The Difference Between Catholic & Protestant Bibles

Catholics and Protestants don't seem, at first, to have very much in common. Even the Bibles they use seem to have more differences than similarities. However, the Catholic and Protestant Bibles are actually very similar. They are so similar, in fact, that it is much easier to list the differences than the similarities.

Different Books

The books of Judith, Tobit (Tobias), Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Baruch and Macabees appear in the Catholic Bible but not in the Protestant bible. This is by far the biggest difference between the two. In the very early Church (before 400 CE), there was some debate as to whether these books belonged in the Old Testament. During the Middle Ages, the Church universally accepted these books, but during the Protestant Reformation the reformers removed these books from their own canon. The New Testaments of both denominations are identical.

Parts of Books

The Catholic Bible also adds three sections of books that are not in the Protestant Bible. The book of Esther contains an extra section at the end of the book in the Catholic Bible. Daniel contains two extra sections in the Catholic Bible, one in chapter 3 (the song of the youths), and another at the end of the book.

Translations

Catholic translations of the Bible differ very little from Protestant translations. Catholic translations include Duay-Rheims, Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version and Today's English Version. The Protestant translations are far too numerous to list here. Apart from the differences listed in other sections of this article, there is very little difference in content from one translation to another.

Extras

Most Bibles have concordances at the end and explanatory notes throughout, but Protestant Bibles tend to have many more notes than Catholic Bibles. Catholic Bibles also sometimes have prayers and creeds at the end.

Styles

Protestant Bibles can vary very widely in style, from leather bound with gilded pages to paperback "sports" editions. Teen versions, women's versions and men's versions have been put out by Protestant publishers all containing notes and inserts making Bible passages and themes relevant to the specific readers. Catholic Bibles tend to be a little more reserved and contain more iconic pictures and images if there are any at all.