@@ -104,14 +104,21 @@ export function renderHeadingFields(record) {
   return out;
 }
 
+// scriptures::formattedData: a line of exactly "*" (2HRBOM, CTBOM, EARLIEST ...) is a verse merged
+// into the line before it.
+export function isCompoundLine(text) {
+  return String(text ?? '').trim() === '*';
+}
+
 // scriptures::formattedData: the format and paragraph class of each segment of a verse, from the
 // verse's own format and the marker before each segment. A marker's format holds for the rest of
 // the verse: ¶▼ poetry, ¶↪ indent, ¶► prose; ¶◄ starts a "flush" paragraph, ¶◤ a "linebreak"
 // one and ‾¶ a "nogap" one (both prose). A line starting with § (a subtitle) is prose.
 // segments: [{ meta, text }] from VerseSerializer.splitSegments.
 export function segmentFormats(verseFormat, segments) {
   let format = verseFormat || 'prose';
-  return segments.map(({ meta, text }) => {
+  return segments.map(({ meta: rawMeta, text }) => {
+    const meta = String(rawMeta ?? '').replace(/^▲/, ''); // formattedData drops a verse head's ▲ first
     let paraClass = '';
     if (meta === '¶◄' || meta === '§¶◄') { paraClass = 'flush'; }
     else if (meta === '¶▼') format = 'poetry';
 
@@ -28,13 +28,23 @@ const trimChars = (s, chars) => s.replace(new RegExp(`^[${chars}]+|[${chars}]+$`
 // The package splits verses after a comma into their own part ("Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43" →
 // "Matthew 13:24-30; 13:36-43"); cleanReference kept them in one block. Group the package's parts
 // by the ";"-separated pieces of the input, and join a group's parts back with ", ".
+// Above this many pieces the grouping (one package parse per piece) is skipped: one block per part.
+const MAX_GROUPED_PIECES = 50;
+
 function blockTexts(ref, normalized) {
   const parts = normalized.split(';');
+  // cleanReference turned ".." into ";", so both separate blocks
   const pieces = String(ref).split(/;|\.\./);
+  if (pieces.length > MAX_GROUPED_PIECES) return parts;
   const groups = [];
   let used = 0;
   pieces.forEach((piece, i) => {
-    const upTo = i === pieces.length - 1 ? parts.length : normalize(pieces.slice(0, i + 1).join(';')).split(';').length;
+    let upTo = parts.length;
+    if (i < pieces.length - 1) {
+      const prefix = normalize(pieces.slice(0, i + 1).join(';'));
+      // A prefix the package cannot read adds no parts; its text joins the next piece's group
+      upTo = prefix ? prefix.split(';').length : used;
+    }
     if (upTo > used) groups.push(parts.slice(used, upTo));
     used = Math.max(used, upTo);
   });
 
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import VerseSerializer from '../serializers/VerseSerializer.js';
 import { displayReference, blankHeading } from '../../domain/rules/referenceParsing.js';
 
 import { versionImg, formatReference as referenceFromVerseIds } from '../../domain/rules/legacyReference.js';
-import { renderHeadingHtml, renderHeadingFields, RENDERED_HEADING_FIELDS, segmentFormats, escapeHtml } from '../../domain/rules/legacyText.js';
+import { renderHeadingHtml, renderHeadingFields, RENDERED_HEADING_FIELDS, segmentFormats, escapeHtml, isCompoundLine } from '../../domain/rules/legacyText.js';
 
 // versionImg takes lds_scriptures_volumes.volume_id; Reference.volume is a volume code.
 // Verses outside the five volumes (null) have no LDS cover: 0 gives "lds".
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ export function foldCompounds(lines, bookShort) {
   let merged = null; // verse_id → { book, bookId, chapter, verse } of the host and its merged verses
   const at = line => ({ book: bookShort, bookId: 0, chapter: line.chapter, verse: line.num });
   for (const line of lines) {
-    if (String(line.text).trim() !== '*' || !host) {
+    if (!isCompoundLine(line.text) || !host) {
       out.push(line);
       host = line;
       merged = new Map([[line.id, at(line)]]);
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ export class HtmlPresenter {
             lbIndex: lbIdx
           }));
         });
-      }), result.config._bookShort || result.reference._bookShort || result.reference.book),
+      }), result.config._bookShort ?? ''),
       h3ByVerse,       // full h3 headings indexed by verse_id
       inlineByVerse,   // non-heading inline elements indexed by verse_id
       prePassageH3,    // chapter heading from prior section (renders before verses with ellipsis)
 
