Records kept by the Architect of the Capitol in the Library of Congress suggest only one president in the 216 years since Washington was inaugurated did not take the oath of office with one hand on a Bible.

Franklin Pierce, the 14th president, "affirmed" --- but did not "swear" --- his oath with one hand on a law book, instead of a Bible. Some historical records say Pierce did so because of a crisis of faith after his only remaining child, an 11-year-old boy, was killed in a train accident a few weeks before the inauguration.

The nation's only Catholic president to date, John F. Kennedy, used his family's Douay Version of the Bible. The 1850 edition was brought by his Fitzgerald ancestors from Ireland, according to the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. That Bible, a massive tome now on display at the library, was kept current with records of family births through the time of Kennedy's presidency.

At least of equal interest is the page to which the Bible was opened --- if it was opened --- as each president took the oath of office. Before Abraham Lincoln, that information is largely unknown, but most presidents since have taken the oath with the Bible opened to a particular book (and, in most cases, a particular Scriptural passage). Others --- including JFK, Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush, among recent presidents --- have taken the oath with the Bible closed.

Among the Scriptural passages listed on the Library of Congress' website are the following:

Abraham Lincoln, 1865:
Matthew 7: 1: Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
Matthew 18: 7: Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
Revelations 16: 7: Then I heard the altar cry out, "Yes, Lord God almighty, your judgments are true and just."

Ulysses Grant, 1873:
Isaiah 11: 1-3: A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide.

Grover Cleveland, 1885:
Psalm 112: 4-10: All goes well for those gracious in lending, who conduct their affairs with justice. They shall never be shaken; the just shall be remembered forever. They shall not fear an ill report; their hearts are steadfast, trusting the LORD. Their hearts are tranquil, without fear, till at last they look down on their foes. Lavishly they give to the poor; their prosperity shall endure forever; their horn shall be exalted in honor. The wicked shall be angry to see this; they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked come to nothing.

Theodore Roosevelt, 1905:
James 1: 22-23: Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.

William H. Taft, 1909:
1 Kings 3: 9-11: "Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?" The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request. So God said to him: "Because you have asked for this --- not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right --- I do as you requested."

Woodrow Wilson, 1913:
Psalm 119: Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the LORD. Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart. They do no wrong; they walk in God's ways. You have given them the command to keep your precepts with care. May my ways be firm in the observance of your laws!

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933, 1937, 1941, 1945:
1 Corinthians 13 (St. Paul's discourse on love): Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.…

Harry Truman, 1949:
Matthew 5: 3-11: The Beatitudes.
Exodus 20: 3-17: The Ten Commandments.

Dwight Eisenhower, 1953:
Psalm 127: 1: Unless the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build. Unless the LORD guard the city, in vain does the guard keep watch.
2 Chronicles 7: 14: And if my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and revive their land.

Eisenhower, 1957:
Psalm 33: 12: Happy the nation whose God is the LORD, the people chosen as his very own.

Richard Nixon, 1969, 1973:
Isaiah 2: 4: He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.

Gerald Ford, 1974:
Proverbs 3: 5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.

Jimmy Carter, 1977:
Micah 6: 8: You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

Ronald Reagan, 1981, 1985:
2 Chronicles 7: 14: (see Eisenhower above).

George H.W. Bush, 1989:
Matthew 5: The Beatitudes.

Bill Clinton, 1993:
Galatians 6: 8: The one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit.

Clinton, 1997:
Isaiah 58: 12: The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; "Repairer of the breach," they shall call you, "Restorer of ruined homesteads."