Scripture Reader Terms of Service

Last updated: November 12, 2026

In short

Scripture Reader is a free Discord app with two parts: a voice bot that reads the Bible aloud in voice channels, and the study Activity, a shared Bible that people in a voice channel open together. It is run by Matt, one person who publishes as BilbroSwagginz. Any server can add it: a server's managers choose to add the bot and the study. You can also add it to your own Discord account and read on your own in any server, even one that hasn't added it; nothing is posted to or kept for that server. These Terms cover both parts.

• Ages. Scripture Reader is for people aged 13 and up, the same minimum age Discord sets, and it is not directed at anyone younger.
• Outages. The voice bot runs on a computer in Matt's home. If that computer or its internet connection is down, readings stop until it is back. The study's shared Bible stays open, since it runs on a separate server, but nothing can be read aloud until the voice bot is back.
• Misuse. Matt may stop Scripture Reader from working in a server that misuses it, as section 5 below says for the bot.
• Support. Questions and problem reports: message bilbroswagginz on Discord. You can also email menoachcoach@gmail.com.

The voice bot on its own

These Terms of Service ("Terms") cover your use of Scripture Reader, a free Discord bot that reads the Bible aloud in voice channels. It is run by BilbroSwagginz ("we", "us", "our"). By adding the bot to a server or using its commands, you agree to these Terms and to the Scripture Reader Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the bot. For the bot, these Terms apply in place of our main Terms of Service, which cover everything else we run.

1. Who can use the bot

You must meet Discord's age requirements and be able to accept these Terms, or have a parent or guardian's permission where required. If you add the bot to a server, you confirm that you are allowed to add apps to that server. If you add Scripture Reader to your own Discord account, use it only where a server's rules allow apps.

Your use of the bot is also subject to Discord's Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. These Terms are between you and BilbroSwagginz. They do not replace Discord's terms or make Discord responsible for the bot. Scripture Reader is not made or endorsed by Discord, the publishers of the Berean Standard Bible or Barry Hays.

2. What the bot does

Scripture Reader joins the voice channel of the member who asks for a reading and plays recorded Bible readings there. While it reads, it posts a now-playing card and short notices in the text channel where the reading started. These can name the member who asked for or changed a reading. It deletes its own previous card. It also sets the voice channel's status (for example "Reading John 3 (BSB)"), replacing any status already there, and clears it when it stops. When continuous play is on, it keeps reading the next chapter after the queue runs out, up to Revelation 22. It leaves on its own when nothing is queued or nobody is listening.

The bot is free. There are no purchases or subscriptions, and you need no account other than your Discord account.

Members with the Manage Server permission choose the bot's settings for their server: the Reader role, the default volume and whether continuous play is on by default. Members with the Reader role can also save the default volume. Server managers can remove the bot at any time, which deletes its saved settings for that server.

3. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use the bot to break Discord's Terms of Service, its Community Guidelines or any law;
• send commands in a way meant to disrupt other people's listening, overload the bot or get around its limits;
• try to access the computer that runs the bot, its data or its credentials, or otherwise interfere with how it runs; or
• claim that Discord, the publishers of the Berean Standard Bible, Barry Hays or anyone else endorses the bot when they do not.

4. Scripture text and audio

The Scripture text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain. The verse text file comes from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Unless /about in your server names another recording, the audio is read by Barry Hays and dedicated to the public domain (CC0 1.0), and its verse timings also come from the Free Use Bible API. A recording named in /about is not covered by that dedication; its credit is the one /about shows, and its verse timings are made by Scripture Reader. Please do not record or share it. We do not claim ownership of the text, the audio or the timings. The sources and license pages of the BSB text, Barry Hays's audio and the Free Use Bible API are listed under Credits in the Scripture Reader Privacy Policy.

BilbroSwagginz owns the bot's own code and branding. Open-source software the bot is built with, such as discord.js and FFmpeg, keeps its own licenses.

5. Availability and termination

The bot is offered for free. It may be unavailable at times, and a reading may stop partway through. Only a limited number of readings can run at once across all servers. When that limit is reached, the bot says it is busy, and a new reading can start once another one ends. We may change its features or that limit, or stop offering the bot.

We may remove the bot from a server, or stop it from responding there, to prevent misuse, protect users, comply with law or follow Discord's requirements. You can stop using the bot at any time by removing it from your server.

6. Disclaimers

The bot is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.

7. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, BilbroSwagginz will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost data, profits, goodwill, or actions taken by Discord. Because the bot is free, our total liability for any claim relating to it will not exceed USD $50.

8. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. The date above shows the latest version. Continued use after an update means you accept the updated Terms where the law allows.

9. Contact

Questions about these Terms, problem reports and reports of misuse: message bilbroswagginz on Discord, or email menoachcoach@gmail.com.

The study Activity

The study Activity is the shared Bible you open from the Activities menu (the rocket) in a voice channel. By opening it, you agree to these Terms and to the Scripture Reader Privacy Policy.

• If you add Scripture Reader to your own Discord account, you can open the study in any server, even one that hasn't added it, and read on your own there. A study room and the voice bot reading aloud need the server's managers to add Scripture Reader. Nothing is posted to a server that hasn't added it.
• When you read on your own, you can play the Bible read aloud on your own device: the Berean Standard Bible, read by Barry Hays and dedicated to the public domain (CC0 1.0). It plays from our server, which fetches each chapter from the publisher's host, and it is not offered in a study room, where the voice bot reads to the group. In a server that hasn't added Scripture Reader, people who open the study together in one call can listen in step, and any of them can play, pause or move the reading for all.
• The study Activity is free and provided as is, as sections 6 and 7 above say for the bot.
• Don't use it to harass anyone, or to post other people's personal information.
• The Bible text, study notes and other material in it are credited on its Credits screen, each under its own license.
• The Bible text the study shows is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is public domain.
• Your "Just me" highlights, your bookmark (My place), your takeaways and your reading progress are kept with your Discord account, not with a server, so they follow you to every server where you open the study and stay if a server removes the bot. The Scripture Reader Privacy Policy says how long they are kept and how to delete them.
• Matt, who runs Scripture Reader, may remove content, or someone's access to the study, when it breaks these Terms.
• The study is offered for free and may be unavailable at times. When the voice bot is down, readings stop, and the shared Bible stays open.
• Contact: message bilbroswagginz on Discord, or email menoachcoach@gmail.com.