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.
Narrative Citation
Title (Date of Original Publication/Date of Publication)
Parenthetical Citation
(Title, Date of Original Publication/Date of Publication)
Parenthetical Citation with bible reference
(Title, Date of Original Publication/Date of Publication, Book Chapter:Verse)
Quotation with Citation and Abbreviation
(Title [Abbrev], Date of Publication, Book Chapter:Verse)
NB: 1982 is the original publication date and the date of this edition of the NKJV.
More information -- Abbreviating titles and organisation names
Title. (Date of Publication). Publisher. (Original work published date)
King James Version
NB: 1611 is the original publication date. 2011 is the date of this edition of the King James Version.
New King James Version
NB: 1982 is the original publication date and the date of this edition of the NKJV.
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
Reference list
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
Narrative citation first time cited
Narrative citation for second and following citations
Parenthetical citation first time cited
Parenthetical citation for second and following citations
More information -- Abbreviating titles and organisation names
Example 1 King James Bible
In-text citation
Reference list
Title. (Date of Publication). Name of Website. URL. (Original work published date)
Example 2 Bible Gateway
In-text citation
Reference list
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
Reference list
Title. (Date of Publication). Publisher. (Original work published date)