bible-votd_skill

Overview

This skill fetches the Bible.com (YouVersion) Verse of the Day and returns structured JSON plus a shareable 1280x1280 JPG image URL. It provides the verse reference, text, USFM code, timestamp, image URL, and attribution for easy sharing. You can also download the pre-rendered image locally with a command-line option.

How this skill works

The script scrapes the public Bible.com VOTD page to extract the daily verse, metadata, and the high-resolution shareable image URL. It outputs a JSON object with reference, verse text, USFM identifier, ISO timestamp, image_url, and attribution. A --download option saves the 1280x1280 JPG to a specified path.

When to use it

• Automate daily social posts or messages with the Verse of the Day image and reference.
• Embed the daily verse in newsletters, chat bots, or community apps.
• Pull the verse for personal reflection apps or devotion reminders.
• Quickly download the ready-to-share image for offline use or scheduled publishing.
• Integrate with archival or backup workflows that collect daily content.

Best practices

• Always include the provided attribution: "Bible.com / YouVersion" when sharing.
• Use the image_url for pre-rendered artwork rather than reformatting the text image.
• Cache the JSON for the day to avoid repeated scraping and reduce load.
• Download images to a media folder with dated filenames for easy archival.
• Respect rate limits and avoid excessive frequent requests to the public page.

Example use cases

• A social media scheduler pulls the daily JSON and posts the image and reference at a set time.
• A chat bot delivers the Verse of the Day image and citation to a community channel each morning.
• A mobile devotional app fetches the verse text and image for offline reading by downloading the JPG.
• A content archive service stores the daily JSON and downloaded images for historical backups.
• A small group shares the image and reference in their messaging thread with proper attribution.