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

For busy adults who want to study the Bible but don't know where to begin, Six Weeks with the Bible provides an inviting starting point. Each guide is divided into six concise, 90-minute segments that introduce one book of the Bible. All biblical text is printed in the guides, which means no additional study aids are required.

Reviews - In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers, teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to drink deeply from The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus , president of Religion and Public …

In The Gospel of Mark Fathers Donahue and Harrington use an approach that can be expressed by two terms currently used in literary criticism: intratextuality and intertextuality. This intratextual and intertextual reading of Mark's Gospel helps us to appreciate the literary character, its setting in life, and its distinctive approaches to the Old Testament, Jesus, and early Christian theology. …

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Stephen J. Binz This study enhances today's fascination with angels with an overview of the Bible's presentation of God's angels as guardians and messengers.  Understanding their presence throughout biblical history will enhance your awareness of their invisible presence with us today. Threshold Bible Study is a thematic Scripture series designed for both personal study and group …

No other book of the New Testament has attracted as much attention from commentators as the Fourth Gospel. It has stirred minds, hearts, and imaginations from Christianity's earliest days. In The Gospel of John , Fr. Francis Moloney unfolds the identifiable "point of view" of this unique Gospel narrative and offers readers, heirs to its rich and widely varied interpretative traditions, …

Elena Bosetti Scripture scholar Elena Bosetti brings a prayerful, uniquely feminine, and deeply human perspective to God’s Word and provides the springboard for a more fruitful lectio divina on the synoptic Gospels. This exploration of the Word launches us on a journey of encounter, discovery, conversion, and announcement of news so good that it must be shared.

Reviews - In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers, teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to drink deeply from The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus , president of Religion and Public …

Discover the Book of Genesis for what it is - not a myth, a fairytale, or even ancient history, but a living reality and hope-filled promise.  Genesis: God and His Creation explores the first eleven chapters of Genesis, from the Garden of Eden to the Tower of Babel, in light of the Gospels and Catholic tradition. This Bible study will lead you on a journey through the primordial …

Reviews - In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers, teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to drink deeply from The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus , president of Religion and Public …

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Reviews - In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers, teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to drink deeply from The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus , president of Religion and Public …

Reviews - In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers, teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to drink deeply from The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus , president of Religion and Public …

Reviews - In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers, teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to drink deeply from The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus , president of Religion and Public …

This new critical edition of the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, corrects over a thousand minor errors, but leaves Rahlf’s edition intact. The text is based on Codices Vaticanus, Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus , with variants noted in the critical apparatus. This edition includes English, German, Latin and Modern Greek introductions, History of the Septuagint …

This is a handy edition of the New Testament of the New American Bible that features the largest type of any New Testament in a comparable size. This edition measures 4in x 5.5in. and has a burgundy bonded leather soft cover with the words "New Testament of the New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition" in gold lettering with illustration on the front.  This …

More than any other New Testament writing the Book of Revelation demands commentary. Its often bewildering text is easily open to less than scholarly interpretation. Father Wilfird Harrington brings his reknowned scholarship to the Book of Revelation and conveys its Christian message. He puts the work in its historical and social setting a first-century c.e. province of the Roman Empire and …