To correctly interpret a quote, all its parts are to be identified.

A quote first indicates the abbreviation of the book which it refers to.
Example: “Mt” indicates Matthew’s Gospel.

The abbreviation of the book name is followed by a number that identifies the chapter.
Example: “Mt 1” indicates the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

The number that identifies the chapter is followed by a number that identifies the verse. Chapter and verse are separated by a colon.
Example: “Mt 1:1” indicates the first verse of the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

If the quoted verses are more than one, there are different possibilities:

A hyphen “-” means that the quote includes the verses ranging from the number on the left and that on the right of the hyphen:
Example: “Mt 1:1-3” indicates the passage included between verse 1 to verse 3 of the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

A period is used to indicate only the verses with the quoted number.
Example: “Mt 1:1.3” indicates the first and third verses of the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

A semicolon is used to separate verses of different chapters.
Example: “Mt 1:1; 2:1” indicates the first verse of the first chapter and the first verse of the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.