1. How the flocks of the wild ducks and widgeons play, As they now skim the King, and now seek their prey! How happy the birds! And not less joy inspires Those who yesterday played the part of your sires. Your viands are fragrant; your spirits are clear. They feast and they drink; and all happy appear. Complete is the honor you render them here!

2. The wild ducks and widgeons now see on the sand, As along the King's banks they move or they stand! How happy the birds! And now here, as their due, Those who sat as your sires are feasted by you. Abundant your spirits, your viands are good. They feast and they drink in their happiest mood. Ne'er before on the summit of honor they stood.

3. Round the islets the wild ducks and widgeons fly, And on the land settle with loud scream and cry. How happy the birds! And with joy those are filled, Who with fathers long gone were yesterday thrilled. Your viands are sliced, and your spirits are strained. They feast and they drink, with new happiness gained From this glory they now from you have obtained.

4. The wild ducks and widgeons behold on the wing, Where their tribute the streamlets pay to the King! How happy the birds! And how honored are those, In whom your sires yesterday found their repose! The feast in the ancestral temple is spread, Where blessing and dignity most are conveyed. Of each feaster what happiness now crowns the head!

5. Where the stream through the rocks its way seems to forge, Many wild ducks and widgeons rest in the gorge. How happy the birds! As complacent are they, Through whom your great fathers their will did convey. Your exquisite spirits, your meat broiled and roast, That they have partaken those feasters can boast. Henceforth shall their minds by no troubles be tossed!

About this reader

What is Scripture?

Scripture is a browser-based reader for sixteen sacred texts spanning multiple religious and literary traditions. It provides chapter-by-chapter navigation, full-text search across all works, word concordance with frequency analysis, verse-linked notes, text-to-speech, and deep linking to any chapter or verse.

Traditions Represented

The collection spans Abrahamic, East Asian, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, and Nordic traditions. Christian texts include the King James Version Old and New Testaments (1611) and Apocrypha. The Quran uses Marmaduke Pickthall's 1930 English translation. Latter-day Saint scripture includes the Book of Mormon (1830), Doctrine and Covenants (1835), and Pearl of Great Price (1851).

Confucian works include James Legge's translations of The Four Books (1893) and the Book of Poetry (1876). The Tao Te Ching uses Legge's 1891 translation. The Kojiki uses Basil Hall Chamberlain's 1919 English translation. Zoroastrian texts include the Bundahishn (E. W. West, 1880) and the Arda Viraf (Haug & West, 1872). The Lotus Sutra uses Hendrik Kern's 1884 translation. The Finnish Kalevala uses John Martin Crawford's 1888 translation, and the Norse Poetic Edda uses Henry Adams Bellows' 1923 translation.

Public Domain Translations

Every translation in this collection is in the public domain. The most recent translation dates to 1930 (Pickthall's Quran). All texts are freely available for reading, study, quotation, and redistribution with no copyright restrictions.

Concordance and Related Passages

The concordance indexes every word across all sixteen works, showing frequency and distribution. TF-IDF (term frequency-inverse document frequency) scoring identifies passages with similar vocabulary across different traditions, enabling comparative study without requiring prior knowledge of each text's structure. TF-IDF weights words that are frequent in one chapter but rare across the corpus, surfacing meaningful thematic connections rather than common function words.

Deep Linking

Every chapter and verse has a permanent URL. Chapter links follow the pattern /scripture/{work}/{book}-{chapter} (e.g., /scripture/ot/gen-1 for Genesis 1). Verse links append the verse number (e.g., /scripture/ot/gen-1:26 for Genesis 1:26). These URLs can be shared, bookmarked, or cited directly.

Accessibility

Scripture supports keyboard navigation throughout: Tab moves between controls, Enter activates verse actions, and arrow keys navigate chapters. The reading pane has a skip-to-content link. All overlays (search, concordance) are focus-trapped ARIA dialogs. Dynamic content regions use aria-live for screen reader announcements. High-contrast mode is available via the theme toggle. Verse numbers are visible to assistive technology. No flashing content or motion hazards.

Scripture is part of a suite of educational simulations at a9l.im. Explore particle physics with Geon, redistricting with Gerry, or cellular metabolism with Cyano.