La Sainte Bible, édition enrichie Aléthos-Verités : couverture, illustrations couleur et gravures de Gustave Doré.

Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles: what is different?

Available languages by collection

A shared Bible: why do the lists of books differ?

The Bible is a shared heritage that crosses languages and borders. The Christian traditions presented here share a large body of books, including the same 27 New Testament books. They are not three unrelated stories. Ostervald is a complete French translation of the 66-book Protestant canon, not a summary of selected essentials.

These differences reflect the transmission and reception of Scripture. Protestants follow the Hebrew canon for the Old Testament, arranged as 39 books. Catholics receive 46 Old Testament books, including seven deuterocanonical books and the additions to Esther and Daniel, through their Church’s tradition. Orthodox Churches draw extensively on the Greek Septuagint and inherited church practice; lists and divisions vary. These writings are additional relative to the Protestant canon, but are not merely optional for Churches that receive them as Scripture.

Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles share many texts. Their differences mainly concern the canon, or list of accepted books, textual traditions and translation. This guide explains what to check before choosing an Aléthos-Verités PDF.

Compare the three collections

Compare the three collections
CollectionContentsMain distinction
Protestant66 books: 39 + 27The usual Protestant canon has 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books. Some historical editions also print the Apocrypha separately.
Catholic73 books: 46 + 27The Old Testament includes seven deuterocanonical books and additional passages in Esther and Daniel.
OrthodoxContents vary by traditionThe Septuagint has a central place. Additional texts and their arrangement vary between Churches and editions; there is no single total that describes every Orthodox Bible.

The seven Catholic deuterocanonical books are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach or Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Orthodox collections may also include Psalm 151, the Prayer of Manasseh, 1 Esdras or 3 Maccabees. Appendix texts do not necessarily have the same status everywhere. The wider Ethiopian traditions are not represented by these collections.

Canon, translation and edition

The canon identifies the books; translation renders their words in another language; an edition supplies layout, notes and navigation. The Septuagint is an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, while the Vulgate belongs to the Latin tradition. Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek witnesses are used differently by different translations.

Psalm numbers can differ between Hebrew and Greek/Latin traditions: “The Lord is my shepherd” is often numbered 23 or 22. Chapter and verse divisions can also differ. A different number alone does not establish that text is missing.

A free illustrated reading collection

Aléthos-Verités offers readable PDFs with linked contents, bookmarks and illustrations, without purchase, registration or an email address. Engravings after Gustave Doré and colour compositions accompany the text as artistic interpretations. Page and illustration counts depend on the edition.

Historical translations retain their translator and source credits. “Traduction Aléthos-Verités” identifies new translations produced for the collection. New design or translation does not imply ecclesiastical approval. The English Orthodox reading collection is an editorial compilation; the Romanian edition reproduces the Synodal Bible of 1914. Consult each book’s credits for its exact contents.

Editions and languages available now

18 editions are available: 9 Protestant, 6 Catholic and 3 volumes for Orthodox reading. The languages of each collection are listed above; other combinations are unavailable.

The new Dutch Catholic edition contains 73 books, 2,460 pages and 107 illustrations. It retains the historical Petrus Canisius text, assembled from two transcriptions. Esther chapter 16, absent from these transcriptions, was translated for this collection from Crampon 1923 and is credited “Traduction Aléthos-Verités”. This credit applies to that chapter, not the whole historical text.

Nederlands

French volume for Orthodox reading

The French volume combines Pierre Giguet’s Septuagint (1872), supplements published by J.-P. Migne and the Crampon 1923 New Testament: 79 sections and 107 illustrations. The Song of the Three Young Men is within Daniel 3. It is not a translation of the Romanian Bible. Its official approval by Aléthos-Verités is editorial approval by the publisher, not official approval by an Orthodox Church. Historical translators are credited.

Download the French PDF

Frequently asked questions

Which Bible should I choose?

Choose your tradition and language, then check the source and contents. For liturgical or catechetical use, follow your Church’s guidance.

Are the PDFs really free?

Yes. Download without payment or registration and read offline on your phone, tablet or computer. No printed book is shipped.

Are all collections available in all nine languages?

18 editions are available: 9 Protestant, 6 Catholic and 3 volumes for Orthodox reading. The languages of each collection are listed above; other combinations are unavailable.

Choose and download a free Bible

Sources on the differences

Aléthos-Verités

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