Quoting Bible versions?

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Many Bible versions have copyright. Which versions are allowed to be quoted on the internet, like on Facebook and forums?

I know versions in the public domain are allowed to be quoted, such as the Douay-Rheims.
 
Zenkai said:
Many Bible versions have copyright. Which versions are allowed to be quoted on the internet, like on Facebook and forums?

I know versions in the public domain are allowed to be quoted, such as the Douay-Rheims.
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Public domain books have no restriction on the amount you can quote from them. Copyrighted works can still be quoted from under Fair Use. Fair Use means that you are quoting a portion of a work for purposes of discussion or criticism, and you cite the source. Bibles usually are easy to cite because most have a three or four digit abbreviation and they almost all come with chapter/verse divisions. So you can say John 1:1 NAB for the New American Bible, and you’d be good. With Fair Use, there is no law specifying exactly how much you may quote, because when it is brought up in court it is considered on a case-by-case basis and the jurists try to make a reasonable judgment. That said, most Bible publishers won’t sue you for quoting their books even if you step over the reasonable limit, because it is bad press, so you basically don’t have anything to worry about.
 
Most Bible versions also explicitly allow the quotation of up to a certain number of verses or words, subject to certain conditions (e.g. does not constitute more than 50% of the total work, does not consist of a whole book of the Bible etc.) Usually that number is 500. It’s perfectly fine to quote copyrighted translations such as the RSV, NRSV, ESV, JB, etc.
 
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