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APA Referencing - Education & CCSC students: Bible

This guide provides information on how to reference using the APA 7th edition publication style

Bible

APA 7th Edition

Bible

More information on the APA website

How to reference the Bible (APA7)

Bible

The Bible is treated like a book with no author. In the in-text citation, the original year of publication is given, along with the publication year of the current version or reprinting, separated by a forward slash. When referring to a verse or passage, give the Bible reference instead of page numbers. Refer to the copyright page in the version of the Bible you are using to find the details for your citation. Copyright information for many versions is available on https://biblegateway.com/versions.

The first time you cite the Bible in a paper, provide the full title. If you wish to abbreviate the title for subsequent citations, give the abbreviation in square brackets. Choose narrative or parenthetical style for each citation. See the examples below for a variety of formats.

In-text citation examples

In-text citation examples

Narrative Citation

Title (Date of Original Publication/Date of Publication)

King James Bible (1769/2017) 

 

Parenthetical Citation

(Title, Date of Original Publication/Date of Publication)

(King James Bible, 1769/2017)

 

Parenthetical Citation with bible reference

(Title, Date of Original Publication/Date of Publication, Book Chapter:Verse)

(King James Bible, 1769/2017, John 3:16)


Quotation with Citation and Abbreviation

(Title [Abbrev], Date of Publication, Book Chapter:Verse)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (New King James Version [NKJV], 1982, John 1:14)

NB: 1982 is the original publication date and the date of this edition of the NKJV. 

 

More information -- Abbreviating titles and organisation names

Reference list examples

Reference list examples

Title. (Date of Publication). Publisher. (Original work published date)

 

King James Version

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2011). Hendrickson. (Original work published 1611)

NB: 1611 is the original publication date. 2011 is the date of this edition of the King James Version. 

 

New King James Version

The Holy Bible: New King James Version. (1982). Thomas Nelson.

NB: 1982 is the original publication date and the date of this edition of the NKJV. 

Multiple references in the same citation

Multiple Bible references in the same citation

If citing multiple verses of the the Bible in one in-text citation, list the books in biblical order separated by a comma.

In-text citation

(The Holy Bible: New International Version, 1978/1983, Matthew 8:3, Luke 7:47, Luke 15:1-7, John 8:21)


Reference list

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1983). Hodder and Stoughton. (Original work published 1978)

Biblical and non-biblical references in the same in-text citation

Biblical and non-biblical references in the same in-text citation

When inserting more than one biblical and non-biblical references at the same point, use the same set of parentheses. List the Bible references first, in biblical order, and then the author references, in alphabetical order. Use a semi-colon to separate each reference.

In-text citation

(The Holy Bible: New International Version, 1978/1983, John 13:35; 1 John 5:2; Keller, 2010; Swinton, 2016)

 

Examples from NIV with abbreviated title

Abbreviated title

Narrative citation first time cited

The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV, 1978/1983, John 3:16)

 

Narrative citation for second and following citations

NIV (1978/1983, John 3:35)

 

Parenthetical citation first time cited

(The Holy Bible: New International Version [NIV], 1978/1983, John 3:16)

 

Parenthetical citation for second and following citations

(NIV, 1978/1983, John 3:35)

 

More information -- Abbreviating titles and organisation names

Reference for an online Bible

Online Bible

Example 1 King James Bible

In-text citation

(King James Bible, 1769/2017)

 

Reference list

Title. (Date of Publication). Name of Website. URL. (Original work published date)

King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/ (Original work published 1769)

 

Example 2 Bible Gateway 

In-text citation

(The Bible: English Standard Version, 2001/2016)

 

Reference list

The Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/ (Original work published 2001)

Bible App

Bible app on mobile device

Reference the version of the Bible on the app, not the app itself. Use a similar format to a print Bible. If the publisher is not provided, give a website URL, as for an online Bible. Copyright information for many versions is available on https://biblegateway.com/versions.

In-text citation

(New American Standard Bible, 1971/1995)

Reference list

Title. (Date of Publication). Publisher. (Original work published date)

New American Standard Bible. (1995). Lockman Foundation. (Original work published 1971)
© 2016 Morling College. Morling College is an affiliated institution with the Australian College of Theology (CRICOS Provider 02650E). Morling College Counselling (CRICOS Provider 03265F).