PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Other religious texts

How to Cite Other Religious Texts in MLA 9

In MLA 9, a religious text like the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, or the Book of Mormon has no author. The Works Cited entry starts with the title of the edition or translation you read in italics, then Translated by and the translator's name if there is one, and the publisher and year, 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 text's own numbering, with periods between the parts: (Bhagavad Gita, 2.47).

The format

Title of the Edition. Translated by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year. (Online: Title of the Edition. Website Name, Date, www.url.com.)

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท 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

In PERRLA, choose Religious Work. Typing Torah or Tanakh into the reference search opens the same form. PERRLA can't look up these texts for you, so fill it in from your copy's title page or the website:

  • Contributors: add a translator with the role Translator, or the editors of a study edition with the role Editor. PERRLA writes Translated by or Edited by after the title. Leave out any author.
  • Title of the Work: the full title of the edition you read, subtitle included.
  • Publication Year, Edition, the publisher or website's name in Publishers, and the URL if you read it online.
  • Original Publication Year: only when your copy is a newer edition of a text first published in a known year. PERRLA puts it right after the title.

When you cite a passage, choose Book, chapter, & verse in the citation box. Type the book in Book, abbreviated if MLA abbreviates it (Lev. for Leviticus, but Mosiah stays whole), or leave it empty for a text numbered by chapter and verse alone, like the Bhagavad Gita. Type the numbers in Chap: Verse, like 19:18, and PERRLA turns the colon into the period MLA uses. For later citations of the same edition, open Adjust parts and uncheck Author's name, and the citation shows the passage alone.

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

Religious texts have no author in MLA, so the entry starts with the title of the exact edition or translation you read, in italics and title case, followed by a period. Use the full title, subtitle included, not just the name of the scripture: there are many English Torahs and many Bhagavad Gitas, and their wording differs.

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Don't put a prophet, a god, or a traditional author like Vyasa in the author spot, even when a bookstore lists one.

2. Original date (optional)

When your copy is a newer edition of a text first published in a known year, you can give that year right after the title, followed by a period. The Book of Mormon first appeared in 1830, and the edition on the Church's website today is the 2013 edition.

1830.

For ancient texts, the date of composition is usually unknown or disputed. Leave it out: a Bhagavad Gita translation takes only its own year. Don't guess a date like 400 BCE.

3. Translator or editors

After the title, write Translated by and the translator's name in normal order, first name first, as the title page prints it. End with a comma.

Translated by Laurie L. Patton,

A study edition with notes by editors names them here instead, with Edited by. With three or more editors, give the first one and et al.

4. Publisher and year (print)

For a print book or e-book, give the publisher from the title page and the year of your copy, separated by a comma, and end with a period. MLA shortens University Press to UP.

Penguin Classics, 2008.

5. Website, date, and URL (online)

For a text you read online, the website is the container. Give the site's name in italics, a comma, the date the site gives for the edition, and the URL without https://. When the site belongs to the group that publishes the text, its name isn't repeated as a publisher.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2013, www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng.

When the site reprints a book from another publisher, like Sefaria's copy of the Jewish Publication Society translation, the title already names the edition, so the entry goes straight to the site, the edition's date, and the URL. The MLA Handbook's own Bible Gateway example names no print publisher either.

Sefaria, 2023, www.sefaria.org/texts/Tanakh.

Examples

The Torah or Tanakh on Sefaria

The Jewish Publication Society's 2023 gender-sensitive edition of its Tanakh translation, which Sefaria shows by default for the Hebrew Bible. Cited here for Leviticus 19:18, "Love your fellow as yourself," with Leviticus abbreviated in the parentheses.

  • In-text citation(JPS Tanakh, Lev. 19.18)
  • Narrative citationThe JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition renders the verse "Love your fellow as yourself" (Lev. 19.18).

The Bhagavad Gita in translation

Laurie L. Patton's translation of the Bhagavad Gita for Penguin Classics, cited for chapter 2, verse 47. The Gita is numbered by chapter and verse alone, so there's no book name in the citation. Its date of composition is disputed, so the entry has no original date.

  • In-text citation(Bhagavad Gita, 2.47)
  • Narrative citationIn The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna counsels Arjuna to act without clinging to the results … (2.47).

The Book of Mormon online, with its original date

The 2013 edition of the Book of Mormon on the website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, cited for Mosiah 2:17, "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." The book was first published in 1830, so that year can go right after the title.

  • In-text citation(Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2.17)
  • Narrative citationAs The Book of Mormon teaches, "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2.17).

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for a religious text gives the title of the edition in italics, a comma, and the passage in the text's own numbering, with a period between the parts. Use that numbering, never page numbers: it's the same in every edition.

