All Bibles are not the same. The Catholic Bible contains seven books of the Old Testament which are not found in Protestant Bibles. These books include:

• Judith
• Wisdom
• Tobit
• Sirach
• Baruch
• 1 and 2 Macabees
• Portions of Esther
• Portions of Daniel

These books are sometimes referred to as the "Apocrypha" by Protestants or the "Deuterocanonical" books meaning "also canonical" by Catholics.

Bible History

During the early centuries of the Church there was plenty of debate and discussion about which books actually were authentic and inspired Sacred Scripture. The early Church councils of Hippo (393) and of Carthage (397) both declared that the books currently contained in the Catholic Bible (the canon of Sacred Scripture) were the inspired Word of God and belonged in the Bible.

During the Reformation, Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders removed these books from the Bible. Luther even argued that the Letter of St. James and the Book of Revelation (The Apocalypse) should be removed from the Bible! The Council of Trent in 1546 reaffirmed what the councils of Hippo and Carthage had proclaimed over 1000 years earlier: that the texts found in the Catholic Bible are all the authentic Word of God and comprise the complete canon of Sacred Scripture.

Catholic Bible Translations

There are several different English translations available for the Catholic Bible. The primary ones include:

• Douay Rheims - This is the oldest English translation available and is frequently compared with the King James version because of its use of "Thee", "Thou" and other older forms of words. This translation is considered highly accurate but can be more difficult to read for some people.
• Revised Standard (RSV) - This was a joint translation project between American Protestants and Catholics with the Catholic Church completing the translation of the Apocrypha. This translation is considered the most accurate modern translation but still contains "Thee" and "Thou" when referring to God. This translation along with the New American Bible was approved for liturgical use in the United States.
• Revised Standard 2nd Edition - This version is almost identical to the regular Revised Standard but updates the language by getting rid of "Thee" and "Thou".
• New American Bible (NAB) - This version is the most common American translation. It was written for an eighth grade reading level and contains the most "modern" language of the primary Catholic translations. The New American Bible is available in more versions than any other Catholic Bible.
• Jerusalem Bible - The Jerusalem Bible, completed in 1966, is very similar to

Specifically geared to the adult learner, this guide to reading the New Testament captures the richness of Christian tradition and relates learning to everyday living. Review - " How to Read the New Testament by Etienne Charpentier comes from the French series by Les Editions du Cerf. It can be read as volume two, following Charpentier's book 'How to Read the Old Testament', or as a …

This book is for those who want to read the Bible but don't know how to go about it. It is a modest, yet ambitous guide to the Old Testament geared toward the adult learner. Review - "This book is in some ways a guide for those who don't know how to read the Bible. It is in some ways done as a travel guide - the Bible is the destination, but like most geographic places, there are …

The How-To Book Of The Bible - Everything You Need To KNow But No One Ever Taught You Karl A. Schultz Perhaps you know very little about the Bible ... or enough to realize there's so much more to discover! Maybe your previous attempts to read the Bible have not been fruitful, and you don't get much out of the readings at Mass. You observe the role the Bible plays in the lives of others and …

The Readers Edition is the perfect companion for devotional reading. Travelers, commuters, and hospital visitors alike will appreciate this easy-to-carry Bible. It features readable type and additional materials that will be of interest to Catholic Readers. This edition contains the following useful features: Dei Verbum, the Vatican II document explaining how God reveals Himself in the …

The Compact Edition is the perfect companion for devotional reading.  Travellers, commuters, and hospital visitors alike will appreciate this easy-to-carry Bible.  It features readable type and additional materials that will be of interest to Catholic readers. The RSV Catholic Edition's New Testament appeared in 1965, and the whole Bible the following year.  It remains the …

The Compact Edition is the perfect companion for devotional reading.  Travellers, commuters, and hospital visitors alike will appreciate this easy-to-carry Bible.  It features readable type and additional materials that will be of interest to Catholic readers. The RSV Catholic Edition's New Testament appeared in 1965, and the whole Bible the following year.  It remains the …

A completely new typeset and designed edition of the popular Ignatius Revised Standard Version Bible, with minor revisions to some of the archaic language used in the first edition. This revised version is a contemporary English translation without dumbing-down the text. This second edition of the RSV doesn't put the biblical text through a filter to make it acceptable to current tastes and …

The only major modern translation of the Catholic Bible in standard English.  Acclaimed for decades as the clearest, most accurate and most beautiful modern translation. Very readable and faithful to tradition. The beautiful blue hardcover has gold lettering reading: "Ignatius, The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition".

Read by Mark Taheny Available on CD for the first time, here is the audio version of the New testament that was chosen by the Holy See for use in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and all official English translations of Church documents. Perfect for serious study and apologetics, the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (a.k.a. The Ignatius Bible ) is also the translation of choice …

The only major modern translation of the Catholic Bible in standard English.  Acclaimed for decades as the clearest, most accurate and most beautiful modern translation. Very readable and faithful to tradition. The beautiful blue softcover has gold lettering reading: "Ignatius, The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition".

This book is a popular introduction to each of the 73 books of the Bible designed to help the reader grow in the knowledge and love of God's Word.  The introduction to each book includes the time frame and author, the theme, a summary of the contents and some comments about the context in which it was written, the theology of the book, an outline, and a prayer taken from the book.  …

The work of a skilled and careful biblical scholar, this hard-bound Interdisciplinary Atlas of the Bible illustrates the books of Sacred Scripture beginning with the biblical, historical, archaeological and social context that surrounded the origin of the passages from the Old and New Testaments. By means of brief and timely texts, alternating with more than 80 full-color entirely new maps, …

This paperback New American Bible is intended for youth ages 13-17. Font size in 9pt.          Features: Hundreds of study notes Book Introductions 40 articles answering teens' frequently asked questions Topical Index  

This instruction contains the following: Methods and Approaches for Interpretation Hermeneutical Questions Characterstics of Catholic Interpretation Interpretation of the Bible in the Life of the Church

About this book:   This introduction to New Testament exegesis helps readers by explaining in a simple and brief way the basic literary methods used in studying the New Testament today: textual criticism, translations, words and motifs, source criticism, form criticism, historical criticism, redaction criticism, and parallels. It is a beginner's book, designed to make explicit some of the …

"Stephen Binz presents an easy-to-follow introduction to Catholic Biblical interpretation. His coverage of the many issues is in a clear and concise style, the fruit of many years’ experience in opening the Bible to lay people. Both beginners and seasoned Bible students will find information here that is helpful and encouraging as they continue to listen for God’s voice in the …

Review: "At a time when knowledge of the Bible has declined while religious fundamentalism is on the rise, this concise, clear and accurate account of the origins of the Bible and history of its interpretation is invaluable. Dawes is a gifted writer. He not only communicates a great deal of information in a short space but also invites the reader on a journey of discovery, which concludes …

Fr. John Laux Catholics who feel lost when facing Bible study will find Introduction to the Bible an extremely valuable, very thorough orientation to Sacred Scripture.  Includes the true meaning of Inspiration, guidelines to understanding the Bible and the Church's role as the Bible's official interpreter.  Also gives an introduction to each of the Bible's 72 books, with well-chosen …