When you’re quoting Scripture in your writing, it can be confusing where to put the punctuation. Here’s the rule: you always put a period after the Scripture reference. But is there any other punctuation you need to look out for? Yes. If the quote contains an exclamation point or a question at the end of the quote, you include it in the quote. If there is a period at the end of the quote, you don’t include it.
Some examples:
- “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?” (Romans 3:3).
In this case, there is a question mark at the end of the verse, so you need to keep the question mark. You still put a period after the reference.
2. “What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin” (Romans 3:9).
In this case, the ending sentence of the verse has the period at the end, so it is omitted in the quote. The period is placed after the reference.