ScriptureFlow Terms, Attribution, and Responsible Use — Public

ScriptureFlow Terms, Attribution, and Responsible Use — Public

Purpose

This document provides public guidance for responsible use of the ScriptureFlow API, public documentation, and Scripture content retrieved through ScriptureFlow.

It is written for developers, ministries, educators, automation builders, content teams, and product teams who want to build Bible-powered tools and workflows.

This document is not a final legal agreement and should not be treated as legal advice. It is a public-facing guidance draft that explains expected usage, attribution principles, translation-rights awareness, and respectful handling of Scripture.

A final public Terms of Use page should be reviewed before ScriptureFlow is presented as a production service.

Plain-Language Summary

ScriptureFlow exists to help developers build useful, respectful, Bible-powered tools, applications, automations, and ministry resources.

You may use the public API to test, prototype, and build integrations. However, you are responsible for using both the API and the Scripture content in a lawful, respectful, and responsible way.

ScriptureFlow provides technical access to Scripture data. That does not mean every use of every Bible translation is automatically permitted, and it does not mean Scripture should be treated casually, deceptively, or disrespectfully.

Two responsibilities matter:

1. Rights responsibility: Respect copyright, licensing, attribution, redistribution, and commercial-use requirements for each Bible translation.
2. Scripture responsibility: Do not use ScriptureFlow to twist, distort, mock, manipulate, misrepresent, or weaponize the Bible in ways that violate the purpose, dignity, and sacred nature of Scripture.

Public API Access

The current public preview API is available at:

https://scriptureflow-api-preview.pages.dev

The current public developer documentation site is available at:

https://scriptureflow-dev-docs.pages.dev

The public preview may be used for:

• Learning how ScriptureFlow works
• Testing API behavior
• Building prototypes
• Exploring translation metadata
• Developing early integrations
• Demonstrating Scripture lookup workflows
• Creating responsible ministry, education, and developer tools

The public preview should be treated as a developing service. Behavior, availability, endpoints, response formats, supported translations, and documentation may change as ScriptureFlow matures.

Responsible Use of Scripture

ScriptureFlow is built around the Bible. That matters.

The Bible is not merely generic text, filler content, or a dataset to be manipulated without care. For millions of people and communities, Scripture is sacred, authoritative, formative, and deeply connected to worship, discipleship, teaching, correction, comfort, and spiritual life.

Users of ScriptureFlow should handle Scripture with respect.

Do not use ScriptureFlow to:

• Twist Bible passages to make them say what they do not say
• Present altered Scripture text as authentic Bible text
• Remove context in a deliberately deceptive way
• Use Scripture to harass, exploit, threaten, or manipulate people
• Generate fake Bible passages and present them as real Scripture
• Build tools that intentionally mock, profane, or degrade the Bible
• Misrepresent a translation, publisher, ministry, church, or religious community
• Use Scripture references to support fraud, coercion, abuse, or spiritual manipulation
• Create content that claims divine authority while knowingly distorting the biblical text

This does not mean every user must share the same theology or tradition. It does mean that tools built with ScriptureFlow should handle the biblical text honestly, transparently, and respectfully.

Responsible API Use

Users of the ScriptureFlow public API should also use the service responsibly as a technical resource.

Responsible API use includes:

• Avoiding excessive or abusive request patterns
• Not attempting to disrupt, overload, scrape abusively, or attack the service
• Not attempting to bypass future access controls, rate limits, or usage restrictions
• Handling errors and unavailable translations gracefully
• Avoiding misleading claims about what the API does
• Not implying endorsement by ScriptureFlow, Faith In Motion Ministries, CLN Publishing, Symbiont, or any translation publisher unless explicitly granted

ScriptureFlow is intended to support constructive, educational, ministry-oriented, research-oriented, and developer-focused use.

Translation Rights Matter

ScriptureFlow separates technical access from publication permission.

A translation may be technically available through the API, but that does not automatically mean every public, commercial, redistributed, cached, printed, or republished use is permitted.

Before using a translation in a public or commercial product, developers should ask:

• Is the translation in the public domain?
• Is it under an open license?
• Does it require specific attribution?
• Does it allow redistribution?
• Does it allow commercial use?
• Are there quotation limits?
• Does it require permission from a publisher, Bible society, ministry, or translation organization?
• Are there limits on caching, storing, exporting, or republishing the text?

Technical availability should never be treated as a substitute for rights review.

Technical Readiness Is Not Publication Permission

A translation may be technically structured and readable by the API while still needing rights review before broader public use.

These are different questions:

Developers should respect both.

Attribution Guidance

There are two possible attribution layers when using ScriptureFlow.

ScriptureFlow Attribution

If your project uses ScriptureFlow as the API source, consider a simple attribution such as:

Scripture access powered by ScriptureFlow.

or:

Built with the ScriptureFlow API.

Translation Attribution

Bible translation attribution depends on the specific translation being used.

Some translations may require exact copyright wording, publisher acknowledgement, license notices, quotation limits, or other attribution language. If a translation provides required attribution text, use that required wording.

ScriptureFlow attribution does not replace translation attribution.

A fuller attribution pattern might be:

Scripture access powered by ScriptureFlow. Bible translation rights and attribution remain with the applicable translation owner or publisher.

Preserving Required Notices

If a translation requires a copyright notice, license notice, attribution statement, or publisher acknowledgement, do not remove it.

