Genesis can now come as hip-hop. Psalms can sway to reggae. The Gospels can be sung by a children’s choir, delivered as African dance music or performed by a barbershop quartet.
Listeners can hear any of the Bible’s 1,189 chapters set to music through TheSinging.Bible, a free website created with artificial intelligence. The recordings let listeners take Scripture into the car, kitchen, gym or hospital room.
Its creators say the site surpassed 1 million song plays in 194 countries within two weeks of its Aug. 25 launch, without paid advertising.
As churches weigh AI’s role in ministry, the project offers one example of its use: helping people listen to Scripture in musical styles they enjoy.
Founder and executive producer Ron Forseth told Word In Black that the project grew from experiments with AI music generation and a desire to set the entire Bible to music in multiple styles.
For Forseth, the project is also an expression of faith.
“For me, it was one of those things that simply came from above,” he said.
“In that process, I discovered that each style helped bring different passages to light,” he said. “From the first moment it felt like it had the fingerprints of God on it.”
The website offers 16 musical styles, including praise, country, hip-hop, African dance, jazz, reggae, children’s choir, sea shanty, barbershop quartet and Spanish alabanza. Each is available in male and female voices, totaling 38,048 recordings and about 3,600 hours of music.
Forseth emphasized that AI did not do the work alone.
“I have to emphasize that this wasn’t thrown together overnight in a basement,” he said. “It was built by a global team of more than 20 people, many of them working passionately for 70 or 80 hours a week because they wanted to give this gift to the world.”
The lyrics come from the Singing Bible Edition, derived from the Berean Standard Bible. Visitors do not have to register, subscribe or pay. They select a book and chapter, then choose a style and voice.
Forseth said the interface was intentionally designed to fit on one screen and remain “elegantly simple and approachable.”
Mobile apps for Android and Apple devices are in development and will offer offline listening, Forseth said. The team is also expanding its music for Black audiences.
“Styles currently on the site that my Black friends have embraced are hip-hop, reggae, African dance, jazz and rhythm and blues/soul,” Forseth said. “We’ve also got rap and gospel coming out in the coming weeks, and the whole Bible in a spiritual style is in the works as well.”
Black Christian listeners interviewed by Word In Black responded enthusiastically.
“Genius is my immediate thought,” said LaTeka Graham, a minister at The Hill in Jessup, Maryland. “I hear music differently, so this would sink into my head much differently than someone simply listening. This is awesome. It reminds me of spoken word, which I also thoroughly enjoy.”
Executive Pastor Ronald Covington called the website “an excellent evangelism tool.”
“The kingdom of heaven is blessed with some talented and creative people,” he said. “This is a game changer.”
Dr. Ernestine Anderson, also a minister at The Hill, saw potential for teaching.
“It’s another teaching method. It’s unique and I like that,” she said. “That’s another way for young and old to learn the Word. It’s effortless.”
Dalerie Davis-Green, a singer and musician, said the format could reach people who might otherwise overlook Scripture.
“It serves as another vehicle by which a group that normally won’t pick up the Bible will get the word,” Davis-Green said.
Aneyah Nieves, a minister and math teacher at Edmondson Westside High School in Baltimore, said she would listen more.
“I like the vibe. It sounds like something you’d hear on the radio.”
Atlanta author Tahiese Adale Wells praised the musical range and ease of use.
“Music is a universal language, just as the word of God is universal,” Wells said. “What a great addition to reading, studying and teaching the word of God!”
Pastors have also embraced the project for congregational use and personal devotion, Forseth said. The website offers a free guide detailing 23 ways churches can use the recordings, including children’s ministry, Bible memorization and hospital visitation.
Dr. Wanda Bynum Duckett, senior pastor of Eastern United Methodist Church in Baltimore, circulated the site among her young adults.
“That’s a whole vibe! I love it!” she said.