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Citing sacred texts
When citing biblical texts, follow the guidelines listed below or in the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, Turabian's A Manual for Writers, or the Journal of Biblical Literature Instructions for Contributors. See references, titles, abbreviations, abbreviated forms, names, adjectives.

References to biblical texts are placed in parentheses within the body of the paper, not in a footnote. A reference (1) follows the comment or quotation (2) unless the reference is a grammatical component of the sentence. Multiple references within parentheses (3) are separated by semicolons.

(1) Moses wrote, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). The Hebrew Bible describes the creation of all things (Gen 1:1-2:3).

(2) Gen 1:1-2:3 preserves an ancient account of creation.

(3) Such parallelism is characteristic of early Hebrew poetry (see Gen 24:60; Deut 32:30; 33:17; Ps 68:18).

Titles of (1) sacred books, (2) versions, (3) named divisions and passages, and (4) creeds and hymns are capitalized, but are not underlined, italicized, or set in quotation marks.

(1) the Bible, the Holy Bible, the Scripture, the Word of God

(2) the King James Version, the New International Version, KJV, NIV

(3) Genesis, Matthew, the Book of Proverbs, the Gospel of Mark, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Gospels, the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, the Torah, the Pentateuch, the Deuteronomistic History, the Apocrypha, the Hagiographa, the Pseudepigrapha, the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Codices, the Synoptic Gospels, the Q, the Psalter, the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the Shema, the Lord's Prayer

(4) Apostles' Creed, Westminster Confession, Te Deum, Gloria Patri

Abbreviations are used (1) when referring to specific verses, but (2) not when referring to entire chapters. A colon is placed between chapter and verse numbers.

(1) Genesis 1, Proverbs 1-9, Mark 12

(2) Gen 1:1, Prov 1:1-9:5, Mark 12:1-4

Abbreviated forms are based on a recommended list, dictionary, or style guide. The following list offers one guide.

(1) Biblical books

Gen Zeph Rom
Exod Hag 1 Cor
Lev Zech 2 Cor
Num Mal Gal
Deut Ps (pl. Pss) Eph
Josh Job Phil
Judg Prov Col
1 Sam Ruth 1 Thess
2 Sam Cant (or Song of Sol) 2 Thess
1 Kgs (or 1 Kings) Eccl (or Qoh) 1 Tim
2 Kgs (or 2 Kings) Lam 2 Tim
Isa Esth Titus
Jer Dan Phlm
Ezek Ezra Heb
Hos Neh Jas
Joel 1 Chr 1 Pet
Amos 2 Chr 2 Pet
Obad Matt 1 John
Jonah Mark 2 John
Mic Luke 3 John
Nah John Jude
Hab Acts Rev

(2) Apocryphal books

1 Kgdms 2 Esdr Pr Man
2 Kgdms Jdt Sir
3 Kgdms Ep Jer Sus
4 Kgdms 1 Macc Tob
Add Esth 2 Macc Wis
Bar 3 Macc 4 Ezra
Bel 4 Macc
1 Esdr Pr Azar

(3) Versions: OT (Old Testament), NT (New Testament), MT (Masoretic Text), TR (Textus Receptus), LXX (Septuagint), Vg (Vulgate), OL (Old Latin), OG (Old Greek)

(4) Sections: v. or vv. (verses), p. or pp. (pages), chap. or chaps. (chapters), col. or cols. (columns), n. or nn. (notes)

Names of (1) deities, (2) famous events and rites, and (3) fields and movements are capitalized but are not underlined, italicized, or set in quotation marks.

(1) God, the Lord, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the King of Kings, the Savior, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Trinity, Messiah, Yahweh or YHWH, Baal, Christ

(2) the Crucifixion, the Flood, the Diaspora, the Exodus, the Fall, Original Sin, Redemption, the Second Coming, the Mass, Holy Communion, the Sacraments

(3) Christology, Yahwism, Judaism

Adjectives (1) that are derived from titles and names, pronouns (2) that refer to divine persons, and nouns (3) that denote religious objects or domains are not capitalized.

(1) biblical, scriptural, godly, messianic, deuteronomic, apocryphal, talmudic, christological

(2) he, his, she, her

(3) ark, phylacteries, sanctuary, shofar, lordship, fatherhood, kingship

   
 
Baptistry of the Arians