PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/The Bible

How to Cite the Bible in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for the Bible has no author. It starts with the title of the edition you read in italics, then the version, like New International Version, and then the publisher and year for a print Bible, or the website's name in italics and the URL for one you read online. The first in-text citation gives the title and the book, chapter, and verse, with a period between chapter and verse: (Holy Bible, Luke 10.33–34).

The format

Title of the Bible. Version Name. Website Name, www.url.com. (Print: Title of the Bible. Version Name, Publisher, Year.)

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th 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, and the print edition's publisher and years filled in. You can also type a version's abbreviation, like KJV, NIV, or ESV, and PERRLA starts the reference with the title, the version, and a year. Check the years against the copyright notice of the version you read. If you read it online, swap the publisher for the website's name, clear the years if the site doesn't date its pages, 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 lists them after the title with "Edited by." Type the title in Title of the Work and the version's name in Version, then the Publication Year, the Edition, the publisher or website, and the URL. If your copy reprints an older translation, type the year it first came out in Original Publication Year, and PERRLA puts it right after the title.

When you cite a verse, choose Book, chapter, & verse in the citation box. Type the book, abbreviated, in Book (like Prov. or Matt.) and the numbers in Chap: Verse, like 10:34. PERRLA turns the colon into the period MLA uses. For later citations of the same version, open Adjust parts and uncheck Author's name, and the citation shows the verse alone.

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. Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Title

A Bible has no author in MLA, so the entry starts with the title of the edition you read, in italics and title case, followed by a period. Use the title the way that edition prints it.

Holy Bible.

Don't put God, a prophet, or a gospel writer in the author spot. A study Bible's editors don't go first either: they come after the title.

2. Original date (optional)

When your copy reprints an older translation, you can give the year that translation first came out right after the title, followed by a period. The King James Version is the classic case: it was first published in 1611, and every free online copy reprints it.

1611.

Leave this out for a new or recently revised translation, and never guess when the books of the Bible were written.

3. Editors

A study Bible with notes and essays names its editors after the title, starting with Edited by. Write the first editor's name in normal order, first name first. With three or more editors, give the first one and et al.

Edited by Michael D. Coogan et al.,

4. Version

MLA calls a translation or revision of a text its version. Name it in plain type, just as the edition labels it: King James Version, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version. Wording differs from one version to the next, so this is the part your reader needs most.

New Revised Standard Version,

In a print Bible, the version comes after any editors and before the publisher, followed by a comma. For a Bible you read online, end the version with a period instead, because the website that follows starts a new part of the entry.

5. Edition, publisher, and year (print)

For a print Bible or an e-book, add the edition number if there is one, the publisher, and the year of the copy you read, separated by commas. MLA shortens University Press to UP.

5th ed., Oxford UP, 2018.

6. Website and URL (online)

For a Bible you read online, the website is the container: its name goes in italics, then a comma, then the URL without https://, and a period. The MLA Handbook's own Bible Gateway example gives the site and the link with no separate publisher. Bible Gateway doesn't date its pages, so there's no date.

Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/.

A site that dates its copy gets the date before the URL. Project Gutenberg released its King James text in 1989: Project Gutenberg, 1989, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10.

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 labels the text "Holy Bible, New International Version" in the copyright notice under every passage, and the site doesn't date its pages.

  • In-text citation(Holy Bible, Luke 10.33–34)
  • Narrative citationThe Holy Bible tells of a Samaritan who … (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 first came out in 1611, so that year goes right after the title. This one is cited for Proverbs 17:22, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine," and the book name is abbreviated in the parentheses.

  • In-text citation(King James Version, Prov. 17.22)
  • Narrative citationAs The King James Version of the Bible puts it, … (Prov. 17.22).

A print study Bible with editors

The fifth edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible, the New Revised Standard Version with notes and essays, edited by Michael D. Coogan with three associate editors. In MLA, the editors don't move to the front: the entry still starts with the title, and the editors follow it, with the first editor named and et al. for the rest.

  • In-text citation(New Oxford Annotated Bible, Mark 2.17)
  • Narrative citationAs The New Oxford Annotated Bible renders it, … (Mark 2.17).

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for the Bible gives the title of the edition in italics, then the book, chapter, and verse. Use verse numbers, never page numbers: they're the same in every printing, so your reader can find the passage in any copy.

