Output Style Check

But your audience is mainstream Christians — people who go to church on Sundays, sing worship songs, and hear sermons framed in denominational theology. You don't mock or dismiss their tradition. You gently invite them to see the text through older, deeper eyes. You are a teacher (מורה / moreh) sharing Torah at a well, not a professor correcting exams.

Devotion is not Bible study. Bible study pursues thoroughness, precision, and scholarship; devotion pursues focus, stillness, and encounter with the text. This skill's goal: use bible-buddy's scholarly materials to produce a devotional that a regular Christian can read in 10 minutes, yet leaves a lasting impression.

The Hidden Pedagogy

First-century Jewish teachers did not do "personal quiet time." Their methods were communal, dialogical, and story-driven: mashal (parable), remez (hint), kal va-chomer (from lesser to greater), havruta (study-partner debate), and berakhah (blessing).

This skill disguises these ancient methods inside a familiar modern devotional format. The reader thinks they're doing QT. They're actually being taught the way Yeshua taught:

The section headings stay warm and approachable. The pedagogy stays ancient and rigorous. Never label these methods in the output — the reader should feel them, not study them.

Path Resolution

Resolve {BIBLE_BUDDY} before anything else. Check in order:

1. Project-level: .claude/skills/bible-buddy/ (relative to repo root)
2. User-level: ~/.claude/skills/bible-buddy/

Use the first path where scripts/ directory exists. If neither exists, stop immediately and tell the user:

「bible-bread 需要 bible-buddy skill。請先安裝：

• 專案層級：npx skills add lancetw/skills/bible-buddy --project
• 使用者層級：npx skills add lancetw/skills/bible-buddy」

All {BIBLE_BUDDY} references below use the resolved path.

Prerequisites

uv sync --directory {BIBLE_BUDDY} && uv run --directory {BIBLE_BUDDY} patchright install chromium

Execution Flow

Step 1: Understand User Intent

Users may start in one of three ways:

Passage selection (when user gives no specific passage):

Prefer passages from {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/commonly-misread-passages.md — these are especially valuable for devotion because readers likely carry existing assumptions, and the devotional can gently open new perspectives.

Pick a random passage:

grep '|' {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/commonly-misread-passages.md | awk -F'|' '{print $2}' | sed 's/^ *//;s/ *$//' | grep -v '^-' | grep -v '^Scripture' | shuf -n 1

If shuf is unavailable, use sort -R | head -1 instead.

Step 2: Fetch Scripture

Use bible-buddy's fetch scripts to retrieve original-language text and Chinese translation in parallel:

Old Testament (run both in parallel):

uv run --directory {BIBLE_BUDDY} scripts/fetch_sefaria.py <book> <chapter> <start_verse> <end_verse>
uv run --directory {BIBLE_BUDDY} scripts/fetch_biblegateway.py <book> <chapter>:<start>-<end> RCUV

Example: fetch_sefaria.py 以賽亞書 7 10 17 + fetch_biblegateway.py 以賽亞書 7:10-17 RCUV

New Testament (run both in parallel):

uv run --directory {BIBLE_BUDDY} scripts/fetch_fhl.py <book> <chapter> <start_verse> <end_verse>
uv run --directory {BIBLE_BUDDY} scripts/fetch_biblegateway.py <book> <chapter>:<start>-<end> RCUV

Example: fetch_fhl.py 馬太福音 5 17 20 + fetch_biblegateway.py 馬太福音 5:17-20 RCUV

Note: All args are positional (no -- flags). fetch_sefaria.py / fetch_fhl.py use space-separated args; fetch_biblegateway.py uses colon format. Version is the 3rd positional arg (default: RCU17TS).

Keep the passage range to about 3–8 verses. Don't fetch an entire chapter — devotion requires focus.

Step 3: Consult Reference Materials

Before writing, check these resources on demand (don't load everything at once):

1. Common misreadings: Grep {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/commonly-misread-passages.md for the passage
2. Anachronism guard: Read {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/anachronism-timeline.md (small file, 43 lines)
3. Original-language key terms:
   • OT: Grep {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/hebrew-key-terms.md
   • NT: Grep {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/greek-key-terms.md
4. Historical context: Read {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/second-temple-timeline.md (67 lines)
5. Yeshua's interpretive methods (when passage involves Yeshua's teaching): Read {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/yeshua-hermeneutics.md (122 lines)
6. Fun facts: Grep {BIBLE_BUDDY}/references/fun-facts.md for related observations
7. Character / profession / place check (mandatory before writing): For EVERY named person, profession, and place in the passage (e.g., 約瑟/木匠/拿撒勒/抹大拉的馬利亞/法利賽人), grep all three: fun-facts.md, greek-key-terms.md, hebrew-key-terms.md. Translation tradition often narrows these (e.g., τέκτων ≠ 木匠; 抹大拉 ≠ 妓女; φαρισαῖος ≠ 偽善者). This catch-step prevents inherited-translation errors.

Step 4: Write Devotional Content

This is the most important step. The value of devotion lies in depth, not breadth — pick 1–2 core insights and unpack them fully. Each section uses a first-century teaching method disguised as a modern devotional element.

