use warnings;
use strict;

my %bible;
my $book;
my $chapter;

while (<DATA>) {
    chomp;
    if ( /^[^0-9]/ and !/chapter/i ) {
        $book = $_;
    }
    elsif (/chapter/i) {
        $chapter = $_;
    }
    else {
        my ( $verse, $words ) = split /\s/, $_, 2;
        push @{ $bible{$book}{$chapter}{$verse} }, $words;
    }
}

use Data::Dump;
dd \%bible;

__DATA__
Genesis
chapter 1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
chapter 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 
2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Exodus
chapter 1
1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
Matthew
chapter 1
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.
John
chapter 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.

##</code><code>##

{
  Exodus  => {
               "chapter 1" => {
                 1 => [
                        "Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:",
                      ],
                 2 => ["Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;"],
               },
             },
  Genesis => {
               "chapter 1" => {
                                1 => ["In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."],
                                2 => [
                                       "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.",
                                     ],
                              },
               "chapter 2" => {
                                1 => [
                                       "Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ",
                                     ],
                                2 => [
                                       "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.",
                                     ],
                              },
             },
  John    => {
               "chapter 1" => {
                 1 => [
                        "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.",
                      ],
                 2 => ["He was in the beginning with God."],
               },
             },
  Matthew => {
               "chapter 1" => {
                 1 => [
                        "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:",
                      ],
                 2 => [
                        "Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.",
                      ],
               },
             },
}


##</code><code>##

# a form of toolic wisdom
for ( sort { $a <=> $b } keys %{ $bible{'Genesis'}{'chapter 1'} } ) { # updated
    print $_, ": ", @{ $bible{'Genesis'}{'chapter 1'}{$_} }, $/;
}

##</code><code>##

1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2: The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.