Catholic Bible

All 73 books, with the seven deuterocanonical books and the additions to Esther and Daniel — complete, to read on the site or in the app.

A Catholic Bible differs from a Protestant one by seven Old Testament books and by passages in Esther and Daniel that Protestant editions do not carry. This page sets out exactly which they are, why the difference exists, and where to read each of them.

Open the Catholic Bible

The difference, in one sentence

A Catholic Bible has 73 books and a Protestant Bible has 66. The 27 books of the New Testament are the same in both; the entire difference sits in the Old Testament, in seven books and in some passages of Esther and Daniel.

	Catholic Bible	Protestant Bible
Old Testament	46	39
New Testament	27	27
Total	73	66

Why the difference exists

The seven books were in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in use in the first century and passed into the Latin Vulgate. The sixteenth-century Reformation took the canon of the Hebrew Bible as its criterion, and that canon does not include them, so the churches that came out of the Reformation published 66 books. The Council of Trent confirmed the 73 for the Catholic Church in 1546. It is a disagreement about which list of books is canonical — not about the contents of the books both traditions share.

This page describes the difference; it does not decide which canon is correct. For guidance from your own community, talk to your priest or your pastor.

The seven books that make the difference

These are the books a Catholic Bible carries and a Protestant one does not. Each links to the full text here on the site.

The edition we publish

In English we publish the Catholic Public Domain Version, translated from the Latin Vulgate and in the public domain. It carries all 73 books, which is why the deuterocanonical text on this site is complete in English — the seven books and the additions to Esther and Daniel, readable in full.

What is published in English

The editions this site and the app serve in this language, with the license for each.

Catholic Public Domain Version
73 books
License: Public Domain
King James Version
66 books
License: Public Domain

No imprimatur and no ecclesiastical approval. It is a reading and study edition assembled from freely available texts — for official liturgical or catechetical use, seek an edition approved by your diocese.

See all licenses and attributions

Start reading right here

You do not need to download anything to read: all 73 books are on the site, chapter by chapter, deuterocanonical books included.

Open the Catholic Bible

In the app

Faith Flame asks which tradition you come from the first time you open it, and from then on serves the matching edition — in reading, in the verse of the day and in chat answers, which cite chapter and verse from the edition you chose. You can switch later in the settings.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Catholic Bible?

73 books: 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. A Protestant Bible has 66, because it does not include the seven deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament. The New Testament is identical in both.

Which are the deuterocanonical books?

Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees — plus the Greek additions to Esther and the chapters of Daniel containing the story of Susanna and that of Bel and the dragon.

Is the Catholic New Testament different from the Protestant one?

No. The 27 books of the New Testament are the same in both traditions. The canon difference lies entirely in the Old Testament. What changes between editions is the translation, and that is true of any Bible.

Does this edition have an imprimatur?

No. The Catholic Public Domain Version has no imprimatur and has not been submitted to any ecclesiastical authority. It is a reading and study edition assembled from public domain texts. We say so because the alternative is letting you assume otherwise.

Why is the Psalm numbering different from the one I know?

The Catholic Public Domain Version follows the Vulgate numbering, which runs one number behind the Hebrew numbering through most of the psalter: the psalm that is 23 in a Protestant Bible is 22 there. Both numbers point at the same psalm.

73 books · Old Testament: 46 · New Testament: 27