PHP preg_match bible scripture format

Question

I am struggling with building a regular expression for parsing this kind of strings (bible scriptures):

  \'John 14:16–17, 25–26\'
  \'John 14:16–17\'
  \'Jo         


        

Answer 1

Use this regex :

[A-Za-z]+( ([0-9]+)(:[0-9]+)?([\-–][0-9]+)?(, [0-9]+[\-–][0-9]+)?)?

Or in its 'prettier' version :

\w+( (\d+)(:\d+)?([\-–]\d+)?(, \d+[\-–]\d+)?)?

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UPDATED : To match dashes or hyphens

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NOTE : I've tested it and it matches ALL 5 possible versions.

Example : http://regexr.com?30h4q