Citation Resources

Books and versions of the Bible are NOT

• underlined
• italicized
• put in quotation marks
• abbreviated

                    Example: 2 Samuel 12 records the prophet Nathan's confrontation of King David.

                   Example: The identity of the author of the book of Hebrews is not certain

Titles of individual published editions of the Bible ARE

• italicized

                    Example: The King James Version of the Bible was originally published in 1611. 

                   Example: The NIV Study Bible includes an introduction to each book of the Bible. 

In parenthetical references

• The titles of the books of the Bible are often abbreviated. 
• Access the list of common abbreviations for books of the Bible found in the MLA Handbook. 
• A period separates chapter and verse.

                        Example:  (2 Cor. 5.17)

• State the first element in that works-cited list entry (which is usually the name of the version) followed by a comma the first time you refer to a particular version of the Bible.

Example:  (New International Version, Gen. 3.15)

You do not need to identify the first element of the entry (again, usually the version) in subsequent references unless you switch to a different version.

• Simply cite chapter and verse.

Example:  (Gen. 3.27)

In your works cited - include the title of the Bible, the version, and the publication information.

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

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

                 Example: New International Version. (2011). BibleGateway.com http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist

Adapted from the Henry Buhl Library's guide "Citing the Bible and Other Biblical Resources."