  • First citation: the title, a comma, then the book and chapter.verse, with a period between chapter and verse: (Holy Bible, Luke 10.34)
  • A range of verses: join them with an en dash: (Holy Bible, Luke 10.33–34)
  • Later citations: once you've named the edition, give the book, chapter, and verse alone: (Luke 10.37). Name the title again only when you switch to a different version.
  • Book names: abbreviate longer ones in parentheses, like Gen., Exod., Ps., Prov., Isa., and Matt. Short names like Mark, Luke, and John stay as they are.
  • A long title: shorten it to its first noun phrase, dropping a leading The: (New Oxford Annotated Bible, Mark 2.17)
  • Title in your sentence: put the verse alone in parentheses at the end: The King James Version of the Bible says that "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine" (Prov. 17.22).

In your own sentences, spell book names out: write Proverbs, not Prov. And when you talk about the Bible in general, not a published edition, write the Bible in plain type, with no italics and no citation.

Common mistakes

  • (Holy Bible, Luke 10:34)(Holy Bible, Luke 10.34)MLA separates chapter and verse with a period, not a colon.
  • (Holy Bible: New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:33–34)(Holy Bible, Luke 10.33–34)That's APA. MLA leaves the year out of the in-text citation and uses a period between chapter and verse.
  • (Holy Bible, p. 1342)(Holy Bible, Luke 10.34)Page numbers change from one printing to the next. Book, chapter, and verse are the same in every copy.
  • The Bible.Holy Bible. New International Version.Wording differs from version to version, so the entry has to name the version you quoted.
  • Coogan, Michael D., et al., editors. The New Oxford Annotated Bible.The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Edited by Michael D. Coogan et al.,In MLA, a study Bible still starts with its title. The editors go after it, with Edited by.
  • The Bible is divided into two testaments.The Bible is divided into two testaments.Italicize only the title of a specific published edition you cite. The Bible in general takes plain type.

Quick checklist

  • No author: the title of the edition comes first, in italics
  • The version you read, named in plain type
  • Editors of a study Bible after the title, with Edited by
  • Print: edition, publisher (UP for University Press), and year
  • Online: the website in italics and the URL
  • In the text: title, then book chapter.verse, never a page

Questions students ask

Do you need a Works Cited entry for the Bible in MLA?

Yes. MLA treats a published Bible like any other source, so the edition you quoted gets a Works Cited entry. Your first in-text citation points to it by title.

Do I italicize the Bible in MLA?

Italicize the title of the specific edition you cite, like The New Oxford Annotated Bible, in the entry and in your citations. When you mean the Bible in general, or a version in general, like the King James Version, use plain type.

Do I use a colon or a period between chapter and verse in MLA?

A period: (Luke 10.34). MLA uses periods to separate the parts of a work's divisions, so John 3:16 becomes John 3.16 in your citation. PERRLA makes the switch for you.

Should I abbreviate the book of the Bible in MLA?

In parentheses, yes: MLA abbreviates longer book names, like Exod. for Exodus, Prov. for Proverbs, and Matt. for Matthew. Short names, like Mark and Luke, stay whole. In your own sentences, spell the book name out.

Do I have to name the version in every citation?

No. Name it in your first citation, then give only the book, chapter, and verse after that: (Luke 10.37). If you switch to a second version, name that one in its first citation, and give each version its own Works Cited entry.

How do I cite a Bible app or website in MLA?

Start with the title and the version, then give the website's name in italics and the URL. For Bible Gateway, that's Holy Bible. New International Version. Bible Gateway, followed by the version's link. The in-text citation is the same as for a print Bible.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, including the version element and optional original dates) and chapter 6 (citing scripture by book, chapter, and verse), and the MLA Style Center's answers on scriptural writings (The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998), verse numbers in scripture, sacred texts read online, Bible apps, and the Handbook's appendix 2 example of a Bible read on Bible Gateway (the version, then the italic website and its link), and shortening titles (first noun and its adjectives, no initial article). Example sources: Bible Gateway's NIV passage page, version page, copyright notice, and About page, and Project Gutenberg's eBook #10 page (title, released Aug. 1, 1989), all re-opened on October 27, 2026; the fifth edition's title, publisher, and year from the Open Library record for ISBN 9780190276041, and the editors' names as printed from Christianbook's listing of that ISBN and library catalog records.

PERRLA builds the Bible entry from a Bible Gateway link or a version's abbreviation, and turns every chapter:verse into MLA's chapter.verse.

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