Sermon subtitles. Keep readings and commentary clear.

Start with the recording you will publish

Polyglot can transcribe a recorded sermon locally on an Apple Silicon Mac, let you review the timed text alongside playback and export SRT, WebVTT or a text transcript. Use it after recording. It does not provide live captions, live interpretation, sermon summaries or theological verification.

Work from the approved sermon-only edit when that is the version being published. A transcript timed to a full service will not automatically fit a cut that removes the opening music or announcements. Keep the original recording, final edit and subtitle files clearly versioned. Check that the spoken language is supported for transcription; translation languages are a separate capability.

Obtain the necessary permission from the speaker and recording owner, and resolve identifiable congregants, personal stories, included music and quoted material before distribution. Recording a service does not itself clear every part for publication or translation. Keep unresolved sections out of the publishing queue.

Separate a reading from a paraphrase

Make a small review sheet outside Polyglot. For each reading, record the video time, book and chapter or verse reference, named Bible edition, and whether the speaker is quoting, paraphrasing or commenting. Record the point where the reading ends. A short transition such as “in other words” matters because the following sentence may be the speaker’s explanation.

Compare the caption against what is actually audible first. Use the stated edition to investigate uncertain words, not to silently replace a paraphrase with a familiar published passage. If the speaker gives a different reference on screen and in speech, ask the speaker or editor to resolve it. A subtitle that quietly corrects the audio can conceal the mismatch.

This invented review record contains no scripture quotation. It illustrates an unresolved reference and the decision needed before publication.

Fictional review record
Cut: sermon-v03
Time: 04:18
Mode: reading introduction

Audio: “Chapter fourteen”
Slide: “Chapter 4”
Edition: check with speaker
Decision: hold for review

04:42: “In other words...”
Mode changes to paraphrase
Do not label it a quotation.

Check terminology and translation permission

Review book names, personal names, chapter and verse numbers, and terms whose meaning depends on context. Listen through the full sentence around a doubtful word. Do not invent a confident spelling from the sermon topic alone. Ask a knowledgeable reviewer to resolve uncertainty and keep that decision with the recording.

For a translated track, have a competent reviewer compare the meaning with the source and preserve the boundary between quotation and explanation. A machine-generated rendering must not be presented as the wording of a named published Bible translation. Polyglot does not look up official verse text or check theological meaning.

Quoted-passage permission needs its own check before translation. For example, Crossway’s ESV permissions page expressly restricts translating the ESV into another language. Follow the relevant publisher’s current terms for the edition and intended use; obtain any required authorization before processing a translated version containing those passages. Do not assume permission for the speaker’s own words also covers the quoted text.

If a quoted section is not cleared, hold that translated version and resolve it with the rights holder and recording owner. Keep required edition acknowledgments with the published recording in the agreed location. The review sheet records decisions; it is not a permission grant or an automatic compliance check.

Deliver captions for the exact sermon edit

Speech transcription is a starting point. W3C’s caption guidance also covers meaningful non-speech audio. Review congregational responses, a change of speaker, laughter that affects meaning and other necessary sounds manually. Polyglot does not automatically identify speakers or guarantee complete accessibility captions; finish any missing caption events in a suitable caption editor.

Export the reviewed source-language file and each approved translation, then load them with the exact sermon video in its destination player. YouTube documents uploading a timed subtitle file under the selected language. If another church website or player is used, confirm its supported format and test there; a successful attachment upload does not prove captions are displayed.

Watch a reading introduction, the transition into commentary, a response from the room and the ending. Seek into the middle and check that cues clear during pauses. At mobile size, verify that captions do not obscure an on-screen passage reference. Review every language separately and retest whenever the video edit changes.

Hand over the video revision, language-labeled subtitle files and completed reference review sheet. Keep a plain text transcript as a separate reading aid if useful; it does not replace timed captions in a video. Polyglot exports separate files and does not upload to church platforms or burn captions into the picture.

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