Protestant Bible

All 66 books of the Protestant canon, complete, to read on the site or in the app — no sign-up and no payment.

A Protestant Bible carries 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. It does not include the seven deuterocanonical books that Catholic editions carry. This page explains the difference, shows which translation we publish, and takes you to the full text.

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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 translation we publish

In English we publish the King James Version of 1769, which is in the public domain. A public domain translation is what allows us to publish the whole Bible for free, with no sign-up and no chapter held back — modern translations such as the NIV and the ESV are under copyright and are not licensed to us.

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

We would rather publish one free translation in full than fragments of one we cannot license. The complete text is on the site and in the app, including offline.

See all licenses and attributions

Start reading right here

You do not need to download anything to read: all 66 books are on the site, chapter by chapter, with no sign-up.

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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 Protestant Bible?

66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. A Catholic Bible has 73, because it includes seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament. The New Testament is identical in both.

Why does the Protestant Bible not have the deuterocanonical books?

The sixteenth-century Reformation took the canon of the Hebrew Bible as its criterion, and that canon does not include those seven books. The churches that came out of the Reformation published 66 books, and some editions printed the others in a separate section under the name Apocrypha.

Which translation do you publish?

In English, the King James Version of 1769, which is in the public domain. That is what lets us publish it complete and at no cost. Modern translations are under copyright and are not licensed to us.

Do I have to pay or create an account to read?

No. The full text is open on this site, chapter by chapter, with no sign-up. The app also carries the whole Bible for free, including offline reading.

Is the app suitable for someone from a Protestant church?

Yes. The app asks which tradition you come from the first time you open it and then serves the matching edition, with 66 books. Where Catholics and Protestants read differently, the content presents both readings and does not decide for you.

66 books · Old Testament: 39 · New Testament: 27