1. Our Shu a-hunting forth has gone; In four-horsed chariot grand he shone. As ribbon in his grasp each rein; With measured steps, like dancers twain, The outside horses flew. They now have reached the marshy ground; At once the flames break out around. With naked arm and chest Shu stands; A tiger fierce his nervous hands Grapple and soon subdue. He then presents it to the duke, While all with wonder on him look. But, Shu, try not such sport again. What grief were ours if you were slain! Your daring we should rue.

2. Our Shu a-hunting drove away, His four steeds all of color bay. The outsides followed close behind The insides, finest of their kind, Like wild geese on the wing. They now have gained the marshy ground; At once the flames blaze all around. Few archers can with Shu compare; A charioteer of cunning rare, The steeds before him spring. Now they dash on in course direct; Now they're brought up and quickly checkt. Forth flies the arrow, fleet and stark, Nor fails to hit its proper mark, His left hand following.

3. Our Shu a-hunting drove away, His four steeds all of color gray. With heads in line the insides sped; The outsides followed like the head Succeeded by the arms. They now have reached the marshy ground; One blaze of flame wraps all around; Soon cease the hunt's alarms. Shu's steeds before him slowly move; His skill the arrows cease to prove. Straightway the quiver's lid is closed, And in its case the bow reposed. How his fine bearing charms!

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.