The verse-per-line format for Bible texts is a quite primitive format and therefore only used for legacy projects and to provide ease when it comes to editing. To get the benefits of XML processing, the vpl2haggai1 tool converts an VPL input file to Haggai XML, which is very similar to Zefania XML. From there, transformation to other formats might take place, be it another XML markup language such as OSIS or HTML or an end format like PDF.
Project: http://www.free-scriptures.org
Code: https://gitlab.com/free-scriptures/free-scriptures
Discussion: http://www.free-scriptures.org/forum
Open Scriptures: http://openscriptures.org
Bible Organisational System: https://github.com/openscriptures/BibleOrgSys
Gospel Fellowships: http://gfel.org