Tips for Creating Custom Synonyms

1. Topical Groups

Create synonym groups for specific topics you study:

healing: healing, heal, cured, restored, whole, wholeness
blessing: blessing, blessed, bless, favor, favored
prophet: prophet, seer, prophesy, prophesied, foretold

2. Character Names

Group names and titles together:

moses: moses, lawgiver
david: david, psalmist, sweet psalmist
paul: paul, saul, apostle paul

3. Old English Variants

Help find verses in older translations:

thou: thou, you, thee, thy, thine, your, yours
shall: shall, will, should, would
saith: saith, says, said, speaks, spoke

4. Multiple Translations

Include variations from different translations:

redemption: redemption, ransom, bought, purchased, redeemed
sanctification: sanctification, holiness, sanctified, holy, set apart

File Format

Your Bible file can be in one of two formats:

Text Format (Tab-delimited)

ERV
English Revised Version
Genesis 1:1	In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:2	And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
...

• Line 1: Translation abbreviation
• Line 2: Full translation name
• Line 3+: Reference[TAB]Text format

JSON Format (BibleTranslations)

Supports the format from BibleTranslations repository:

{
  "Genesis": {
    "1": {
      "1": "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.",
      "2": "And the earth was without form, and void..."
    },
    "2": {
      "1": "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished."
    }
  },
  "John": {
    "3": {
      "16": "For God so loved the world..."
    }
  }
}

The tool automatically detects the format based on file extension (.json) or file content.

Command Line Options

Option	Short	Description
--file	-f	Path to Bible text file (default: bible.txt)
--kjv		Use KJV. Equivalent to --file bibles/kjv.txt.
--asv		Use ASV. Equivalent to --file bibles/asv.txt.
--erv		Use ERV. Equivalent to --file bibles/erv.txt.
--synonyms-file		Path to synonyms configuration file (default: synonyms.txt)
--create-synonyms		Create default synonyms file and exit
--search	-s	Search for text in verses
--reference	-r	Look up verse by reference
--cross-references	-x	Find cross-references for a verse
--similarity		Similarity metric: 0.0-1.0 for Jaccard, or '2-gram', '3-gram', etc. for phrase matching (default: 0.3)
--use-synonyms-xref		Use synonyms when calculating cross-reference similarity
--random		Get a random verse
--synonyms		Include synonyms in search
--case-sensitive	-c	Case sensitive search
--book	-b	Filter results to specific book
--limit	-l	Limit number of results
--no-color		Disable colored output
--interactive	-i	Start in interactive mode

Workflow Examples

Setting Up Your Custom Bible Study Tool

1. Initial Setup

# Create your synonyms file
./bible_tool --create-synonyms

# Edit it for your needs
nano synonyms.txt

2. Add Study-Specific Synonyms

# For a study on prayer, add:
echo "intercession: intercession, mediation, advocate, mediator" >> synonyms.txt

# For a study on spiritual gifts:
echo "gifts: gifts, gift, talents, abilities, endowments" >> synonyms.txt

3. Search with Your Custom Synonyms

./bible_tool --search "prayer" --synonyms -l 10

Comparative Translation Study

Create different synonym files for different translations:

# Create KJV-specific synonyms
./bible_tool --synonyms-file synonyms_kjv.txt --create-synonyms

# Edit to add KJV-specific terms
echo "charity: charity, love, agape" >> synonyms_kjv.txt
echo "conversation: conversation, conduct, behavior, manner of life" >> synonyms_kjv.txt

# Use with KJV Bible (text or JSON format)
./bible_tool -f bibles/kjv.txt --synonyms-file synonyms_kjv.txt -s "charity" --synonyms
./bible_tool -f bibles/KJV.json --synonyms-file synonyms_kjv.txt -s "charity" --synonyms

Quick Scripture Finder Script

Create a shell script for common searches:

#!/bin/bash
# search_bible.sh

if [ "$1" == "" ]; then
    echo "Usage: search_bible.sh <query> [limit]"
    exit 1
fi

LIMIT=${2:-10}
./bible_tool --search "$1" --synonyms --limit $LIMIT

Usage:

chmod +x search_bible.sh
./search_bible.sh "faith" 5

Cross-Reference Study

# Find related verses for study using Jaccard similarity
./bible_tool -x "Romans 8:28" --use-synonyms-xref --similarity 0.3 -l 10 > related_verses.txt

# Find verses with exact phrase matches (3-gram)
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram -l 10

# Compare different similarity methods
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 0.5 -l 5     # Jaccard: Very similar content
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram -l 5  # N-gram: Common 3-word phrases
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 2-gram -l 20 # N-gram: Broader phrase matches

Understanding Similarity Metrics

Jaccard Similarity (Default)

