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 formats for doing so.
A common example:
Genesis 3.5 : God knows very well that the instant you eat it you shall become as he is... (LBP)
This citation indicates that the book containing the cited passage is The Book of Genesis, chapter 3, passage 5, and the edition being used is The Living Bible: Paraphrased.
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[edit] Common formats
A common format for Biblical citations is Book chapter:verses, using a colon to delimit chapter from verse, as in:
- "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1, KJV).
Or, stated more formally,[1][2][3]
- Book chapter for a chapter (John 3);
- Book chapter1–chapter2 for a range of chapters (John 1–3);
- book chapter:verse for a single verse (John 3:16);
- book chapter:verse1–verse2 for a range of verses (John 3:16–17);
- book chapter:verse1,verse2 for multiple disjoint verses (John 6:14, 44).
The range delimiter is an en-dash, and there are no spaces on either side of it.[2]
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[citation needed], 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 (John 3,16)
- book chapter,verse1–verse2 (John 3,16–17)
- book chapter,verse1.verse2 (John 6:14.44).
[edit] Punctuation
When citations are used in run-in quotations, they should not, according to The Christian Writer's Manual of Style, contain the punctuation either from the quotation itself (such as a terminating exclamation mark or question mark) or from the surrounding prose. The full-stop at the end of the surrounding sentence belongs outside of the parentheses that surround the citation, in particular. For examples:[3]
- "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" (John 19:15).
The Christian Writer's Manual of Style also states that a citation that follows a block quotation of text may either be in parentheses flush against the text, or right-aligned following an em-dash on a new line. For examples:[3]
- These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 NASV)
- These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.
— John 16:33 NASV
[edit] Abbreviating book names
The names of the books of the Bible can be abbreviated. Most Bibles give preferred abbreviation guides in their tables of contents, or at the front of the book.[2]
Abbreviations may be used when the citation is a reference that follows a block quotation of text.[3]
Abbreviations should not be used, according to The Christian Writer's Manual of Style, when the citation is in running text. Instead, the full name should be spelled out. Hudson observes, however, that for scholarly or reference works that contain a large number of citations in running text, abbreviations may be used simply to reduce the length of the prose, and that a similar exception can be made for cases where a large number of citations are used in parentheses.[3][4]
There are two commonly accepted styles for abbreviating the book names, one used in general books and one used in scholarly works.[3]
[edit] Roman numerals
Roman numerals are often used for the numbered books of the Bible. For example, Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians may be written as "I Corinthians", using the Roman numeral "I" rather than the Arabic numeral "1".[2] The Christian Writer's Manual of Style recommends using Arabic numerals for numbered books, as in "2 Corinthians" rather than "II Corinthians".[3]
[edit] Editions
The Student Supplement to the SBL Handbook of Style published by the Society of Biblical Literature states that for modern editions of the Bible, publishers information is not required in a citation. One should simply use the standard abbreviation of the version of the Bible (e.g. "RSV" for Revised Standard Version, "NIV" for New International Version, "NRSV" for New Revised Standard Version, and so forth).[4]
[edit] Multiple citations
The Student Supplement to the SBL Handbook of Style recommends that multiple citations be given in the form of a list separated by a semi-colon, without a conjunction before the final item in the list. When multiple consecutive citations reference the same book, the name of the book is omitted from the second and subsequent citations. For example:[4]
- John 1–3; 3:16; 6:14, 44
[edit] Citing non-biblical text in Bibles
Some Bibles, particularly study bibles, contain additional text that is not the biblical text. This includes footnotes, annotations, and special articles. The Student Supplement to the SBL Handbook of Style recommends that such text be cited in the form of a normal book citation, not as a Bible citation. For example:[4]
- Sophie Laws (1993). "The Letter of James". in Wayne A. Meeks et al.. The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version, with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 2269–2270.
[edit] References
- ^ Gary W. Fick (2008). "Abbreviations and Citation of Books in the Bible". Food, Farming, and Faith. SUNY Press. p. 175. ISBN 079147383X.
- ^ a b c d David Whitbread (2001). "Typography: Citing the Bible". The Design Manual. UNSW Press. p. 209. ISBN 0868406589.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bob Hudson, Robert Hudson, Shelley Townsend-Hudson (2004). "References, Bible". The Christian Writer's Manual of Style. Zondervan. pp. 358–361. ISBN 0310487714.
- ^ a b c d Melanie Greer Nogalski, James D. Nogalski, Sophia G. Steibel, and Danny M. West (September 2004). "Student Supplement to the SBL Handbook of Style" (PDF). 1–2 Society of Biblical Literature.
[edit] See also
[edit] 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
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