Question

I'm writing a paper in APA style and find I need to include a reference from the Bible. I don't see any APA format for Bible citations. Can you help?

Answer 1

Hi phillydoug,

You are right, citations of the Bible are handled a bit differently in APA, and different, still, in MLA. Here are the things I know about how to do it in APA, which applies to the Bible as well as other religious and classic works.

First, In-Text,
Do not provide page numbers when citing parts of classic works (the Bible, classic verse, etc.) in your document. Instead include specific line, book, and section numbers as appropriate.

FYI:
If you HAVE TO (by default), you can count the paragraphs from the beginning of the chapter. You will not always have to do this - I am simply putting it down here 'just in case' line numbers are not available, so you know it is okay/permissable.

Second, References,
A citation (in your References list) is not required for a well-known classical work like the Bible. However, you should parenthetically indicate the version (if applicable) after your first reference to the work. Use book/chapter/verse/line/cantos numbers to refer to specific parts of the work, not page numbers. It will look like this after the first time:
Genesis 1:3 (Revised Standard Edition).

Here is a sentence I made up:
Adam and Eve entered the garden on that fateful night, approaching the fruit tree as explained in Genesis 1:3 (Revised Standard Edition), to find it swarming with worms.

Oh. A Third Thing to keep in mind: When to capitalize,
I used two sentences (one in the first line) speaking about the Bible.
It should look like that.
Use a lower case g in god in a sentence such as
The man down the street worships more than one god.
Also, lower case in Greek gods.

Use a capital G in God as in God the Father or Almighty God. Same rules apply to other dieties such as Buddha, Zeus, Moses, etc . . .

I hope this helps. I dont know if anyone else has anything to add . . . . . .