A citation from the Bible is usually referenced with the book name, chapter number and verse number. Sometimes, the name of the Bible translation is also included. There are several formats for doing so.

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 heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).

Or, stated more formally,

:Book chapter for a chapter (John 3);

:Book chapter<sub>1</sub>&ndash;chapter<sub>2</sub> for a range of chapters (John 1&ndash;3);

:book chapter:verse for a single verse (John 3:16);

:book chapter:verse<sub>1</sub>&ndash;verse<sub>2</sub> for a range of verses (John 3:16&ndash;17);

:book chapter:verse<sub>1</sub>,verse<sub>2</sub> 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. For example, (John 3:16, New International Version). Translation names should not be abbreviated (e.g., write out King James Version instead of using KJV). Subsequent citations do not require the translation unless that changes. In APA 7th edition, the Bible is listed in the references at the end of the document, which has changed since previous versions.

Citations in Turabian style requires that when referring to books or chapters, do not italicize or underline them. The book names must also be spelled out. For example, (The beginning of Genesis recounts the creation of our universe.) When referring directly to a particular passage, the abbreviated book name, chapter number, a colon, and verse number must be provided. Additionally, the Bible is not listed in the references at the end of the document and the edition of the Bible is required when citing inside parentheses. For example, (Eph. 2:10 [New International Version]).

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. For example:

There are two commonly accepted styles for abbreviating the book names, one used in general books and one used in scholarly works.