Applications should be designed so that required notices can be shown clearly where needed.

Possible places include:

• Footer
• About page
• Settings page
• Passage display component
• Exported PDF or document footer
• Generated email footer
• Credits or acknowledgements page

This is especially important for tools that allow users to export, copy, email, publish, or generate Scripture content.

Caching, Storage, and Exporting

Developers may want to cache API responses or store retrieved passages. Before doing so, consider the rights of the selected translation.

Recommended practices:

• Cache conservatively unless broader storage is clearly permitted.
• Keep required attribution with stored Scripture content.
• Avoid building large redistributable copies of a translation without permission.
• Refresh catalog metadata periodically.
• Make it clear to users which translation they are viewing or exporting.

For downloadable products, generated documents, emails, published articles, courseware, or paid resources, rights and attribution review becomes more important.

Commercial Use

Some ScriptureFlow-powered projects may be free. Others may be commercial.

Commercial use can raise additional translation-rights questions.

Examples may include:

• Paid apps
• Subscription platforms
• Paid devotional products
• Commercial SaaS tools
• Monetized websites
• Paid AI tools
• Paid courseware
• Products that export Scripture content

Before using Bible text in a commercial product, verify that the selected translation allows the intended use.

A successful API response does not automatically grant commercial publication rights.

Acceptable Use

Do not use ScriptureFlow for abusive, unlawful, deceptive, or disrespectful purposes.

Unacceptable use includes:

• Attacking or disrupting ScriptureFlow infrastructure
• Circumventing technical limits or access controls
• Misrepresenting API responses
• Removing required translation notices
• Claiming ownership of translations you do not own
• Presenting altered text as authentic Scripture
• Creating fake Bible content and labeling it as real Scripture
• Using Scripture content for fraud, coercion, harassment, or exploitation
• Mass scraping or replicating translations in violation of rights
• Using the API in ways that violate applicable law, license terms, or publisher requirements

ScriptureFlow is meant to support faithful, constructive, and responsible Bible-centered development.

API Availability and Preview Status

The current public API is a developer preview.

ScriptureFlow should not be treated as a guaranteed high-availability production service unless a formal production service level is separately announced.

Developers should:

• Handle HTTP errors gracefully
• Handle missing translations gracefully
• Avoid assuming every verse exists in every version
• Avoid assuming preview endpoints will never change
• Avoid building critical systems without a fallback plan
• Monitor public documentation for updates

No Warranty

The public ScriptureFlow API and documentation are provided as-is during the developer preview stage.

ScriptureFlow makes a good-faith effort to provide useful, accurate, structured Scripture access, but preview use should not be understood as a warranty that:

• Every translation is complete
• Every translation is legally cleared for every use
• Every API response will be available forever
• Every endpoint will remain unchanged
• Every reference format will parse successfully
• Every language or translation will remain available
• Every metadata field will remain stable during preview

Developers should verify behavior before depending on it in production systems.

Open Source Software and Translation Rights

ScriptureFlow may include open-source software, tooling, or documentation.

That does not mean every Bible translation accessed through ScriptureFlow is open source.

These are separate issues:

A software license does not automatically grant permission to redistribute every Bible translation.

Always check translation-specific rights.

Public Documentation Boundary

The public documentation explains how to use ScriptureFlow.

It does not publish:

• Internal architecture
• Corpus processing details
• Build and indexing logic
• Deployment workflow internals
• Private roadmap details
• Internal legal review materials
• Private business strategy

This boundary is intentional.

Developers can use the public API without needing access to the private repository.

Recommended Developer Practices

Developers should:

• Use translations.json to confirm available translations.
• Use exact version keys from the catalog.
• Display translation names clearly.
• Preserve required copyright or attribution notices.
• Verify translation rights before redistribution or commercial use.
• Avoid storing large amounts of translation text unless permitted.
• Handle unavailable translations gracefully.
• Make clear which translation a user is viewing.
• Keep Scripture use respectful, accurate, and transparent.
• Avoid presenting altered, generated, or paraphrased text as the actual Bible text.
• Review updated documentation as ScriptureFlow matures.

When to Seek Permission

Consider seeking explicit permission when:

• You plan to redistribute large portions of a translation.
• You plan to use a translation in a paid product.
• You plan to cache or store substantial Scripture text.
• You plan to generate downloadable products containing Scripture text.
• You plan to use a translation in commercial courseware, books, apps, or subscriptions.
• The translation has unclear license terms.
• The translation is not clearly public domain or openly licensed.
• You are unsure whether attribution alone is enough.

When in doubt, ask the rights holder or consult qualified legal counsel.

Suggested Public Terms Notice

A final public terms page may include language such as:

By using the ScriptureFlow public API, you agree to use the service responsibly, respect applicable Bible translation rights, preserve required attribution notices, and avoid abusive, unlawful, deceptive, or disrespectful use of Scripture content. ScriptureFlow provides technical access to Scripture data, but users remain responsible for ensuring that their use of specific Bible translations complies with applicable copyright, license, attribution, and redistribution requirements.

This language should be reviewed before being used as final legal terms.

Next Steps

After reviewing this terms and attribution guidance, developers should also review:

• Developer Quickstart
• Endpoint Specification
• Example Requests
• Supported Languages
• API Product Overview

Together, these public documents help developers use ScriptureFlow responsibly while respecting technical, legal, and spiritual stewardship boundaries.