As a Christian, you should be sharing God’s Word with other people. This article will show you how to quote Bible verses accurately as you share the Word of God, and specific verses from the books of the Bible, in formal writing or in more casual settings, such as social media. There is a difference between quoting Scripture and citing it. When you are quoting something, in this case, sacred text, you are repeating the exact words, it is a direct quote. When you are writing the exact words, place the quote inside quotation marks. Citing a work is different than quoting words. If you cite a work, in this case, God’s Word, give credit to the original source.
How to Quote Bible Verses — The Bible Text Format
The Bible is a book that is subdivided. The largest division is the two parts of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Within those two large divisions are subdivisions called books. Within these books are subdivisions called chapters, and within the chapters are the smallest subdivision, verses. To properly tell the exact location of a piece of Scripture in the Bible, the book, chapter, and verse needs to be added to the Bible quote.
The Bible itself does not change. But different publishers, even publishing the same version of the Bible, format the Bible differently. Therefore, there is no real use of a page number when referring to a particular portion of a printed Bible, unless you have two Bibles that are exactly the same.
How to Quote Bible Verses — The Versions
There are many different Bible versions available, and seemingly everywhere. When quoting from a Bible translation for publishing on a website or social media, it is important to specify which translation you are using. The best way to do this is to use the abbreviation of the version in parentheses after the reference of the verse.
However, the first time you use the name of the Bible, write out the full name of the Bible or name of the version. Then, in parentheses, use the abbreviation. For example, if you are quoting from the New International Version of the Bible, write out all of the words with abbreviation (NIV) after the verse. If you continue to use that particular version, there is no further need to write it out, you only have to place the abbreviation in parentheses.
How to Quote Bible Verses — MLA and APA Style Citations
If you are expected to use a particular citation style in either Scripture quotes or citing the Bible as a source in your content, refer to the appropriate style guide. When citing the Bible, use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style. When using the MLA as part of your list of citations, in a works-cited list entry, name the title of the Bible you used, the particular book of the Bible, the chapter number of the book, and the verse numbers. If you used an online version of the Bible, such as the King James Bible Online, Bible Gateway or Blue Letter Bible include the URL.
The easiest way to accurately quote and include Bible verses in your writing is to find a Bible website like the above examples and to copy and paste. Another great resource is the Power Bible.
For the in-text citation, within parentheses place the particular version of the Bible, a comma, and the abbreviated Bible book name following the specific verse quoted. For example: (KJV Bible, Matt. 24:1) This style uses a colon between the chapter and the verse or verses.
The APA citation style includes the particular Bible translation after the verse. For instance: (John 3:16, King James Version)
How to Quote Bible Verses — Transition Words
When adding Bible verses to your writing, you want to make it a smooth transition, even while you specify the exact chapter and verse of the Bible quote. If you are writing fiction and you have a character who quotes Scripture, you can transition by having your character say something like, “The Bible says, ‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth’. I think the reference for that verse is Genesis 1, verse 1”.
If you are writing nonfiction, again, you need to have some transition words. Here is an example: “The Bible says in Psalm 1:1, ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.’” This sentence both quotes the Bible verse and tells the reader where in the Bible this particular verse is located. The transition words are “The Bible says in…”.
When writing a book you can use whatever Bible version(s) you wish. Nevertheless, you do have to cite at the beginning of the book which version(s) you used. For some Bible versions you need to get permission from the publisher to use their version. You may not be able to freely quote from a particular version without getting the appropriate permission from the copyright holder.
And when you do get their permission, you must indicate this at the beginning of your book. For specific examples, be sure to consult a professional book editor before you publish your book to make sure you are not infringing on any copyright laws with the different Bible version(s) that you use in your book.
The one exception is the King James Version of the Bible. The King James version is not copyrighted, as it is in the public domain. If anything in a King James Bible has a copyright, it would things such as notes and study helps such as maps, pictures, commentaries, and Bible reading plans, which are provided with the actual words from the Bible.
How To Quote Bible Verses — Single Quotes and Closed Quotes
Using Bible quotations means that you need to use quotation marks. Obviously, quoted Bible passages are enclosed within quote marks. But within a passage of Scripture you may want to use a single quote mark to show who is speaking. For example: “Philip saith unto him, ‘Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.’’ John 14:8 (KJV). This Bible verse contains the words of Philip. While not necessary, I used single quotes within the verse to set off his words in the Bible passage. I then use a combination of a single quotation mark followed by double close quotes.
How To Quote Bible Verses — Social Media
If you are creating a post for social media and want to use Scripture quotations, make sure you add both the Scripture reference and in parentheses the abbreviation of the name of the Bible version from which you are quoting. You can either use the abbreviated book name or use the full name of the book from which you are taking the quote.
How To Quote Bible Verses — On A Website
When you are writing to be published on the web, with every Bible verse you quote you need to add the Bible verse name or abbreviation at the end of the verse. Do this for every Biblical passages you use. With all of the different versions, it is important, a big deal, to specify what version you are using since this both tells the readers where to find that verse in the Bible and also gives credit to the copyright owner.
For writing to be published on the World Wide Web, it is not a good idea to place the Bible version of your choice in the beginning of the text, let your readers know that you only use that particular version, and the expect them to remember your choice in subsequent references. Let them know the version you are using with each Bible reference you place in your text.
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