Old Testament - RELS 110 - Huff

Citing Biblical Texts and Translations (SBL Handbook of Style — Section 8.2):

• When giving a chapter or chapter and verse of a book of the Bible, do not write out the words “chapter” or “verse.” Instead, include the abbreviation of the book followed by the Arabic numeral of the chapter, a colon, and the Arabic numeral of the verse.
  • Example: Gen 3:4.
• When referring to consecutive verses, put an en dash (-) between the first and last verse numbers.
• “When citing multiple passages, list the abbreviated title of each new biblical book followed by the chapter number and colon, with all verses in that chapter separated by a comma and space. A semicolon should separate references to subsequent chapters or books.”3
  • Example: Gen 1:1-2:3; 3; 4:1, 6; Exod 4:5-8; 7.
• Names of biblical books, translations, and the Bible should not be underlined or italicized.
• When quoting the Bible, you must specify the Bible translation you are using either by including the full name of the Bible translation in the body of the sentence in which the quote appears or by including the abbreviation for the translation in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence. If you do not state the chapter and verse of the biblical passage you are citing and the name of the translation in the body of the sentence, this information should appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence with the book of the Bible, chapter, and verse followed by the abbreviation for the translation.
  • Examples (these are all correct citations):
    • The Torah opens with the words, “When God began to create” (Gen 1:1 CEB).
    • Genesis 1:26 portrays God proclaiming, “Let us make humankind in our image” (NRSV).
    • The King James Version of Gen 1:26 states, “Let us make man in our image.”
• Abbreviations for Bible Translations (SBL Handbook of Style – Section 8.2.1):
  • CEB Common English Bible
  • NIV New International Version
  • JB The Jerusalem Bible
  • NJPS Tanakh (New JPS Translation)
  • KJV The King James Version
  • NRSV New Revised Standard Version
  • NEB The New English Bible
  • RSV Revised Standard Version
• See SBL Handbook of Style Section 8.2.1 (pgs. 122-123) for more abbreviations.
• To cite a Bible translation on your bibliography, state The Bible and then the name of the translation.
  • Example: The Bible. New Revised Standard Version.

More Examples and Information:

• If you are not sure how to cite a certain source after consulting the below examples, please see Section 1 on the following website: https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/SBLHSsupp2015- 02.pdf.
• The SBL Handbook of Style 2nd edition is in the Library Reference Room and online, and Section 6 contains numerous examples of how to cite sources correctly. If you are citing a source that no examples pertain to on this citation guide or in the above resources, please consult Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations or The Chicago Manual of Style. If you have any questions about how to cite a source, please feel free to ask your religion professor, a librarian, or a writing tutor.