A Bible citation is usually referenced with the book name, chapter number and verse number. Sometimes, the name of the Bible translation is also included, usually in abbreviated form (both for the reader's convenience and sometimes as a copyright requirement by the translators). There are several accepted formats for doing so. The most common format on Wikipedia is Book chapter:verses, as in:
- "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1, KJV).
Or, stated more formally,
- Book chapter for a chapter;
- Book chapter1-chapter2 for a range of chapters;
- book chapter:verse for a single verse;
- book chapter:verse1-verse2 for a range of verses;
- book chapter:verse1,verse2 for multiple disjoint verses.
This format is the one accepted by the APA Publication Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style and is also the one used in most English-language writings on Judeo-Christian religion, and is also the format used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to cite the Book of Mormon. The MLA style is similar, but replaces the colon with a period. Some Catholic sources, including the notes in most editions of the New American Bible, use the formats:
- book chapter,verse
- book chapter,verse1-verse2
- book chapter,verse1.verse2
See also
External links
- Search and read Bible passages at Bible Gateway (various versions)
- Summary of MLA rules at Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
- Citing the Bible at Grove City College's Henry Buhl Library
