Bible References
I understand that some of you are new to the world of biblical citation and have little clue what something in parenthesis might mean. For instance, you might have seen something like:
The first two letters are an abbreviation for which book of the Bible we are citing (see below, "John" in this instance). These abbreviations vary. Sometimes you might not see a shorter book title like "John" abbreviated at all (e.g., "John 3:16"), and some books have a couple of acceptable abbreviations. To give this site some sense of consistency, I *try* to follow the "shorter" citations found in the Turabian writing style guide in this matter. Again, see the chart below to note these abbreviations.
The first number (the "3" in our example before the colon), is the chapter. The verse is the second number , the "16" in our example after the colon. Thus, "John 3:16" is a much shorter way of writing that you should turn to the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of the book of John.
With all of that said, you may also note that most of the verses on this site have hyperlinks automatically added (clickable content). If you let your mouse pointer hover over these links, the verse should pop up. This is meant to be a time saver, but be warned that it is no substitute for noting important information in your own Bible.
Of course, there are multiple versions of the Bible available in English, so don't fret too much if a verse sounds a little "off" from how the version in your lap reads. We are dealing with translations from the original languages, and sometimes there is more than one way to give you the sense of the original verse. While the majority of these translations are fine and trustworthy, for consistency's sake and because I prefer it's reading most often, most Bible references on this site come from the English Standard Version (for resources on Bible Study, see this post).
Turabian Style
Jewish Bible/Old Testament (OT)
Apocrypha (Apoc.)
New Testament (NT)
Information taken from A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed., 2007, sections 17.5.2 and 24.6.1-4.
God sent His son to save anyone who places their trust in Him (Jn 3:16)
The first two letters are an abbreviation for which book of the Bible we are citing (see below, "John" in this instance). These abbreviations vary. Sometimes you might not see a shorter book title like "John" abbreviated at all (e.g., "John 3:16"), and some books have a couple of acceptable abbreviations. To give this site some sense of consistency, I *try* to follow the "shorter" citations found in the Turabian writing style guide in this matter. Again, see the chart below to note these abbreviations.
The first number (the "3" in our example before the colon), is the chapter. The verse is the second number , the "16" in our example after the colon. Thus, "John 3:16" is a much shorter way of writing that you should turn to the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of the book of John.
With all of that said, you may also note that most of the verses on this site have hyperlinks automatically added (clickable content). If you let your mouse pointer hover over these links, the verse should pop up. This is meant to be a time saver, but be warned that it is no substitute for noting important information in your own Bible.
Of course, there are multiple versions of the Bible available in English, so don't fret too much if a verse sounds a little "off" from how the version in your lap reads. We are dealing with translations from the original languages, and sometimes there is more than one way to give you the sense of the original verse. While the majority of these translations are fine and trustworthy, for consistency's sake and because I prefer it's reading most often, most Bible references on this site come from the English Standard Version (for resources on Bible Study, see this post).
Turabian Style
Jewish Bible/Old Testament (OT)
| Traditional: | Shorter: | Full Name: |
| Amos | Am | Amos |
| 1 Chron. | 1 Chr | 1 Chronicles |
| 2 Chron. | 2 Chr | 2 Chronicles |
| Dan. | Dn | Daniel |
| Deut. | Dt | Deuteronomy |
| Eccles. | Eccl | Ecclesiastes |
| Esther | Est | Esther |
| Exod. | Ex | Exodus |
| Ezek. | Ez | Ezekiel |
| Ezra | Ezr | Ezra |
| Gen. | Gn | Genesis |
| Hab. | Hb | Habakkuk |
| Hag. | Hg | Haggai |
| Hosea | Hos | Hosea |
| Isa. | Is | Isaiah |
| Jer. | Jer | Jeremiah |
| Job | Jb | Job |
| Joel | Jl | Joel |
| Jon. | Jon | Jonah |
| Josh. | Jo | Joshua |
| Judg. | Jgs | Judges |
| 1 Kings | 1 Kgs | 1 Kings |
| 2 Kings | 2 Kgs | 2 Kings |
| Lam. | Lam | Lamentations |
| Lev. | Lv | Leviticus |
| Mal. | Mal | Malachi |
| Mic. | Mi | Micah |
| Nah. | Na | Nahum |
| Neh. | Neh | Nehemiah |
| Num. | Nm | Numbers |
| Obad. | Ob | Obadiah |
| Prov. | Prv | Proverbs |
| Ps. (plural, Pss.) | Ps (plural, Pss) | Psalms |
| Ruth | Ru | Ruth |
| 1 Sam. | 1 Sm | 1 Samuel |
| 2 Sam. | 2 Sm | 2 Samuel |
| Song of Sol. | Sg | Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) |
| Zech. | Zec | Zechariah |
| Zeph. | Zep | Zephaniah |
Apocrypha (Apoc.)
| Traditional: | Shorter | Full Name: |
| Bar. | Bar | Baruch |
| Bel and Dragon | ---- | Bel and the Dragon |
| Ecclus. | Sir | Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) |
| 1 Esd. | ---- | 1 Esdras |
| 2 Esd. | ---- | 2 Esdras |
| Jth. | Jdt | Judith |
| 1 Macc. | 1 Mc | 1 Maccabees |
| 2 Macc. | 2 Mc | 2 Maccabees |
| Pr. of Man. | ---- | Prayer of Manasses (Manasseh) |
| Song of Three Children | ---- | Song of the Three Holy Children |
| Sus. | ---- | Susanna |
| Tob. | Tb | Tobit |
| Wisd. of Sol. | Ws | Wisdom of Solomon |
| ---- | ---- | Additions to Esther (Rest of Esther) |
New Testament (NT)
| Traditional: | Shorter | Full Name: |
| Acts | ---- | Acts |
| Apoc. | ---- | Apocalypse (Revelation |
| Col. | Col | Colossians |
| 1 Cor. | 1 Cor | 1 Corinthians |
| 2 Cor. | 2 Cor | 2 Corinthians |
| Eph. | Eph | Ephesians |
| Gal. | Gal | Galatians |
| Heb. | Heb | Hebrews |
| James | Jas | James |
| John | Jn | John (Gospel) |
| 1 John | 1 Jn | 1 John (Epistle) |
| 2 John | 2 Jn | 2 John (Epistle) |
| 3 John | 3 Jn | 3 John (Epistle) |
| Jude | ---- | Jude |
| Luke | Lk | Luke |
| Mark | Mk | Mark |
| Matt. | Mt | Matthew |
| 1 Pet. | 1 Pt | 1 Peter |
| 2 pet. | 2 Pt | 2 Peter |
| Phil. | Phil | Philippians |
| Rev. | Rv | Revelation (Apocalypse) |
| Rom. | Rom | Romans |
| 1 Thess. | 1 Thes | 1 Thessalonians |
| 2 Thess. | 2 Thes | 2 Thessalonians |
| 1 Tim. | 1 Tm | 1 Timothy |
| 2 Tim. | 2 Tm | 2 Timothy |
| Titus | Ti | Titus |
