The deuterocanonical books
Books that Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include in the Old Testament and most Protestant Bibles leave out. Short stubs for now, so the canon choice is visible instead of hidden.
Why these books are here
Christians do not all have the same Old Testament. Catholic Bibles have 73 books. Orthodox Bibles have a few more, and the list varies a little by church. Most Protestant Bibles have 66.
The difference is a group of Jewish writings from the last few centuries before Jesus. Most of them survived in Greek. Catholics and Orthodox call them deuterocanonical, which means “second list.” It means they were settled later, not that they matter less. Protestants usually call them the Apocrypha, which means “hidden” books.
- Catholic: They are Scripture. The Council of Trent confirmed this in 1546. Earlier church councils at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) had listed them too.
- Orthodox: They are Scripture. They are read from the Greek Old Testament, called the Septuagint. A church meeting in Jerusalem in 1672 confirmed them. A few extra books are included, and the list varies by church.
- Protestant: They are not Scripture. Luther printed them in a separate section as “useful and good to read.” The Church of England says they are read “for example of life and instruction of manners,” but not used to set doctrine, meaning official teaching (Article VI). The 1611 King James Version included them.
- Jewish: They are not in the Hebrew Bible.
- The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a larger list still. It includes 1 Enoch and Jubilees.
Churches have split on this; this page does not settle it. The book pages start with the 66 books that all these Bibles share. The short notes below say what each extra book is. Full guides will come later.
Catholic · Orthodox
Tobit
A Jewish story set among exiles in Nineveh. Tobit, a devout man who gives to the poor and buries the dead, goes blind; his son Tobias travels with a companion who turns out to be the angel Raphael. Loud on almsgiving. Probably 3rd–2nd century BC; fragments in Aramaic and Hebrew were found at Qumran. debated
Catholic · Orthodox
Judith
A widow saves her besieged town by entering the enemy camp and killing the general Holofernes. It calls Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, which most readers take as a sign it is a deliberate story rather than history. Probably 2nd–1st century BC. debated
Catholic · Orthodox
Additions to Esther
Six passages in the Greek version of Esther, adding dreams, royal letters, and prayers. Hebrew Esther never mentions God; the additions do, often.
Catholic · Orthodox
Wisdom of Solomon
A Greek poem on wisdom, justice, and the hope of immortality, written in Solomon’s voice. Most scholars think it was written in Greek, probably in Alexandria, in the 1st century BC or around the turn of the era. debated
Catholic · Orthodox
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
Wisdom teaching by Jesus ben Sira of Jerusalem, around 180 BC, translated into Greek by his grandson (the prologue says so). Much of the Hebrew text has been recovered. Practical like Proverbs, with a lot on money: “Lend to your neighbor in time of his need. Repay your neighbor on time” (29:2, WEB).
Catholic · Orthodox
Baruch
Attributed to Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe: a confession of sin for the exiles, a poem about wisdom, and words of comfort for Jerusalem. Most scholars date it later than Baruch’s lifetime, 2nd–1st century BC. debated
Catholic · Orthodox
Letter of Jeremiah
A warning to the exiles against idols. Catholic Bibles print it as Baruch chapter 6; Orthodox Bibles as its own book.
Catholic · Orthodox
Additions to Daniel
Three pieces in the Greek Daniel: the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men (inside chapter 3), Susanna (a woman falsely accused, cleared by Daniel questioning the witnesses separately), and Bel and the Dragon (Daniel exposing an idol).
Catholic · Orthodox
1 Maccabees
A history of the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV and the Hasmonean leaders, about 175–134 BC, written around 100 BC. It tells the rededication of the temple remembered at Hanukkah (4:52–59).
Catholic · Orthodox
2 Maccabees
A shortened version of a longer history by Jason of Cyrene, covering part of the same revolt. It includes the story of a mother and seven sons martyred with hope of resurrection (7), and Judas offering a sacrifice for dead soldiers (12:43–45), which Catholic teaching cites for prayer for the dead. Protestants have rejected that use.
Orthodox
1 Esdras
A Greek retelling of the end of 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and part of Nehemiah, with an added story of three guards debating what is strongest (the answer: truth). In Catholic Vulgate printings it sat in an appendix as 3 Esdras.
Orthodox
3 Maccabees
Despite the name, not about the Maccabees: a story of Jews in Egypt persecuted under Ptolemy IV and rescued.
Orthodox (varies)
Prayer of Manasseh
A short prayer of repentance in the voice of King Manasseh (compare 2 Chronicles 33:12–13). Included in some Orthodox Bibles; printed in the Apocrypha of the 1611 KJV.
Orthodox
Psalm 151
A short psalm in David’s voice about being chosen as the youngest son and facing Goliath. In the Greek Psalter; a Hebrew form was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Orthodox appendix
4 Maccabees
A philosophical speech arguing that devout reason can master the passions, using the Maccabean martyrs as examples. Printed in an appendix in Greek Bibles.