APA Citation for the Bible: Formatting Rules and Examples

How to cite the Bible in your writings:

In short, cite it as a standard book but omit the author. Mention the Bible’s version and a URL if you take it online. For in-text citations, add a chapter and a verse number.

For more details about the rules and examples, please keep reading. I’ll show you how to cite the Bible in APA 7th edition (1).

How to Cite Bible Verses: In-Text

When you cite the Bible’s particular verse in the text, start with its name in parentheses. Remember to italicize it.

After that, mention the original publication year and the year of the version you use (via slash). If you have the only year to include, do that. Finally, write the Bible book’s name, the chapter number, and the verse.

• In-text citation format: (Version name, Year, Book name’s abbreviation. chapter : verse)
• Example: (King James Bible, 1769/2019, 1 Cor. 13:4)

All Bible chapters have specific names with a standard abbreviation for each one. Use them for in-text citations.

Bonus: The List of Bible Books Abbreviations to Use for In-text Citations

Don’t place any page numbers in APA-style citations. Instead, separate the chapter and the verse number by a column. If you need to cite a range of Bible book verses, please use an en dash. Like this:

• Example: (King James Bible, 1769/2019, 1 Cor. 13:4–7)

APA Bible Citation in References

	APA format template	Example
Printed Bible or e-book:	Bible name. (Year). Publisher. (Original work published year)	King James Bible. (2017). Andesite Press. (Original work published 1901)
Translated Bible:	Bible name (Translator’s F. M. Last name, Trans.). (Year). Publisher.	King James Bible translated from Latin (R. Challoner, Trans.). (2017). Andesite Press.
Online Bible:	Bible name. (Year). Publisher or Website. URL (Original work published year)	King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/ (Original work published 1901)

APA Citation for the Bible That’s Printed or E-book

That’s how to cite a Bible verse in APA when referring to a printed book or e-book:

First, write the Bible’s name. Please note that you need to italicize it. After that, insert the year of publishing (parenthetical). Mention a publisher and include the year when the original work appeared. We all understand that Bible books haven’t appeared in the 2000s or so, right?

 For e-books you found online, also mention the URL. Here’s the template:

• Bible name. (Year). Publisher. URL (Original work published year)

Translated Bible Citation

Add a translator’s credentials when referring to the international Bible version and referring to the translation. Start with the first name, then add the middle one, if any, and the last name in parentheses. Do not forget to write “Trans.” nearby.

You don’t have to write the original work’s published year here. Mentioning a publisher will be enough. Here’s the template to follow:

• Bible name (Translator’s F. M. Last name, Trans.). (Year). Publisher.

Citing the Bible Taken on a Website

How to cite the Bible in APA if you take the text online:

The template is the same as for a printed book but with a URL in it. First, write the Bible’s name and put the publishing year in parentheses. Remember to italicize the name. After that, write a website’s name, URL, and the year when the original version of that Bible emerged. 

 Like this:

• Bible name. (Year). Publisher or Website. URL (Original work published year)

The example demonstrating how to cite Bible gateway:

• Amplified Bible. (2015). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com (Original work published 1965)

How to Cite the Bible in APA: Different Bible Versions

As you probably know, the Holy Bible has many versions. The most common are the English Standard Bible and the King James Bible, but you can cite others in your works, too.

Below are examples of in-text and reference citations for different Bible versions. They have the same format:

• Version name. (Year). Publisher.

For online versions, there’s also a website and URL. For those published a long ago, there’s also (Original work published year) in parentheses.

A big thanks goes to Jerry Farrell Library (2) for the detailed table you see here:

Your Turn: How Do You Cite the Bible?

 As you see, APA Bible citation isn’t as challenging as it seems:

1.  Italicize the book’s title
2.  Mention the year of publishing in parentheses
3.  Include a publisher. For online versions of Bible gateways, it will be a website’s name and URL. 
4.  Finish with the original work’s year in parentheses

Now that you know how to cite the Bible, are there any questions left? Don’t hesitate to ask in the comments or contact our writers for help.

References:

1. https://libguides.up.edu/apa/biblical_sources
2. https://libguides.liberty.edu/c.php?g=1036190&p=7511541

Bonus: The List of Bible Book Abbreviations to Use for In-text Citations

As mentioned above, all Bible chapters have specific names. We have a standard abbreviation for each chapter to use when citing the Bible within your essay.

Here is the list of these abbreviations:

Numbered books:

The Bible Book	Abbreviation for In-text Citations
1 Peter	1 Pet.
2 Peter	2 Pet.
1 John	1 John
2 John	2 John
3 John	3 John
1 Corinthians	1 Cor.
2 Corinthians	2 Cor.
1 Thessalonians	1 Thess.
2 Thessalonians	2 Thess.
1 Timothy	1 Tim.
2 Timothy	2 Tim.
1 Samuel	1 Sam.
2 Samuel	2 Sam.
1 Kings	1 Kings
2 Kings	2 Kings
1 Chronicles	1 Chron.
2 Chronicles	2 Chron.

A-H:

The Bible Book	Abbreviation for In-text Citations
Acts	Acts
Amos	Amos
Colossians	Col.
Daniel	Dan.
Deuteronomy	Deut.
Ecclesiastes	Eccles.
Ephesians	Eph.
Esther	Est.
Exodus	Ex.
Ezekiel	Ezek.
Ezra	Ezra
Galatians	Gal.
Genesis	Gen.
Habakkuk	Hab.
Haggai	Hag.
Hebrews	Heb.
Hosea	Hos.

I-M:

The Bible Book	Abbreviation for In-text Citations
Isaiah	Isa.
James	James
Jeremiah	Jer.
Job	Job
Joel	Joel
John	John
Jonah	Jonah
Joshua	Josh.
Jude	Jude
Judges	Judg.
Lamentations	Lam.
Leviticus	Lev.
Luke	Luke
Malachi	Mal.
Mark	Mark
Matthew	Matt.
Micah	Mic.

N-Z:

The Bible Book	Abbreviation for In-text Citations
Nahum	Nah.
Nehemiah	Neh.
Numbers	Num.
Obadiah	Obad.
Philemon	Philem.
Philippians	Phil.
Psalms	Ps.
Proverbs	Prov.
Revelation	Rev.
Romans	Rom.
Ruth	Ruth
Song of Solomon	Song
Titus	Titus
Zechariah	Zech.
Zephaniah	Zeph.