How Many Books Are in a Catholic Bible?
The Bible is often noted to be one of the most-read books of all time, but that doesn’t mean everyone agrees on what it should be. Although these are not official names or translations, you’ll often hear people refer to a “Catholic Bible” versus a “Protestant Bible.”
What’s the Difference?
So-called Catholic and Protestant Bibles both have 27 books in the New Testament. The difference between the two lies in the Old Testament – Catholic versions have 46 books in the Old Testament, while Protestant versions have 39. Not surprisingly, this difference stems from the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther founded the Protestant Church in the 1500s.
A 73-book Bible was formally approved in AD 382 at the Council of Rome, convened by Pope Damascus. When Martin Luther began presenting his proposed reforms of the Catholic Church, he called into question some books of the Bible, feeling that they were not aligned with the earlier, more accurate Jewish translations. Although “Protestant” Bibles of that time typically still included all 73 books, the Old Testament books Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Baruch (includes Letters of Jeremiah), I and II Maccabees were considered apocrypha or “deuterocanonical books.” It was not until 1885 that Bibles were printed with 66 books, and thus what we now know as the “Protestant Bible” was born. In addition to those seven books, there are also certain sections of the Books of Esther and Daniel that are not found in Protestant Bibles.
The books of the Bible are:
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Old Testament: |
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Genesis |
Tobit (Deuterocanonical) |
Ezekiel |
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Exodus |
Judith (Deuterocanonical) |
Daniel |
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Leviticus |
Esther |
Hosea |
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Numbers |
1 Maccabees (Deuterocanonical) |
Joel |
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Deuteronomy |
2 Maccabees (Deuterocanonical) |
Amos |
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Joshua |
Job |
Obadiah |
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Judges |
Psalms |
Jonah |
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Ruth |
Proverbs |
Micah |
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1 Samuel |
Ecclesiastes |
Nahum |
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2 Samuel |
Song of Songs |
Habakkuk |
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1 Kings |
Wisdom (Deuterocanonical) |
Zephaniah |
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2 Kings |
Sirach (Deuterocanonical) |
Haggai |
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1 Chronicles |
Isaiah |
Zechariah |
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2 Chronicles |
Jeremiah |
Malachi |
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Ezra |
Lamentations |
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Nehemiah |
Baruch (Deuterocanonical) |
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New Testament: |
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Matthew |
Ephesians |
Hebrews |
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Mark |
Philippians |
James |
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Luke |
Colossians |
1 Peter |
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John |
1 Thessalonians |
2 Peter |
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Acts |
2 Thessalonians |
1 John |
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Romans |
1 Timothy |
2 John |
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1 Corinthians |
2 Timothy |
3 John |
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2 Corinthians |
Titus |
Jude |
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Galatians |
Philemon |
Revelation |