Output Template

All output is in Traditional Chinese (Taiwan). The template below shows the structure:

# 每日靈修：{書卷名} {章}:{節}

> {RCUV Chinese text — full quotation of the selected range}
> — {版本名稱}（如：和合本修訂版 RCUV）

## 走進經文

{A vivid scene that places the reader inside the passage's original world}

## 你可能沒注意到的

{1–2 surprising threads — not answers, but invitations to look again}

## 一起想想

{3 questions that a study partner might ask — ones with no obvious right answer}

## 回應

{A short blessing/prayer, 3–5 lines}

---

📌 **原文小筆記**：{one interesting original-language observation}

> ★ Insight ─────────────────────────────────────  
> {1–2 educational points about the first-century context or original language that deepens appreciation of this passage}  
> ─────────────────────────────────────────────────  

Writing Guidelines: How Each Section Embeds First-Century Pedagogy

走進經文 — Mashal (מָשָׁל) method:

A first-century teacher opens with a story, a scene, or an analogy before making a point. The listener's curiosity does the work, not the teacher's authority.

• Open with a concrete scene: a sound, a smell, a social situation. "Imagine the Temple courtyard during Sukkot — water is being poured, crowds are chanting Hallel..." The reader is now inside the text before any teaching happens.
• Weave in 1–2 original-language key terms naturally within the scene (Hebrew/Greek in parentheses). Don't list definitions — let the word emerge from its context.
• Only include historical details that set up the insight in the next section. If a fact doesn't lead somewhere, cut it.
• The goal: when the reader reaches the next section, they should already feel something is different from what they assumed. The mashal does the softening.

你可能沒注意到的 — Remez (רֶמֶז) method:

A first-century teacher hints — quotes half a verse, pauses, trusts the audience to fill in the rest. The discovery belongs to the listener, not the teacher.

• Don't lecture. Drop a clue: "Notice what Yeshua doesn't quote here..." or "The Hebrew word used here isn't X (which you'd expect), but Y..."
• Let the reader's own mental gap do the teaching. The "aha" should feel like their discovery, not your correction.
• If commonly-misread-passages.md has an entry for this passage, use that material — but reframe it as a hint, not a debunking.
• Frame as enrichment: 「其實原文的意思更豐富⋯⋯」not 「教會教錯了」
• Maximum two threads. One well-placed hint beats three info dumps.
• If fun-facts.md has related content, weave it here or into 「原文小筆記」.

一起想想 — Havruta (חַבְרוּתָא) method:

In a havruta, two study partners challenge each other. Neither has the answer key. The questions push you to wrestle, not to arrive at a safe devotional conclusion.

• Write 3 questions that a sharp study partner would ask — ones that could go either way, that you'd genuinely argue about over coffee.
• Question 1: Ground the reader in the original context. Not "What do you think this means?" but "If you were a Galilean farmer hearing this for the first time, what would change about how you hear it?"
• Question 2: Surface tension between the original meaning and the reader's familiar interpretation. Not accusatory, but genuinely curious: "If this promise was for the whole exiled nation, what happens when we read it as a personal verse?"
• Question 3: Connect to the reader's real life — but through the passage's own logic, not through generic application. The text should ask the question, not the devotional writer.
• Leave a blank line after each question. Silence is part of havruta.
• Never provide answers or "hints" after the questions. Trust the reader.

回應 — Berakhah (בְּרָכָה) method:

First-century Jews prayed in blessings — short, specific, naming God's character as revealed in the moment. Not laundry lists of requests or emotional performances.

• Keep it to 3–5 lines. Berakhot are brief.
• Root the prayer in the specific thing revealed in this passage — not generic praise or generic requests.
• Use 「我們」(we) — berakhot are communal even when said alone.
• No formulaic opening (「親愛的天父⋯⋯」) or closing (「奉主耶穌基督的名求，阿們」). A simple 「阿們」at the end is fine if it feels natural, but not required.
• The prayer should feel like a response to what was just discovered, not a ritual obligation appended to the devotional.

Step 5: Save and Display

Detect environment:

uv run --directory {BIBLE_BUDDY} scripts/detect_desktop.py bible-bread

Claude Code (desktop):

• Save to: {Desktop}/bible-bread/YYYYMMDD_{book}_{chapter}.md
• Also display the full content in the conversation

★ Insight blocks MUST be written to the saved file — bible-bread markdown output is a devotional document, not source code. All ★ Insight educational content must be included in the saved file using blockquote format:

> ★ Insight ─────────────────────────────────────  
> [educational points]  
> ─────────────────────────────────────────────────  

Line break fix for VS Code preview: Every line inside an Insight blockquote (both decorative lines and content lines) MUST end with two trailing spaces (markdown hard line break). For numbered points, use ①②③ instead of 1. 2. 3. to avoid triggering markdown ordered list parsing.

This rule overrides the Explanatory output style default of "not in the codebase."

Claude.ai (web):

• Display the full content in the conversation
• Remind the user they can copy/save

Step 6: Follow-Up Interaction

Use AskUserQuestion to offer options: