PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/The Bible

How to Cite the Bible in APA 7

An APA 7 Bible reference has no author. It starts with the title of the version you read in italics, then the year that version was published, the publisher or website, and the URL if you read it online. Add (Original work published …) when your copy reprints an older version. The in-text citation gives the version, the year, and the book, chapter, and verse: (Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:33–34).

The format

Title of the Version. (Year). Publisher or Website Name. URL (Original work published Year)

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Reading on Bible Gateway? Paste the passage link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the version from the link and starts a Religious Work reference with the title, the version name, the publisher, and the year filled in. You can also type a version's abbreviation, like KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, or NKJV, and PERRLA starts the reference with that version. Check the years against the copyright notice of the version you read, and if you read it online, change the publisher to the website's name and add the link.

Adding one by hand? Choose Religious Work. Leave the contributors empty, unless it's a study Bible with editors: then add each editor with the role Editor, and PERRLA puts their names first and cites them, like (Coogan et al., 2018, Mark 2:17). Type the title in Title of the Work and the version's full name in Version (PERRLA joins them with a colon), then the Publication Year, the publisher or website, and the URL. If your copy reprints an older version, type that first year in Original Publication Year.

When you cite a verse, choose Book, chapter, & verse in the citation box. Type the book in Book and the numbers in Chap: Verse, like 10:34. PERRLA puts the version, the year, and the verse in the right order every time.

Look up
Paste a Bible Gateway link, get the reference

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010%3A33-34&version=NIV

Holy Bible: New International Version. (2011). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Title of the version

A Bible has no author in APA 7, so the title goes first. Use the title of the exact version you read, in italics, followed by a period. The version is the title: King James Version, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version.

Holy Bible: New International Version.

Don't write "The Bible" by itself, and don't put God or a prophet in the author spot. Read more than one version for your paper? Each one gets its own reference.

2. Year

Give the year the version you read was published, in parentheses, followed by a period. Find it on the copyright page or in the copyright notice at the bottom of a Bible website's passage page. When the notice lists several years, use the latest one: that's the current text.

(2011).

The NIV's notice lists 1973, 1978, 1984, and 2011. Each year was a revision of the translation, so the 2011 text is its own version and takes just the one year. If the site gives no date at all, write (n.d.).

3. Publisher or website

For a print Bible or an e-book, give the publisher from the title page. For a Bible you read online, give the website's name instead, the way APA treats any webpage. Don't add the city.

Bible Gateway.

4. URL

If you read the Bible online, end with the link to the version on that website. No period after it.

https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/

Print Bibles and e-books from a store skip this part.

5. Original publication date

When your copy is a newer printing of an older version, add (Original work published …) at the very end, with no period after it. The King James Version is the classic case: it first came out in 1611, and every free online copy reprints it.

(Original work published 1611)

Leave this out for a new or revised translation like the NIV 2011, and leave it out when the date is unknown. Never guess a date for when the books of the Bible were written.

Examples

A Bible version you read online

The New International Version on Bible Gateway, cited for the parable of the Good Samaritan, who bandaged a stranger's wounds and took him to an inn. Bible Gateway shows the NIV's copyright notice under every passage, and 2011 is the latest year in it.

  • Parenthetical citation(Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:33–34)
  • Narrative citationHoly Bible: New International Version (2011, Luke 10:33–34)

The King James Version, with its original date

The King James Version as Project Gutenberg released it in 1989. The translation itself first came out in 1611, so the reference ends with the original date and the in-text citation gives both years, oldest first. This one is cited for Proverbs 17:22, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."

  • Parenthetical citation(The King James Version of the Bible, 1611/1989, Proverbs 17:22)
  • Narrative citationThe King James Version of the Bible (1611/1989, Proverbs 17:22)

A study Bible with editors

The fifth edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible, the New Revised Standard Version with notes and essays by a team of editors. APA treats an annotated Bible differently from a plain one: the editors move to the author position, so the reference starts with their names and the in-text citation uses them, not the title.

