diff --git a/src/SIL.Machine/Corpora/ScriptureRefUsfmParserHandlerBase.cs b/src/SIL.Machine/Corpora/ScriptureRefUsfmParserHandlerBase.cs
index 242cc32d..2c268ebf 100644
--- a/src/SIL.Machine/Corpora/ScriptureRefUsfmParserHandlerBase.cs
+++ b/src/SIL.Machine/Corpora/ScriptureRefUsfmParserHandlerBase.cs
@@ -33,7 +33,12 @@ protected ScriptureRefUsfmParserHandlerBase()
 
         private static bool IsEmbedStyle(string marker)
         {
-            return marker != null && (EmbedStyles.Contains(marker.Trim('*')) || marker.StartsWith("z"));
+            return marker != null && EmbedStyles.Contains(marker.Trim('*'));
+        }
+
+        private static bool IsPrivateUseMarker(string marker)
+        {
+            return marker != null && marker.StartsWith("z");
         }
 
         public override void EndUsfm(UsfmParserState state)
@@ -63,9 +68,12 @@ string pubNumber
         {
             if (state.VerseRef.Equals(_curVerseRef) && !_duplicateVerse)
             {
-                EndVerseText(state, CreateVerseRefs());
-                // ignore duplicate verses
-                _duplicateVerse = true;
+                if (state.VerseRef.VerseNum > 0)
+                {
+                    EndVerseText(state, CreateVerseRefs());
+                    // ignore duplicate verses
+                    _duplicateVerse = true;
+                }
             }
             else if (VerseRef.AreOverlappingVersesRanges(verse1: number, verse2: _curVerseRef.Verse))
             {
@@ -92,6 +100,10 @@ public override void StartPara(
             IReadOnlyList<UsfmAttribute> attributes
         )
         {
+            // ignore private-use markers
+            if (IsPrivateUseMarker(marker))
+                return;
+
             if (_curVerseRef.IsDefault)
                 UpdateVerseRef(state.VerseRef, marker);
 
@@ -104,6 +116,10 @@ IReadOnlyList<UsfmAttribute> attributes
 
         public override void EndPara(UsfmParserState state, string marker)
         {
+            // ignore private-use markers
+            if (IsPrivateUseMarker(marker))
+                return;
+
             if (CurrentTextType == ScriptureTextType.NonVerse)
             {
                 EndParentElement();
@@ -185,6 +201,10 @@ public override void StartChar(
             IReadOnlyList<UsfmAttribute> attributes
         )
         {
+            // ignore private-use markers
+            if (IsPrivateUseMarker(markerWithoutPlus))
+                return;
+
             // if we hit a character marker in a verse paragraph and we aren't in a verse, then start a non-verse
             // segment
             CheckConvertVerseParaToNonVerse(state);
@@ -199,6 +219,10 @@ public override void EndChar(
             bool closed
         )
         {
+            // ignore private-use markers
+            if (IsPrivateUseMarker(marker))
+                return;
+
             if (IsEmbedStyle(marker))
                 EndEmbedText(state);
         }
@@ -332,6 +356,7 @@ private void CheckConvertVerseParaToNonVerse(UsfmParserState state)
                 && paraTag.Marker != "tr"
                 && state.IsVersePara
                 && _curVerseRef.VerseNum == 0
+                && !IsPrivateUseMarker(paraTag.Marker)
             )
             {
                 StartParentElement(paraTag.Marker);
diff --git a/tests/SIL.Machine.Tests/Corpora/UsfmMemoryTextTests.cs b/tests/SIL.Machine.Tests/Corpora/UsfmMemoryTextTests.cs
index d9c7f88d..d7874af1 100644
--- a/tests/SIL.Machine.Tests/Corpora/UsfmMemoryTextTests.cs
+++ b/tests/SIL.Machine.Tests/Corpora/UsfmMemoryTextTests.cs
@@ -278,6 +278,63 @@ public void GetRows_StyleStartingNonVerseParagraphAfterEmptyParagraph()
         });
     }
 
+    [Test]
+    public void GetRows_VerseZero()
+    {
+        TextRow[] rows = GetRows(
+            @"\id MAT - Test
+\h
+\mt
+\c 1
+\p \v 0
+\s
+\p \v 1 Verse one.
+"
+        );
+
+        Assert.Multiple(() =>
+        {
+            Assert.That(rows, Has.Length.EqualTo(1));
+
+            Assert.That(
+                rows[0].Ref,
+                Is.EqualTo(ScriptureRef.Parse("MAT 1:1")),
+                string.Join(",", rows.ToList().Select(tr => tr.Ref.ToString()))
+            );
+            Assert.That(rows[0].Text, Is.EqualTo("Verse one."), string.Join(",", rows.ToList().Select(tr => tr.Text)));
+        });
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void GetRows_PrivateUseMarker()
+    {
+        TextRow[] rows = GetRows(
+            @"\id FRT - Test English Apocrypha
+\zmt Ignore this paragraph
+\mt1 Test English Apocrypha
+\pc Copyright Statement \zimagecopyrights
+\pc Further copyright statements
+",
+            includeAllText: true
+        );
+
+        Assert.Multiple(() =>
+        {
+            Assert.That(rows, Has.Length.EqualTo(3));
+
+            Assert.That(
+                rows[1].Ref,
+                Is.EqualTo(ScriptureRef.Parse("FRT 1:0/2:pc")),
+                string.Join(",", rows.ToList().Select(tr => tr.Ref.ToString()))
+            );
+            Assert.That(
+                rows[1].Text,
+                Is.EqualTo("Copyright Statement"),
+                string.Join(",", rows.ToList().Select(tr => tr.Text))
+            );
+        });
+    }
+
     private static TextRow[] GetRows(string usfm, bool includeMarkers = false, bool includeAllText = false)
     {
         UsfmMemoryText text =