HALLELUJAH! HE IS RISEN! -This is the chant of celebration heard among Christians around the world. The Lord Jesus Christ has conquered death and He has forgiven our sins with His sacrifice. As one in Christ, we share the same belief that He is the One Savior and Lord deserving of all praise and glory. As Christians, we revere the New Testament and hold it as our canon (dogma) and doctrine. This is our faith, and we profess it proudly.
We all are so intrinsically connected through all 27 books found in the New Testament. This is what makes us all Christians. Have you heard that ‘all Catholics are Christians, but not every Christian is Catholic?’ Why is that? At the TSJ shop, we often get people from different denominations of Christianity looking for a (New) King James, New American, International Version, and multiple other versions of the Bible that exist among our protestant brothers and sisters. So, when I regrettably tell them our Bibles are mostly Catholic, they immediately ask -what is the difference?
So, I will try to give the simplest answer. However, simple still requires historical background, even a brief one, so that way it is understood that we Catholics did not add any books to the Bible. I will also share an inspiring quote from each book. Please know that this is only to answer the difference in books in the Bible, this is not a theological explanation of the scriptures or how each of them came to be. 
The foundation of the Bible is the Jewish Torah, or what we call the Pentateuch, the first 5 books by Moses at the beginning of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books contain the Jewish Law, the first canon. These books may have been compiled at various epochs between 1400-400 BC.
After this time, other Holy Spirit inspired books may have also been written with poetry, wisdom and historic chronicles. The Book of Ezra is set to be the canon for the Old Covenant around 444 BC. After Ezra, we see the return of the Children of Israel and the rebuilding of the Second Temple. Because of this, more books were added to the collection of all writings considered by the Old Covenant people to be the Sacred Scripture. Then, before Jesus was born, the first Greek translation of every book happened. This period is called Septuagint -the moment in which things were first recorded officially in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, or let’s call it the second canon of Israel.
Throughout the centuries, the Bible has undergone adaptations of its varied translations in order to befit the doctrine of the denomination it rules. For these Christian sects, seven books found in the Old Testament do not hold a salvation value and are, therefore, not considered part of the canon for their doctrine. Instead, they consider the books as apocrypha (not law, and not of importance for their doctrine). Whereas Catholics hold these books as treasures because they complete the Bible as it has been throughout the centuries without any alterations to it and as Jesus would have studied them and learned their moral values.
Some of the books that were recorded as Historic included some missing in the protestant version:
- Tobit Or Book of Tobias: This is a beautiful work that shows the ways God tests the faithful and how He responds to prayers. This book tells the story of Yahweh protecting the Israelites. God will provide if you are generous in life. “Give food to the hungry and clothes to people in need. If you are prosperous, give generously, and do it gladly!” (Tobias 5:18) Doesn’t this sound like Jesus?
- Judith: the story of a Jewish widow who uses her beauty to destroy an Assyrian general and save Israel from oppression. “Who are you to put God to the test? You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart… How can you expect to search out God and comprehend this thought?” (Judith 8:12-14)
- 1 & 2 Maccabees: These 2 books describe the martyrdom and sufferings of the Jewish people. These books were zealously preserved by the early Christians. St. Augustine writes that these martyrs were the inspiration of the first Christian martyrs and were thus highly regarded and venerated. “I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things.” (2 Maccabees 7:28)
Then before the Prophetic Books, we have a period of spiritual connection to God and the persistence in the faith. These are the Poetic Books; the most common ones are Psalms and Proverbs which are available in every Bible. But it is worth noting that some books protestants consider apocryphal still hold spiritual value in them that connect us to God:
- Wisdom (of Solomon): As the name suggests, this book gives us wisdom of nature and the role of nature in ancient Israel. This is very similar to Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. It is all about natural wisdom gained through moral teachings. “Those who trust him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.” (Wisdom 3:9)
- Sirach or Ecclesiasticus: Mainly written in Hebrew for the Israelites around 200-175 BC, by Jesus (Yeshua) the grandson of Sirach. Who is also called Ben Sira. He chronicled the life of Jerusalem and its traditions. “My son, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved by those who are acceptable to God.” (Sirach 3:17)
Finally, in the Prophetic Books, we have the high prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah. But the book missing in other versions of the bible is:
- Baruch: The main theme in this book is the importance of Wisdom, the desire to obtain it and how to withstand turmoil holding on to faith. This book in Western and Eastern Catholics is used for Easter and Christmas readings. “Take courage, my children, call on God. He will deliver you from tyranny, from the clutches of your enemies.” (Baruch 4:21)
The Reformation of the Catholic Church in the 1500’s, or the birth of Protestantism, also presented another change in the ways non-Catholics began interpreting the bible. Every protestant bible Latinized the name of God in Hebrew YHWH (יְהֹוָה or Yahweh) and began using Jehovah (think of it like Juan and Ivan -Latinized name). The changes of the sixteenth century in Christianity also brought the removal of the above-mentioned seven books as a repudiation of the Catholic church’s extreme doctrine and the need for a more personal relationship with God rather than an institutionalized church. However, we should keep in mind that the Eastern Orthodox Catholics, Roman Catholics, and Anglican Church have kept the original bible with all 73 books because it was closer to the original tradition, early Christian tradition.
Regardless of the differences in opinions of what books should or shouldn’t be in the bible, the New Testament makes us Christians all children of God and we share brotherhood in Jesus Christ. There is no “difference” in the way we perceive God. There are only differences in the traditions we have been taught.
As Catholics, we only kept every book as it was given to us from the very beginning of our faith in Jesus Christ. We use every book to enrich our relationship with God. We hold the Word of God sacredly inspired and thus give just as much importance to the books our brothers and sisters removed. These books teach us wisdom and faith, perseverance and strength, fear of God and awe of nature. This is the faith we profess, and this is the beauty of our God.
May the light of the Resurrected Christ illuminate your homes and warm your hearts.
Blessings,
TSJ