Audio Verse Bible

You can help by recording a Bible passage using your smartphone. Choose any passage you like (no more than a chapter) and use the voice recorder app on your phone. When you have finished email us the recorded audio file and we will do the rest - remember to tell us the Bible reference of the passage you have recorded!

IMPORTANT - Please use the exact words of the translation we have used. It is important that the audio matches the displayed words! We have used the World English Bible. This is a copyright free translation of the scriptures and has been verified as a good translation - see www.gotquestions.org

Tips on making a good recording:

The recording does not have to sound professional but it needs to be clear. We want this audio bible to accessible to all so please remember that your recording may be heard by people who have a degree of hearing loss. Therefore clarity is essential so here are some tips that will help you get the best results:

Speak at a moderate to slow pace. For some of us, this may mean forcing ourselves to speak much slower than we naturally would.

Make sure it sounds clear. Listen to your recording before submitting it. If it sounds distorted then record it again with your mouth further away from the microphone or phone. If it sounds muffled or quiet then speak nearer to the microphone or phone.

Avoid background noise. Find a place to record where there is very little background noise. Even if you are recording at home there may be too much noise if the TV or radio is on or music is being played. It may even infringe copyright laws for us to include a recording where music or a TV program can be identified on it. Recording near traffic, people talking or barking dogs and such like will also spoil a good recording.

Avoid recording in echoey spaces. This is usually where there are hard surfaces in close proximity such as bathrooms and toilets. Recording in a larger building such as a church is fine. Perhaps the best place though is simply in a quiet bedroom, study or lounge. Recording outside in a quiet place is also great as there will be little by way of echo (unless you're in a canyon of course!).

Speak confidently. Find a space where you can record without feeling self conscious about people listening in or worrying you're disturbing them. If you feel awkward this will come across on the recording. Libraries are wonderfully quiet but not great for speaking out with confidence! Public transport, the office at work or places where you are surrounded by people will be difficult places to feel comfortable in.

Speak naturally. Don't be too theatrical as this really annoys people and can end up forcing an unhelpful interpretation on the listener. Don't speak too flat either as people will not want to listen to much of it if you do! The Bible is the living word of God, so a respectful positive recording is appropriate.

Advanced tips

If you want your recording to sound really good, be careful to ensure your consonants at the ends of words are audible. Typically, a word such as 'Lord' can easily end up sounding like 'Lor'. As a result, 'Great is the Lord' becomes 'Great is the law'!

Most people pronounce the word 'to' and 'for' (words that sound like the numbers 2 and 4) as just the consonants 't' and 'f'. For example: 'for God said: "Go to the mountain"' comes out as: 'f God said: "Go t the mountain"'. Try it and see if you do! This doesn't matter too much as we all understand what is being said. However, 'f' and 't' are not really words so it's best to use 'for' and 'to' for a nice clear recording.

FAQs

English is not my first language. Should I still submit a recording?

Yes please do. God doesn't carry a British Passport! We believe that the Bible is intended for everyone and we positively welcome contributions from people with non-english accents provided that the results are clear and intelligible.

What if I make a mistake during the recording?

If you are struggling to read an entire passage without error simply start the sentence with the mistake in again and we will edit out the error. However, it would help us greatly if your recording is mistake free as every recording will have to be checked and that is a lot of work for us! Therefore if you have the time to start again then please do.

I've recorded a passage but my audio hasn't appeared yet

This may be for a number of reasons. It may be that it is still pending processing in which case the verses will still be greyed out so that no-one else can record it. In some cases it may be that we felt the recording was not clear enough or the tone in which it was done was inappropriate. If this is the case, the verses will be highlighted again for recording and you are welcome to try again.