@@ -26,14 +26,11 @@ function buildH3(h, version) {
   const faxAttr = h.fax ? ` fax="1"` : '';
   // A heading without text shows its reference (PHP "Reference Headings")
   const text = (h.headless || !h.text) ? (h.ref || h.text || '') : (h.textHtml ?? h.text);
-  let html = `<h3 class="heading" version="${h.headVersion || version}" heading_verse_id="${h.displayVerseId || h.verse_id}"${vc}${lv}${headless}${ref}${slug}${ver}${img}${parallelAttr}${faxAttr}${audioAttr}>${text}</h3>`;
-  return html;
+  return `<h3 class="heading" version="${h.headVersion || version}" heading_verse_id="${h.displayVerseId || h.verse_id}"${vc}${lv}${headless}${ref}${slug}${ver}${img}${parallelAttr}${faxAttr}${audioAttr}>${text}</h3>`;
 }
 
-// Build passage HTML — group verses into paragraphs based on paraBreak flag
+// Group verses into paragraphs based on the paraBreak flag.
 // Mirrors PHP: multiple verse spans share one <p> unless separated by a ¶ marker
-let passageHtml = '';
-const lastVerseId = data.verses.length ? data.verses[data.verses.length - 1].id : null;
 
 // Attach summary/headnote from chapterHeading to the chapter heading h3
 const chapterH3Data = ch && data.h3ByVerse[ch.verse_id] ? data.h3ByVerse[ch.verse_id] : null;
 
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import VerseSerializer from '../presentation/serializers/VerseSerializer.js';
 import { defaultVersions, versionOrder } from '../domain/rules/defaultVersions.js';
 import { applyFormatOverride } from '../domain/rules/formatOverride.js';
 import { getBook } from '../domain/rules/legacyReference.js';
+import { isCompoundLine } from '../domain/rules/legacyText.js';
 import { wantsChapterNav, chapterNavLinks, sectionNavLinks, sectionRef } from '../domain/rules/chapterNav.js';
 
 // Verse rows grouped by chapter, in order, for one synthetic heading per chapter. A chapter whose
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ export function chapterRuns(rows) {
   }
   const runs = [];
   for (const c of chapters) {
-    if (runs.length && c.rows.every(r => String(r.text).trim() === '*')) runs[runs.length - 1].rows.push(...c.rows);
+    if (runs.length && c.rows.every(r => isCompoundLine(r.text))) runs[runs.length - 1].rows.push(...c.rows);
     else runs.push(c);
   }
   return runs;
@@ -168,12 +169,16 @@ export class ScriptureLookupService {
     let chapterHeading = null;
     let chapterNav = null;
 
+    // Book of the first verse: its short title labels compound verses ("1 Ne. 1:1–3"), with or
+    // without headings
+    const bookInfo = verseIds.length ? await this.headingRepository.findBookId(verseIds[0]) : null;
+    if (bookInfo) config._bookShort = bookInfo.book_title_short;
+
     if (config.includeHeadings !== false && verseIds.length > 0) {
       headings = await this.headingRepository.findByVerseIds(verseIds, headingVersion);
 
       const firstVerseId = verseIds[0];
       const lastVerseId = verseIds[verseIds.length - 1];
-      const bookInfo = await this.headingRepository.findBookId(firstVerseId);
 
       if (bookInfo) {
         const { book_id: bookId, lds_org: bookSlug, book_title_short: bookTitleShort, book_title: bookTitle } = bookInfo;
@@ -202,7 +207,6 @@ export class ScriptureLookupService {
         const audioFlag = await this.headingRepository.hasAudio(verseIds, version);
         // Always store bookTitle on config so HtmlPresenter can build slugs even when chapterHeading is null
         config._bookTitle = bookTitle;
-        config._bookShort = bookTitleShort;
         if (chapterHeading) {
           chapterHeading.bookSlug = bookSlug;
           chapterHeading.bookTitle = bookTitle;
 
@@ -42,6 +42,17 @@ describe('metaFromRef (scriptures::loadMetaFromRef)', () => {
     expect(metaFromRef('john.3.16,18;gen.1.1').map(b => b.orig)).toEqual(['John 3:16, 18', 'Genesis Genesis 1:1']);
   });
 
