How to Cite a Bible Verse in APA (7th Edition)

To cite a Bible verse in APA 7th edition, treat the Bible as a work with no author: put the Bible version in the author position, give two years separated by a slash (the original publication year and the year of the edition you used), and replace the page number with the book, chapter and verse, such as John 3:16. This guide shows the template, worked examples for print, online and study Bibles, the in-text form, and the errors that most often appear in theses and manuscripts.

The format: a template with each element named

Every Bible citation is built from the same elements. Take them from the copyright page of the exact version you read, not from memory.

Element	Where it goes	Where you find it
Version title	Author position; italic in the in-text citation and the title of the reference entry	Title page of your Bible, for example English Standard Version
Original publication year	First half of the year pair (1769, 2001, 1978)	Copyright page: first publication of the version
Edition year	Second half of the year pair (2017, 2009, 1983)	Copyright page: the edition or printing you used
Book, chapter and verse	Where a page number would go, in Arabic numerals with a colon (3:16)	The passage you are citing
Publisher	Reference entry only	Copyright page
Website name and URL	Reference entry, for an online Bible	The site you read it on

The reference entry pattern is: Version title. (Edition year). Publisher. (Original work published original year). The in-text pattern is: (Version title, original year/edition year, Book chapter:verse).

Examples

The Bible versions below are real. The sentences around them are invented to show placement and are labelled as examples, not quotations from any real paper.

Print Bible, single verse

Parenthetical: (English Standard Version, 2001/2009, 1 Samuel 10:8). Morling College Library and Azusa Pacific University Libraries both show this year-pair form.

Reference entry for a print Bible

Following the Azusa Pacific University pattern for a print English Standard Version, the entry starts with the italic title The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testament with Apocrypha, then (2009), the publisher Oxford University Press, and (Original work published 2001).

Morling College’s example for a different version:

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2011). Hendrickson. (Original work published 1611)

Online Bible

For a Bible read on a website, the reference entry carries the website name and URL. Azusa Pacific University’s example for an online English Standard Version is a STEP Bible entry:

English Standard Version. (2011). STEP Bible. [URL of the passage you read] (Original work published 2001)

The in-text citation is the same shape as for print: (English Standard Version, 2001/2011, Isaiah 42:1).

Study Bible with an editor

When you cite a study Bible and want to credit its editor, the editor takes the author position. Azusa Pacific University’s example:

In text: (Coogan, 2010, 1 John 1:1-5)

Reference: Coogan, M. D. (Ed.). (2010). The new Oxford annotated study Bible (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

In-text citation version

Use the parenthetical form when the version is not part of your sentence, and the narrative form when it is.

Narrative: According to the King James Bible (1769/2017), … (example sentence only).
Parenthetical, no verse: (King James Bible, 1769/2017).
Parenthetical with verse: (King James Bible, 1769/2017, John 3:16).

Name the version in the first citation. Azusa Pacific University says later citations need the version only if you switch versions. Morling College adds that if you wish to abbreviate the title for subsequent citations, you give the abbreviation in square brackets. Check which pattern your instructor or journal expects.

Common errors

Citing “The Bible” with no version. The version is the author element, so a citation without it has no author and no way for a reader to find your wording.
Using a page number. Replace it with book, chapter and verse.
Leaving out the year pair. Both the original year and the edition year appear, separated by a slash.
Using a period instead of a colon in the verse. Write 3:16, in Arabic numerals.
Skipping the reference entry. Azusa Pacific University notes that APA 7 includes the Bible in the reference list.
Taking details from the wrong place. Use the copyright page of the version you actually used; the two years are different for a reason.
Roman numerals for chapters or abbreviated book names. Azusa Pacific University specifies Arabic numerals with a colon between chapter and verse, and says APA 7 does not use Bible book abbreviations.

For other citation patterns you will need in the same document, see how to cite from a book, how to cite in APA if there is no author, and how to paraphrase and cite in APA. For the list itself, see the APA reference page format and how to set the hanging indent. Theses have their own pattern: how to cite a thesis in APA.

Style-guide edition

This guide follows APA 7th edition (2020), the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association as of October 2026. The patterns follow two university library guides, listed under Sources, which agree on the elements described above. If your instructor, journal or publisher gives a different instruction for religious works, follow theirs.

FAQ

How do you cite the Bible in APA?

Treat the version as the author, give the original and edition years separated by a slash, and use book chapter:verse in place of a page number: (King James Bible, 1769/2017, John 3:16). Add a matching reference entry.

How do I cite the Holy Bible in APA?

Cite the specific version you read, not the words “Holy Bible” alone. Some versions include “Holy Bible” in their title; if yours does, use the title exactly as it appears, as in The Holy Bible: New International Version.

Do I need a reference list entry for a Bible verse?

Yes. Azusa Pacific University notes that APA 7 includes the Bible in the reference list, and Morling College gives a reference entry example. Some other sources describe the Bible as exempt, so if your instructor or journal says otherwise, follow them.

Do I name the Bible version every time?

Name it in the first citation. Azusa Pacific University says the version need not be restated in later citations unless you switch versions; Morling College allows an abbreviation in square brackets if you wish to shorten the title.

Sources

Morling College Library, “Bible”, APA referencing guide: https://morlingcollege.libguides.com/apareferencing/bible (guide last updated 21 September 2026; checked 29 October 2026).
Azusa Pacific University Libraries, “APA 7th Edition”: https://libraries.apu.edu/APA_7th_Edition (page last updated 21 June 2026; checked 29 October 2026).
American Psychological Association, Publication Manual, 7th edition (2020), APA Style site: https://apastyle.apa.org.

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