The Bible is cited in a different manner from most other books. A particular translation of a classic work such as the Bible is cited differently than citing, for example, a scholarly book or a work of fiction. Various style guides include different instructions for citing the Bible. If the school, teacher or publication you are writing for uses a particular style guide, follow that guide's recommendations. Otherwise, follow the MLA style.
Step 1
Underline the version of the book, but not the word Bible. So, for example, in the phrase "The New American Bible is more accurate than many older translations," the phrase "New American" is the only underlined portion.
Step 2
Write the complete name without an underline followed by a period and the abbreviated name of the book, chapter and verse the first time you use a parenthetical citation in text. Use the MLA Bible abbreviations instead of the whole title of the book such as Num. for Numbers and Deut. for Deuteronomy.
For example:
(New American Bible. Acts. 4.34)
Step 3
For subsequent parenthetical citations, just use chapter and verse:
(Deut. 5.11)
Step 4
Include the title, place of publication, publication house and date for the "Works Cited" page. For example, the 2002 edition in MLA format, would be:
The New American Bible: Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2002.
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