1. The south wind swept across the hill; Its whistling sound each nook did fill.. Our happy, courteous king Was there, and, as he roamed about, In tuneful notes his joy gave out. Then I began to sing.

2. "You roam, with jocund spirits blest, And now, serene, at ease you rest, O happy, courteous king! May you your destined years fulfill, And, like your noble fathers still, Life to good issue bring!

3. "How vast and glorious is your realm, Where peace sits steadfast at the helm, O happy, courteous lord! May you your destined years complete, While ever as their host you treat All spirits at your board!

4. "Heaven to your sires assigned the crown, To you 'mid greatest peace come down, O happy, courteous king! Through all your term of years, may joy And happiness without alloy, Their charm around you fling!

5. "Men filial proved, and virtuous, stand Near to your throne on either hand, Wise guidance to afford. Like wings they bear you up on high, Where you their pattern all descry, O happy, courteous lord!

6. "Like mace of jade, pure, clear, and strong, What majesty and grace belong To those, your helpers true! The hope of all, their praise all sing. Through them, O courteous, happy king, The nation's guide are you.

7. "See how the phoenixes appear, And their wings rustle on the ear, As now they settle down! Such are those noble men who wait, O happy king, upon your state, The servants of your crown!

8. "The male and female phoenix, lo! With rustling wings about they go, Then up to heaven they soar. Such are those noble men who stand, Prompt to obey your least command;— None love your people more.

9. "Hark how the phoenixes emit Their notes, as on that ridge they sit! There the dryandras grow, And on its eastern slope they rise With richer growth; and thence the cries Sweet and still sweeter flow!

10. "Numerous your chariots! Fleet your steeds, And trained! Your name for noble deeds Shall be renowned for long. O king, these verses I have made, And humbly at your feet they're laid, Inspired by your own song."

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.