1. To the trees that are their home, Flying slow, the crows all come. Other men can happy be; Ne'er am I from misery free. Have I Heaven offended sore? Surely guilt lies at my door. Homeless thus, oppressed with grief, Nowhere can I find relief.

2. Once the road was clear to Chou, O'er it the rank grass grows now. On my heart is sorrow's blight; Ache my limbs as after fight. Through the night, still dressed, I sigh; Ere its time, old age comes nigh. Homeless thus, I find no rest, Head and heart alike distressed.

3. Men with reverence always view Trees that round their homesteads grew. On their fathers all depend, In their mothers have a friend. From my father's loins I sprung, On my mother's breast I hung; Yet did Heaven my being give, 'Neath a baleful star to live.

4. Where cicadas' voices ring, Willow trees luxuriant spring. Deep the waters of that pool, Fringed with reeds and rushes cool! But like boat adrift I'm borne, Aimless, tossed about, forlorn. Sad my heart! I try in vain Briefest rest from thought to gain.

5. Mark the stag's reluctant feet Slowly from the herd retreat. Crows the pheasant at the dawn, And his mate is to him drawn. Stript of branch and lea, that tree Is the image true of me. Sad my heart! I'm left alone, Unbefriended and unknown.

6. See the hare for mercy crave! One steps in its life to save. When a corpse unburied lies, Some one straight a grave supplies. Callous monarch, all our woes Ne'er wake thy compunction's throes. Sad my heart beneath thy frown, And my tears fall ceaseless down!

7. Slanders vile the king believes; Them as pledge cup he receives. Truthful judgment he denies, And to stifle kindness tries. Trees are felled where helps the strain, Fagots cleft along the grain. Leaves our king the guilty free, While he guilt imputes to me.

8. Men will climb the greatest height; Deepest springs their search invite. O'er his words the king should watch; Ears are set each word to catch. Leave my dam, ye slanderers base; Move not basket from its place. Vainly thus, despised, I moan; Dark my future, though unknown!

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.