Biblical References: Format and Examples

Biblical References: Format & Examples
by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

see also the related page on: Guidelines and Tips for Writing Papers

Purpose: For clarity and precision in exegetical writing, always back up all of your claims with brief but specific references to the biblical texts, citing the appropriate book names followed by the chapter and verse numbers:

Follow the examples in good biblical textbooks or commentaries to learn how to cite scriptural references properly.
List specific references not only when you directly quote a text, but also when you mention specific biblical passages.
Biblical references are usually put at the end of the sentence (in parentheses), followed by the concluding punctuation.
References are given in the middle of a sentence (without parentheses) if they are part of what you are claiming.
Use "see" or "cf." if you want your reader to "see" or "compare" what you have said with similar or contrasting texts.
Use "e.g." when you mean "for example"; use "par." to refer to "parallel" passages in the other biblical books (esp. the Gospels).
Spell out the full names of biblical books when they appear in your text, but use the standard short American abbreviations for biblical books in your references (see HarperCollins Study Bible, xxxi; or Catholic Study Bible, xii -- note that the American system normally does not use italics or periods in biblical abbreviations).
Note that the punctuation is slightly different in the European system of biblical references (explained in the chart below).
You can omit the abbreviated name of a biblical book after the first reference if you are obviously still referring to the same book; but if you are dealing with more than one book, include the names to make all references clear.

Some Examples:

Have you read the parables of Jesus, such as the famous parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)?
The Gospel according to Mark is the first Christian text that uses the word "gospel" or "good news" (1:1).
The death of Jesus is briefly but powerfully described in the Fourth Gospel: "When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 'It is finished.' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit" (John 19:30).
Matthew usually uses the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" rather than "Kingdom of God" (e.g., Matt 3:2; 4:17; 5:3; etc.; but cf. 6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43).
The feeding of the 5000 is found in all four canonical Gospels (Mark 6:32-44; par. Matt 14:13-21; Luke 9:10b-17; John 6:1-15).
John's Gospel begins with the same two words as the LXX Greek version of Genesis (cf. John 1:1 and Gen 1:1).

Format Standards for the American System of Biblical References:

Use colons between chapter and verse numbers (most Europeans use a different format, putting commas here).
Use commas between verse numbers of the same chapter (and between chapter numbers, but only if no verses are given).
Use semicolons between references that give chapter and verse numbers from different chapters.
Use a single dash between verses to indicate "from-to" within one chapter (or between chapter numbers without verses).
Use a longer dash to indicate "from--to" between different chapters (with or without spaces, does not matter much).
Do not use periods after abbreviated book names, but do put spaces between the abbreviations and chapter numbers.

American Abbr.	Biblical Passage	European Abbr.
John 9	The Gospel according to John, chapter 9	John 9
John 9, 12	John, chapters 9 and 12 (two chapters only)	John 9; 12
John 9–12	John, chapters 9 through 12 (four chaps. total)	John 9–12
John 9:12	John, chapter 9, verse 12 (only one verse)	John 9,12
John 9:12b	John, chapter 9, only the second part of verse 12	John 9,12b
John 9:1, 12	John, chapter 9, verses 1 and 12 only	John 9,1.12
John 9:1-12	John, chapter 9, the passage from verse 1 to verse 12	John 9,1-12
John 9:1-12, 36	John, chapter 9, from verse 1 to verse 12, and verse 36	John 9,1-12.36
John 9:1; 12:36	John, only the two verses 9:1 and 12:36	John 9,1; 12,36
John 9:1–12:36	John, the whole section from 9:1 to 12:36	John 9,1—12,36
John 9:1-12; 12:3-6	John, the two passages 9:1-12 and 12:3-6	John 9,1-12; 12,3-6
John 9:1-3, 6-12; 12:3-6	three passages: John 9:1-2; and 9:6-12; and John 12:3-6	John 9,1-3.6-12; 12,3-6
John 9:12-13	John, chapter 9, verses 12 and 13 ("12 and following")	John 9,12f
[ not used; better to list exact verse #s ]	John, chapter 9, verse 12 "and the following verses"; but how many? the end of the text is not specified!	John 9,12ff

Cautions: Be careful not to get books with similar names or abbreviations mixed up:

Abbreviation	Biblical Book or Passage
John 1	The Gospel according to John, chapter 1
1 John	The First Epistle of John (all of it)
1 & 2 John	The First and Second Letters of John
John 1 & 2	The Gospel of John, chapters 1 and 2 (usual abbrev. John 1-2)
1 John 2	The First Letter of John, chapter 2
Abbreviations	Biblical Books Possibly Confused
Ex vs. Ez vs. Ezr	Exodus vs. Ezekiel vs. Ezra
Hb vs. Heb	Habakkuk vs. Hebrews
Jon vs. Jn	Jonah vs. John
Phil vs. Phlm	Philippians vs. Philemon
Ti vs. Tim	Titus vs. Timothy

In order to avoid these possible confusions, it is often better to use slightly longer abbreviations or the full short names:
(e.g., Exod, Ezek, Ezra, Hab, Jonah, John, Titus, etc.).

(Please use your internet browser's "Back" button to return to the page from which you came.)