Bible Passages Appear When Clearly Referenced
Sermon Translate scans the live transcript for clear chapter-and-verse references and matching Bible quotes, then pops the verse text onto the screen in the listener's Bible language. Readers of a language with no connected Bible edition see the English text with a note saying so, never a verse in a language they did not choose.
English sermon translated live into Chinese
A real English sermon becomes Traditional Chinese while John 3:16 is recognized and shown in the bilingual Bible panel.
Screen recording from the real app, with captions and a written description.
- Live mode is recording, with English as the spoken language and Traditional Chinese as the translation.
- The pastor says, "Good morning, church. Open your Bibles with me, to John chapter 3, verse 16." The English caption follows about half a second behind him.
- A Traditional Chinese translation follows a couple of seconds later, under the English.
- The pastor quotes John 3:16 in full, and the finished Chinese translation of the verse appears beneath it.
- John 3:16 is detected and the bilingual Bible panel opens with the chapter in English and Traditional Chinese.
English sermon translated live into Korean
A real English sermon becomes Korean while John 3:16 is detected and displayed in the bilingual Bible panel.
Screen recording from the real app, with captions and a written description.
- Live mode is recording, with English as the spoken language and Korean as the translation.
- The pastor says, "Good morning, church. Open your Bibles with me, to John chapter 3, verse 16." The English caption follows about half a second behind him.
- A Korean translation follows a couple of seconds later, under the English.
- The pastor quotes John 3:16 in full, and the finished Korean translation of the verse appears beneath it.
- John 3:16 is detected and the bilingual Bible panel opens with the chapter in English and Korean.
English sermon translated live into Spanish
A real English sermon becomes Spanish while John 3:16 is detected and displayed in the bilingual Bible panel.
Screen recording from the real app, with captions and a written description.
- Live mode is recording, with English as the spoken language and Spanish as the translation.
- The pastor says, "Good morning, church. Open your Bibles with me, to John chapter 3, verse 16." The English caption follows about half a second behind him.
- A Spanish translation follows a couple of seconds later, under the English.
- The pastor quotes John 3:16 in full, and the finished Spanish translation of the verse appears beneath it.
- John 3:16 is detected and the bilingual Bible panel opens with the chapter in English and Spanish.
How it works
An AI listener reads the live transcript. Direct references like 'John 3:16' resolve immediately. Clear quotes that match known Bible text are compared against the full Bible to find the best match. Obscure allusions or unrelated speech are ignored.
Why conservative detection matters
A false Bible popup is distracting and can misrepresent the message. The system only surfaces a verse when the reference or quote is clear enough to be confident.
Which Bible text the listener sees
Each listener chooses a Bible version for their reading language, and the popup shows the published text of that edition, labelled with its name. The verse is never paraphrased or generated: when a reference is recognised, the app looks up the passage and shows the words of the edition the listener picked.
How to help the popups find the verse
Say references clearly, such as John chapter 3 verse 16 or Romans 8:28, and pause briefly after the reference. Reading a verse aloud word for word also helps, because a clear quote can be matched against the full text. A vague allusion to a story will not open a popup, and that is on purpose.
How does the Bible verse detection work?
An AI listener scans the sermon transcript in real time. When the speaker clearly names a chapter-and-verse reference like 'John 3:16,' or quotes a passage that matches a known verse, the app surfaces the full text in the listener's chosen language and Bible version. It does not fabricate references from unrelated speech.
Does it work for paraphrased or partial references?
Clear quotes that match known Bible text can surface the matching verse. Obscure paraphrases, partial allusions or unrelated speech will not trigger a popup, because the system is intentionally conservative to avoid showing random verses.
How do churches translate sermons live with this app?
The speaker opens Sermon Translate on a phone, tablet or laptop, selects the spoken language and the translation language, and starts listening. Transcripts and translations appear on that device, and the whole room can read them as captions on a projector or livestream. No headsets, no interpreter booth, no extra hardware.
Which languages are supported?
Sermon Translate supports 123 languages. 61 of them can be spoken from the pulpit, including English, Traditional Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Vietnamese and 53 more, and all 123 can be read as captions. Every listener can pick their own reading language. The full list is on the languages page.
How is this different from Google Translate or generic AI translation apps?
Google Translate is a powerful general-purpose translator. Sermon Translate is designed around the workflow of a Christian service: church vocabulary, hymn titles, proper names, Bible book names, and verse-reference popups that appear when the speaker clearly references a passage.
Do we need to install anything?
No. It runs in a modern browser on iPhone, Android and desktop. The speaker opens it on one device, and the congregation reads the captions on the projector or livestream. Anyone who wants captions on their own phone opens Sermon Translate there and signs in; each listener needs their own account or trial after the free period.
Can it replace a human interpreter?
Sermon Translate works as a sermon interpreter app for live services and handles common preaching vocabulary well. A church can use it as the main translation for weekly services, or alongside a human interpreter for rare languages or high-stakes events. It is a tool, not a person.