  • Parenthetical citation(Coogan et al., 2018, Mark 2:17)
  • Narrative citationCoogan et al. (2018, Mark 2:17)

In-text citations

An APA 7 in-text citation for the Bible gives the title of the version in italics, the year, and the book, chapter, and verse. Use the verse numbers, never page numbers: they're the same in every printing, so your reader can find the passage in any copy.

  • One verse: (Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:34)
  • A range of verses: join them with an en dash: (Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:33–34)
  • Two dates: the original year, a slash, then your copy's year: (The King James Version of the Bible, 1611/1989, Proverbs 17:22)
  • A study Bible with editors: the editors' names, then the year and verse: (Coogan et al., 2018, Mark 2:17)
  • A paraphrase of a whole story: the verse range is still the most helpful location, so keep it

A narrative citation puts the version in your sentence: The Holy Bible: New International Version (2011) tells of a Samaritan who "bandaged his wounds" (Luke 10:34).

Writing about the Bible in general, not quoting a version? Write the Bible, the King James Version, or the NIV in plain type, with no italics and no citation.

Common mistakes

  • (Luke 10:34, New International Version)(Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:34)That's the APA 6 habit of naming the version once and skipping the reference. APA 7 gives the Bible a reference like any other source, and every citation leads with the version's title and year, not just the first one.
  • (Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, p. 1342)(Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:34)Page numbers change from one printing to the next. APA uses the book, chapter, and verse, which every copy shares.
  • Anonymous. (2011). Holy Bible: New International Version. Bible Gateway.Holy Bible: New International Version. (2011). Bible Gateway.APA 7 treats the Bible as having no author, and Anonymous is only for a work actually signed that way. The title of the version moves into the author spot.
  • The Bible. (n.d.).The King James Version of the Bible. (1989). Project Gutenberg.Wording differs from version to version, so the reference has to name the one you quoted, and the year of that copy is almost always printed somewhere.
  • (The King James Version of the Bible, 1989, Proverbs 17:22)(The King James Version of the Bible, 1611/1989, Proverbs 17:22)When the reference ends with (Original work published 1611), the in-text citation carries both years, the original first, joined by a slash.

Quick checklist

  • No author: the title of the version comes first, in italics
  • The year of the version you read, or n.d. if there truly is none
  • The publisher for print, the website's name and URL for online
  • (Original work published …) only for a reprint of an older version
  • In the text: version, year, then book chapter:verse, never a page
  • A study Bible with editors starts with the editors' names

Questions students ask

Do you need a reference entry for the Bible in APA 7?

Yes. APA 6 let you skip it and name the version in your first citation, but APA 7 gives the Bible a full reference list entry. Every in-text citation then points to it with the version's title and year.

Do I italicize the Bible in APA?

Italicize the title of the version you cite, in the reference and in the in-text citation. When you talk about the Bible or a version in general, like "the King James Version is still widely read," use plain type.

Should I abbreviate the book of the Bible in a citation?

APA's own examples spell the book name out, like Song of Solomon 8:6 and John 13:34, so writing it in full is always safe. If your instructor prefers abbreviations, use one standard set and stick to it through the whole paper.

How do I cite two different versions of the Bible in one paper?

Give each version its own reference list entry, and cite each one by its own title. Your reader then knows exactly whose wording you quoted. Reading the same version in print and online? That's one version, so it needs only one entry.

What year do I use for the King James Version?

Use the year of the copy you read, like 1989 for the Project Gutenberg edition, and add (Original work published 1611) at the end of the reference. In your citations, write both years: 1611/1989.

How do I cite a study note in a study Bible?

Cite the editors and the year, then say where the note is. For the Bible text itself, use the verse: (Coogan et al., 2018, Mark 2:17). For words the editors wrote, like a footnote or an essay, use the page number from the study Bible.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.28, 9.42, and 10.2, and the APA Style website's religious work reference examples. Example sources verified on Bible Gateway's NIV passage and copyright notice, Project Gutenberg's eBook #10 page, and Oxford University Press's product page for the fifth edition.

PERRLA builds the Bible reference from a Bible Gateway link or a version's abbreviation, and puts the version, the year, and the verse in every citation.

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