Skip to main content
It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

Citing the Bible and other Biblical Resources

This guide will help users cite the Bible, and Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias, commentaries, and atlases.

Parenthetical References

For each in-text citation

  • State the first element in that works-cited list entry (which is usually the title of the Bible), followed by a comma and the date.
    • Example:  (New International Version, 2011)

When quoting or paraphrasing from a particular section of scripture

  • Add the book, chapter, and verse to your citation rather the page number.
  • ​Books of the Bible are not abbreviated.
    • Example:  (English Standard Version Bible, 2009, Genesis 3:27)

Works Cited

In your Works Cited, include the title of the Bible, the version, and the publication information.

Here are some examples for citing print and online editions of the Bible:

Examples: 

Zondervan NIV Study Bible (K. L. Barker, Ed.; Full rev. ed.). (2002). Zondervan.
                              

The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha. (2009). 

Oxford University Press. 
 

New International Version. (2011). BibleGateway.com. http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/

New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist

** Information taken from Publication Manual of the American Psychology Association, 7th ed., 2019, sections 8.13, 8.28, 9.42, and 10.2.