Measures word overlap between verses:

• 0.3 (30%) = Default, finds moderately related verses
• 0.5 (50%) = High similarity, very related themes
• 0.2 (20%) = Lower threshold, broader matches
• 1.0 (100%) = Exact word match (unlikely to find any)

Example:

./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 0.4

N-Gram Phrase Matching

Finds verses containing the same consecutive word sequences:

• 2-gram: Matches any 2-word phrase (e.g., "love God", "eternal life")
• 3-gram: Matches any 3-word phrase (e.g., "God so loved")
• 4-gram: Matches any 4-word phrase (more specific)
• 5-gram or higher: Matches longer phrases (very specific)

Example:

# Find verses with common 3-word phrases
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram

# With synonyms: "God" and "Lord" count as matching
./bible_tool -x "John 3:16" --similarity 3-gram --use-synonyms-xref

When to use which:

• Jaccard: Finding thematically similar verses (same topics/concepts)
• N-gram: Finding verses with similar wording or quotations
• 2-gram: Broad phrase matching, many results
• 3-gram: Balanced phrase matching (recommended)
• 4-gram+: Specific phrase matching, fewer results

Troubleshooting

Synonyms Not Working

Problem: Search with --synonyms doesn't expand terms

Solutions:

1. Check if synonyms.txt exists: ls -l synonyms.txt
2. Verify file format (keyword: synonym1, synonym2)
3. Create default file: ./bible_tool --create-synonyms
4. Check for typos in keyword (must match your search term exactly)

Can't Find Verses

Problem: Expected verses not appearing in results

Solutions:

1. Try without --case-sensitive flag
2. Add more synonyms to your synonyms.txt
3. Check spelling of search terms
4. Use broader terms (search "heal" instead of "healing")

Highlighting Issues

Problem: Colors not showing or broken in terminal

Solutions:

1. Use --no-color flag to disable colors
2. Check terminal supports ANSI colors
3. Try different terminal emulator

Advanced Use Cases

Topical Bible Creation

# Create topical synonym groups in synonyms.txt
# Then search and redirect to files

./bible_tool -s "salvation" --synonyms --no-color > salvation_verses.txt
./bible_tool -s "faith" --synonyms --no-color > faith_verses.txt
./bible_tool -s "love" --synonyms --no-color > love_verses.txt

Daily Verse Scripture

Add to crontab for daily random verse:

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add line (runs at 8 AM daily)
0 8 * * * /path/to/bible_tool --random >> ~/daily_verse.txt

Sermon Preparation

# Find all verses on a topic
./bible_tool -s "forgiveness" --synonyms > sermon_refs.txt

# Find cross-references for key verses
./bible_tool -x "Matthew 6:14" --use-synonyms-xref -l 10 > forgiveness_xrefs.txt

# Find specific passages
./bible_tool -r "Matthew 5:1"
./bible_tool -r "Luke 15:11"

Features

✅ Multiple Bible formats - Supports both tab-delimited text and JSON formats
✅ Auto-format detection - Automatically detects file format
✅ External synonym configuration - No recompilation needed to add/remove synonyms
✅ Simple text file format - Easy to edit with any text editor
✅ Default synonym creation - Quick start with --create-synonyms
✅ Custom synonym files - Use --synonyms-file for different configurations
✅ Cross-reference finder - Find similar verses with adjustable similarity threshold
✅ Multiple similarity metrics - Jaccard (word overlap) or N-gram (phrase matching)
✅ Synonym-based similarity - Use --use-synonyms-xref for semantic matching
✅ Graceful fallback - Works without synonym file (exact matching only)
✅ Comment support - Document your synonym choices with # comments
✅ Case-insensitive - Keywords and synonyms work regardless of case
✅ Command-line interface - Direct execution via arguments
✅ Interactive mode - Menu-driven interface still available
✅ Flexible search options - Case sensitivity, book filtering, result limiting
✅ Enhanced highlighting - Search terms highlighted in color
✅ Random verse feature - Get inspiration with --random
✅ Backward compatibility - Your existing bible.txt format works perfectly

File Structure

Your working directory should look like:

my_bible_study/
├── bible_tool          # The compiled executable
├── bible.txt           # Your Bible text file (ERV format)
└── synonyms.txt        # Your synonym configuration (create with --create-synonyms)

Optional additional files:

my_bible_study/
├── bible_tool
├── bible.txt
├── synonyms.txt        # Default synonyms
├── synonyms_kjv.txt    # KJV-specific synonyms
├── synonyms_study.txt  # Topical study synonyms
└── README.md

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone <your-repo>
cd bible_tool

# Build with Cargo
cargo build --release

# The binary will be at target/release/bible_tool

License

MIT License