  • Book, chapter, and verse: (JPS Tanakh, Lev. 19.18)
  • Chapter and verse only: the title without a leading The: (Bhagavad Gita, 2.47)
  • Later citations: once you've named the edition, give the passage alone: (Lev. 19.34). Name the title again only when you switch editions.
  • A long title: shorten it to the first noun and the words before it that describe it, dropping the subtitle and a leading The: (JPS Tanakh, Lev. 19.18). When that leaves a word too vague to point anywhere, like Book, use the familiar short title instead: (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2.17)
  • Book names: abbreviate the books of the Hebrew Bible in parentheses the way MLA abbreviates them for the Bible, like Gen., Exod., Lev., and Deut. Books MLA gives no abbreviation for, like Mosiah, stay whole.
  • Title in your sentence: put the passage alone in parentheses at the end: The Bhagavad Gita urges action without attachment to results (2.47).

Other texts follow the same pattern with their own numbering: a Talmud passage by tractate and folio, a sutra by its chapter or verse. In your own sentences, spell book names out. Writing about a text in general, not quoting an edition? Use plain type, with no italics and no citation.

Common mistakes

  • Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita. Translated by Laurie L. Patton, Penguin Classics, 2008.The Bhagavad Gita. Translated by Laurie L. Patton, Penguin Classics, 2008.Religious texts have no author in MLA, even when tradition credits one. The entry starts with the title.
  • (Bhagavad Gita, 2:47)(Bhagavad Gita, 2.47)MLA separates chapter and verse with a period, not a colon.
  • (Torah, Leviticus 19:18)(JPS Tanakh, Lev. 19.18)Translations word the same verse differently, so the citation names the edition you quoted. In parentheses, MLA abbreviates the book and uses a period between chapter and verse.
  • (The Book of Mormon, 2013, Mosiah 2:17)(Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2.17)MLA leaves the year out of the in-text citation, uses the short title without the leading The, and puts a period between chapter and verse.
  • The Bhagavad Gita. Ca. 400 BCE. Translated by Laurie L. Patton,The Bhagavad Gita. Translated by Laurie L. Patton,The original date is optional, and only for a known first publication, like the Book of Mormon's 1830. Leave out a composition date that's unknown or disputed.

Quick checklist

  • No author: the title of the edition comes first, in italics
  • Original year after the title, only when it's known
  • Translated by or Edited by, names first name first
  • Print: publisher and year
  • Online: the website in italics, its date, and the URL
  • In the text: title, then the passage with periods, never a page

Questions students ask

How do I cite the Torah in MLA 9?

Cite the edition or translation you read, like a JPS Tanakh or a Torah commentary: its title in italics, any translator, and the publisher and year, or the website and URL. In the text, give the title and the book, chapter, and verse: (JPS Tanakh, Lev. 19.18).

What's the difference between citing the Torah and the Tanakh?

The Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, and the Tanakh is the whole Hebrew Bible. In MLA, the title on your edition decides what you write: if you read Leviticus in a complete JPS Tanakh, cite that Tanakh.

Do I need a Works Cited entry for a religious text?

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

How do I cite the Bhagavad Gita by chapter and verse?

Give the title, a comma, and the chapter and verse joined by a period: (Bhagavad Gita, 2.47). After the first citation, the numbers alone are enough: (2.48).

How do I cite a religious text I read online?

Start with the title of the edition the site shows, then give the website's name in italics, the date the site gives for that edition, and the URL. You need one entry for the whole text, not one for each chapter's page.

Do I italicize the names of religious texts in my paper?

Italicize the title of a specific edition you cite, in the entry and in your citations. When you mention a text in general, like "the Torah is read in synagogue every week," use plain type.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, other contributors, containers, and optional original dates) and chapter 6 (citing scripture by division, not page, abbreviating books, and shortening titles), the Handbook's appendix 2 example of a Bible read on Bible Gateway (the italic site and its link, with no print publisher), and the MLA Style Center's answers on citing web pages of a sacred text (one entry for the whole site, then the division in the citation) and shortening titles (the first noun and the words before it, no initial article; a fuller short title when the first noun alone is too vague). Example sources carried over from the APA 7 page and re-checked October 27, 2026: Sefaria's Leviticus 19:18 text and version record (THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition, Revised JPS, 2023, source jps.org), Penguin's product page for the Patton translation (Penguin Classics, 28 Aug. 2008), JPS's own page for the edition (Jewish Publication Society, Oct. 2023), Mosiah 2:17 on churchofjesuschrist.org, and the Church's 2013 announcement and summary of adjustments for its 2013 edition.

PERRLA builds the entry for any religious text and turns every chapter:verse into MLA's chapter.verse.

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