While the books contained in the New Testament (NT) do not differ amongst all three Christian traditions (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant), the same is not the case with the Old Testament (OT) books. All three Christian traditions include or exclude certain ancient works in their respective OT canons.
A full list of abbreviations for versions and biblical texts can be found in §8.2 - §8.3.3 (pages 121-125) of SBLHS.
There are dozens of English translations or versions of the bible available today. The list below represents the most widely used modern English versions and their common abbreviations.
| English Version | Abbreviation | |
|---|---|---|
| American Standard Version | ASV | |
| Christian Standard Bible | CSB | |
| Englsih Standard Version | ESV | |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible | HCSB | |
| Jerusalem Bible | JB | |
| King James Version | KJV | |
| New American Bible, Revised Edition | NABR | |
| New American Standard Bible | NASB | |
| New English Translation | NET | |
| New English Translation of the Septuagint | NETS | |
| New International Version | NIV | |
| New Jerusalem Bible | NJB | |
| New King James Version | NKJV | |
| New Living Translation | NLT | |
| New Revised Standard Version | NRSV | |
| Revised English Bible | REB | |
| Revised Standard Version | RSV |
The Protestant OT canon has the same books as the Hebrew Bible (HB), but their arrangement differs. In Protestant English bibles, the OT books are arranged mostly by genre: Pentatuach, Historical Books, Wisdom Literature, and Prophetic Books. In the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) the books are arranged in three groups: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.
The Hebrew Bible has different names for Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. Additionally, the Greek version of the OT (often called the Septuagint and abbreviated as LXX) has different names for 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings.
| Title | Abbreviation | Title | Abbreviation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | Gen | Song of Songs | Song | |
| Exodus | Exod | Canticles | Cant | |
| Leviticus | Lev | Isaiah | Isa | |
| Numbers | Num | Jeremiah | Jer | |
| Deuteronomy | Deut | Lamentations | Lam | |
| Joshua | Josh | Ezekiel | Ezek | |
| Judges | Judg | Daniel | Dan | |
| Ruth | Ruth | Hosea | Hos | |
| 1-2 Samuel | 1-2 Sam | Joel | Joel | |
| 1-2 Kingdoms | 1-2 Kgdms | Amos | Amos | |
| 1-2 Kings | 1-2 Kgs | Obadiah | Obad | |
| 3-4 Kingdoms | 3-4 Kgdms | Jonah | Jonah | |
| 1-2 Chronicles | 1-2 Chr | Micah | Mic | |
| Ezra | Ezra | Nahum | Nah | |
| Nehemiah | Neh | Habakkuk | Hab | |
| Esther | Esth | Zephaniah | Zeph | |
| Job | Job | Haggai | Hag | |
| Psalm(s) | Ps(s) | Zechariah | Zech | |
| Proverbs | Prov | Malachi | Mal | |
| Ecclesiastes | Eccl | |||
| Qoheleth | Qoh |
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition and Roman Catholicism, the OT has a number of additional books and additions not found in the Protestant OT or Hebrew Bible. These books were written in the Second Temple Period. Protestants refer to these books as the Apocrypha and Roman Catholics call them Deuterocanonical. Eastern Orthodoxy has a few more books in addition to the Roman Catholic Deuterocanonical works. All these books, however, were arguably not included in the Hebrew Bible of the Jewish people at the time of Christ, which is why Protestants do not recognize them as Scripture.
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| Tobit | Tob | |||
| Judith | Jdt | 1 Esdras | 1 Esd | |
| Additions to Esther | Add Esth | Prayer of Manasseh | Pr Man | |
| Wisdom of Solomon | Wis | Psalm 151 | Ps 151 | |
| Sirach/Ecclesiasticus | Sir | 3 Maccabees | 3 Macc | |
| Baruch | Bar | 2 Esdras | 2 Esd | |
| Epistle of Jeremiah | Ep Jer | 4 Maccabees | 4 Macc | |
| Additions to Daniel | Add Dan | |||
| Prayer of Azariah | Pr Azar | |||
| Song of the Three Young Men | Sg Three | |||
| Susanna | Sus | |||
| Bel and the Dragon | Bel | |||
| 1-2 Maccabees | 1-2 Macc | |||
The NT canon is traditionally organized in four sections: (1) the Gospels & Acts, (2) the Pauline Epistles, (3) the Catholic or General Epistles, and (4) Revelation.
| Title | Abbreviation | Title | Abbreviation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew | Matt | 1-2 Thessalonians | 1-2 Thess | |
| Mark | Mark | 1-2 Timothy | 1-2 Tim | |
| Luke | Luke | Titus | Titus | |
| John | John | Philemon | Phlm | |
| Acts | Acts | Hebrews | Heb | |
| Romans | Rom | James | Jas | |
| 1-2 Corinthians | 1-2 Cor | 1-2 Peter | 1-2 Pet | |
| Galatians | Gal | 1-2-3 John | 1-2-3 John | |
| Ephesians | Eph | Jude | Jude | |
| Philippians | Phil | Revelation | Rev | |
| Colossians | Col |