How to Cite the Bible in APA
The American Psychological Association Publication Manual is a style guide favored by educators in the social and behavioral sciences. If you need to cite books of the Bible in your report, APA style requires that you handle such references differently than other books. Understand that you don't need to include classic books such as the Bible on your reference page, unless your professor specifically calls for it.
Instructions
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Abbreviate titles of the books of the Bible when appropriate. For example, you would not need to abbreviate "John," but you would abbreviate Ezekiel as "Ezek." Place a colon after the chapter and before the verse when citing information in the Bible.
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Make reference to the Bible version you are citing by its full name, but only do this on the first reference. Don't refer to the same version again by name, unless you're citing multiple Bible versions in the report and need to avoid confusion.
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Decide how you want to write parenthetical citations in the text. You can either emphasize the source or the text. Consider these two examples of properly cited Bible verses, the first of which is author-centered and the second of which is content-centered:
As Ezra 8:1 states, "These are now the chief of their fathers and this is the genealogy of them that went with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king" (King James Version).
"These are now the chief of their fathers and this is the genealogy of them that went with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king" (Ezra 8:1, King James Version).
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Do not provide the publisher or year of publication, as you do with most books.
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Tips & Warnings
Remember not to place Ezra or The Bible or King James Version or any kind of entry in the bibliography--the citation is contained completely in the body of your paper.
References
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
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