+  test('a piece the package cannot read adds no block', () => {
+    expect(metaFromRef('xyzzy;john.3.16').map(b => b.orig)).toEqual(['John 3:16']);
+  });
+
+  test('many pieces skip the per-piece grouping', () => {
+    const ref = Array.from({ length: 60 }, (_, i) => `ps.${i + 1}.1`).join(';');
+    const t0 = performance.now();
+    expect(metaFromRef(ref)).toHaveLength(60);
+    expect(performance.now() - t0).toBeLessThan(250);
+  });
+
   test('unknown reference gives no blocks', () => {
     expect(metaFromRef('nothing')).toEqual([]);
   });
 
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
 import {
   flattenText, splitVerseLines, arrayText, plainText, plainPassage,
-  stemText, transposeRef, baseVersion, highlightSearchTerm, escapeHtml, renderHeadingHtml, segmentFormats,
+  stemText, transposeRef, baseVersion, highlightSearchTerm, escapeHtml, renderHeadingHtml, segmentFormats, isCompoundLine,
 } from '../../src/domain/rules/legacyText.js';
 
 // Fixtures are KJV (public domain) or hand-written.
@@ -136,7 +136,21 @@ describe('segmentFormats (scriptures::formattedData paragraph markers)', () => {
     expect(segmentFormats('poetry', [seg('‾¶')])).toEqual([{ format: 'prose', paraClass: 'nogap' }]);
     expect(segmentFormats('prose', [seg('¶▼◄')])).toEqual([{ format: 'prose', paraClass: 'flush' }]);
   });
+  it('a leading ▲ (verse head) is dropped before the marker is read', () => {
+    expect(segmentFormats('prose', [seg('▲¶▼')]).map(f => f.format)).toEqual(['poetry']);
+    expect(segmentFormats('poetry', [seg('▲¶◄')])).toEqual([{ format: 'poetry', paraClass: 'flush' }]);
+  });
   it('a line that starts with § (a subtitle) is prose', () => {
     expect(segmentFormats('poetry', [seg('¶', '§A Psalm of David.'), seg('/')]).map(f => f.format)).toEqual(['prose', 'poetry']);
   });
 });
+
+describe('isCompoundLine', () => {
+  it('is a line of exactly "*", spaces aside', () => {
+    expect(isCompoundLine('*')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isCompoundLine(' * ')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isCompoundLine('**')).toBe(false);
+    expect(isCompoundLine('And *')).toBe(false);
+    expect(isCompoundLine(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ describe('displayReference', () => {
     expect(displayReference('2 Nephi 3:19-20; 2 Nephi 27:13; 2 Nephi 29:2')).toBe('2 Nephi 3:19–20; 27:13; 29:2');
     expect(displayReference('Abraham 2:11; Genesis 17:7; Genesis 18:18')).toBe('Abraham 2:11; Genesis 17:7; 18:18');
     expect(displayReference('1 Nephi 1-5; 1 Nephi 7-19')).toBe('1 Nephi 1–5; 7–19');
+    expect(displayReference('Genesis 1; Genesis 3')).toBe('Genesis 1; 3');
     expect(displayReference('Isaiah 9:12; Isaiah 9:17; 2 Nephi 15:25')).toBe('Isaiah 9:12,17; 2 Nephi 15:25');
   });
   test('a range from verse 1 into the next chapter drops the first verse', () => {
 
@@ -28,3 +28,21 @@ describe('splitBlocks', () => {
     expect(svc.splitBlocks('1; 5-6')).toEqual(['1', '5-6']);
   });
 });
+
+describe('lookup: the short book title for compound refs', () => {
+  const rows = { 1: { verse_id: 1, verse: 1, chapter: 1, text: 'In the beginning.' }, 57: { verse_id: 57, verse: 1, chapter: 3, text: '*' } };
+  const refs = { parse: t => ({ isEmpty: false, book: 'Genesis', normalized: t, verseIds: t.includes('3') ? [57] : [1], chapter: 1 }) };
+  const verses = {
+    findByIds: async ids => ids.map(id => ({ ...rows[id], version: 'KJV' })),
+    findChaptersByVerseIds: async ids => ids.map(id => ({ verse_id: id, chapter: rows[id].chapter })),
+  };
+  const headings = {
+    findBookId: async () => ({ book_id: 1, lds_org: 'gen', book_title: 'Genesis', book_title_short: 'Gen.' }),
+    findFaxVerseIds: async () => [],
+  };
+  const svc = new ScriptureLookupService(refs, verses, headings);
+  test('is set on every block, with or without headings', async () => {
+    const r = await svc.lookup('gen.1.1; gen.3.1', { version: 'KJV', includeHeadings: false });
+    expect(r.sections.map(s => s.config._bookShort)).toEqual(['Gen.', 'Gen.']);
+  });
+});