Bo, you can try this. I don't know what else it will break, so I did it as
a file local. alternatively you could set `org-match-substring-regexp' in
your init.

---
;;; -*- org-match-substring-regexp:
"\\(\\)\\([_^]\\)\\(\\(?:{\\([^{}]*?\\|\\(?:[^{}]*?{[^{}]*?}\\)+[^{}]*?\\|\\(?:[^{}]*?{\\(?:[^{}]*?{[^{}]*?}\\)+[^{}]*?}\\)+[^{}]*?\\)}\\)\\|\\(?:(\\([^()]*?\\|\\(?:[^()]*?([^()]*?)\\)+[^()]*?\\|\\(?:[^()]*?(\\(?:[^()]*?([^()]*?)\\)+[^()]*?)\\)+[^()]*?\\))\\)\\|\\(?:\\*\\|[+-]?[[:alnum:].,\\]*[[:alnum:]]\\)\\)";
org-pretty-entities: t; -*-

here are some verses where there's a space after the verse number:

^1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ^2 Now the earth
was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the
Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

if you don't want the space after the verse number, you can use curlys:

^{3}And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ^{4}God saw
that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
^{5}God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And
there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

On Fri, Jul 10, 2020 at 8:33 PM Bo Grimes <vcg3rd@fastmail.com> wrote:

> Emacs 26.3, Org-mode 9.1.9, Kubuntu 20.04, 5.4.0-39-generic
>
> Hi,
>
> I've tried my hardest to find an answer in the manuals (print book and
> on-line), this list, Reddit, and Stack Exchange with no luck.  I use Emacs
> for org-mode, and I don't code or know Elisp.  I have no use for or
> interest in learning LaTeX.  I never use subscript, and I only use
> superscript in poetry/prose (mostly quotes, not original), and I don't
> foresee (but admit I may) a need to export.
>
> I understand that:
>
> ^2H is not recognized as superscript _on purpose_. Per Org syntax, you
> have to add a non-blank character before the caret. Otherwise, there would
> be ambiguity between underline (e.g., _under_) and subscript (_under). And
> superscript syntax follows subscript's. [1]
>
> That makes sense to me as a default [2], given that so many org-mode users
> use both in math, science, and literate coding context, so I wouldn't think
> to suggest it to be changed.  All I want to know is how I can change it for
> *me*.
>
> I would like to org-toggle-pretty-entities in a buffer and see superscript
> before, say, a poetry line or Bible verse I'm quoting in a note or journal
> entry, and not see the non-blank character.
>
> Can this be done via customize or with an Elisp snippet in init.el?
>
> Thanks!
>
> [1] https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-orgmode/2014-06/msg01022.html
>
> [2] Though I wish it were made explicit in the manuals
> https://orgmode.org/manual/Subscripts-and-Superscripts.html#Subscripts-and-Superscripts
> (Org Mode 9 Reference Manual p 132). It took me a while to figure out why
> it wasn't working at all.
>
>
>