Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should...

[kohyoongliat]

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should...

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should not perish, but have everlasting life."

If I rewrite the sentence as follows, are the quote marks needed?

1, Jesus said:

"I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should not perish, but have everlasting life."

2. Jesus said:

I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Hence, is the first or second sentence correct?

Thanks.

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

A comma is preferable to a colon to introduce direct speech. The quote marks are necessary.

 

[5jj]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

Even if you changed the meaning completely, as in, "I am not the way ...", you sfill need the quotation marks. You are quoting what you claim to be his words.

 

[kohyoongliat]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

A comma is preferable to a colon to introduce direct speech. The quote marks are necessary.

If I am not mistaken, the colon introducing direct speech is American English. I often see them used in our local newspapers. In fact, they do not use commas.

 

[Raymott]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

If I am not mistaken, the colon introducing direct speech is American English. I often see them used in our local newspapers. In fact, they do not use commas.

Even so, I believe the quotes should be there, and you don't need a new line after the colon.
Also remember that newspapers often use a different style from what you'd find in a novel or essay. For example, the lines are often only a few words long, and sometimes each sentence begins a new paragraph.

 

[kohyoongliat]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

Thanks, Raymott.

I was surprised to find a colon used after "said" in the following link: BNC Simple Search . Hence, it would appear that the British use the colon after "said". It is not American English, as I thought.

 

[Barb_D]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

This American used a comma not a colon.

 

[kohyoongliat]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

This American used a comma not a colon.

Thanks, Barb. Do the majority of Americans use the colon?

 

[BobK]

Re: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. He who believeth in me should.

Strictly, the quotation marks are needed. But in this case, in the West, the quoted words are so well known that the colon is enough of an indicator (saying 'here comes a quotation')

b