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Official Catholic Bible

The Catholics asnwer about your bible please. Why Septugent have 49 books, Dewy Rhames had 49, but now its 46?

You Old testament doesn't have 3 books when it used to. You say "We have 73 books in our Bibles, protestant remove 7 books!" But didn't you remove 3 books, from 76 down to 73, after Dewey Rhames was no longer official Catholic english translation? That wasn't much long ago, 100 years?

I have a Douay Rheims Bible which still contains these books, though they were considered Apocryphal to begin with and were not included in all Catholic Bibles (Bibla Sacra / Latin Vulgatæ).

Here is what the Translators of the Douay Rheims Wrote:
-START-

THE PRAYER OF MANASSES with the second & third Books of Esdras, extant in most Latin and vulgar Bibles, are here placed after all the Canonical Books, of the old Testament: because they are not received into the Canon of Divine Scriptures by the Catholic Church.

THE THIRD & FOURTH BOOKS OF ESDRAS: For help of the readers, especially such as have not leisure to read all, we have gathered the contents of the chapters; but made no Annotations: because the text it self is but as a Commentary to the Canonical Books; and therefore we have only added the concordance of other Scriptures in the margin.
-END-
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For the first 300 years of Christianity, there was no Bible as we know it today. Christians had the Old Testament Septuagint, and literally hundreds of other books from which to choose. The Catholic Church realized early on that she had to decide which of these books were inspired and which ones weren't. The debates raged between theologians, Bishops, and Church Fathers, for several centuries as to which books were inspired and which ones weren't. In the meantime, several Church Councils or Synods, were convened to deal with the matter, notably, Rome in 382, Hippo in 393, and Carthage in 397 and 419. The debates sometimes became bitter on both sides. One of the most famous was between St. Jerome, who felt the seven books were not canonical, and St. Augustine who said they were. Protestants who write about this will invariably mention St. Jerome and his opposition, and conveniently omit the support of St. Augustine. I must point out here that Church Father's writings are not infallible statements, and their arguments are merely reflections of their own private opinions. When some say St. Jerome was against the inclusion of the seven books, they are merely showing his personal opinion of them. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion. However, A PERSONS PRIVATE OPINION DOES NOT CHANGE THE TRUTH AT ALL. There are always three sides to every story, this side, that side, and the side of truth. Whether Jerome's position, or Augustine's position was the correct position, had to be settled by a third party, and that third party was the Catholic Church.

Now the story had a dramatic change, as the Pope stepped in to settle the matter. In concurrence with the opinion of St. Augustine, and being prompted by the Holy Spirit, Pope St. Damasus I, at the Council of Rome in 382, issued a decree appropriately called, "The Decree of Damasus", in which he listed the canonical books of both the Old and New Testaments. He then asked St. Jerome to use this canon and to write a new Bible translation which included an Old Testament of 46 books, which were all in the Septuagint, and a New Testament of 27 books.
ROME HAD SPOKEN, THE ISSUE WAS SETTLED.

"THE CHURCH RECOGNIZED ITS IMAGE IN THE INSPIRED BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. THAT IS HOW IT DETERMINED THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE." Fr. Ken Baker

The decisive shot had been fired.

St. Jerome acquiesced under obedience (Hebrews 13:17) and began the translation, and completed it in 404 A.D.. In 405, his new Latin Vulgate* was published for the first time.

*The word "vulgate" means, "The common language of the people, or the vernacular".
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There is a book (PDF) that explains the History of the Bible, and the Catholic Canon in regards to the Apocrypha i.e., III & IV Esdras & Prayer of Manasses. It is a very interesting book, if your are really interested in the history of the bible, I really recommend this book. http://www.catholicapologetics.info/scripture/oldtestament/Canon.pdf

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	The Scripture Documents: An Anthology of Official Catholic Teachings List Price: $32.95 Sale Price: $21.99 Used From: $16.49
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	This Bilingual English/Spanish Bible uses the popular and easy to read Good News Translation and Dios Habla Hoy in parallel columns on the same page. Maps, index, Bible reading helps and more. Format: Hardcover, 1800 pages...

Catholic Scripture Study Bible RSV-CE Large Print List Price: $69.95 Sale Price: $44.07 Used From: $85.89

Over 800 copies sold in two weeks! Widely available again March 1, 2011: the first Official Catholic Scripture Study International Bible!Saint Benedict Press and Catholic Scripture Study International now offer the only Revised Standard Catholic Edition Study Bible available today!This beautiful leather-bound volume seamlessly integrates Sacred Scripture with extensive study material and reference guides...

The Catholic Church and the Bible $11.95 Are Catholics biblical illiterates? So goes the frequent question, proving that myths die hard. But Catholics ought to be able to answer the charge made by many non-Catholics in this regard. This book is a response to Fundamentalist critics and an explanation of the Catholic biblical tradition. The Catholic Church and the Bible is a significant scriptural study guide, published from a Catholic perspective and particularly keyed to the new Catechism of the Catholic Church. The well-planned, straight-forward text is clearly outlined to make information easy to find and understand. Main topics include: - The Catholic understanding of the Bible - God's Word and its purpose in the Church - A biblical theology of the Mass, the place of the Bible in the Sacred Liturgy - A question-and-answer section that deals with pertinent and popular inquiries made by Catholics and non-Catholics alike This work should be heartily welcomed by both clergy and laity, for Father Stravinskas sheds new light on Catholic Bible study by writing with candor, clarity and scriptural backing. This is ideal for high schools and RCIA programs. "An excellent tool for the Catholic apologist. The reader has everything in one place: pithy answers plus biblical and magisterial citations. Fr. Stravinskas is the best priest-apologist in the country." "Karl Keating, Author, Catholicism and Fundamentalism Fr. Peter M.J. Stravinskas is the well-known editor of the The Catholic Answer magazine, a contributing editor to National Catholic Register , and has written over 500 articles for numerous Catholic publications.

Illustrated Catholic Bible $29.95 Finally, a multimedia Catholic Bible for the entire family! Kids (of all ages) will love the pictures; students will search the Bible and click open the Catholic biblical encyclopedia; parents will enjoy sacred music and consider Church documents about Scripture study (all included in Welcome to the Catholic Church). Included in this disc are the complete Revised Standard Version--Catholic Edition; Hundreds of color illustrations by J. Tissot; Catholic Encyclopedic Dictionary of Biblical Terms; an illustrated Life of Christ; Church documents on Scripture; Liturgical music; Bible maps; illustrated summaries; 10,000 hyperlinks and powerful search capacity.' ' SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: 'Windows ??: Pentium 2+ processor or equivalent. 128MB RAM, Windows?? 98SE, ME, 2000, XP. CD-ROM drive. Internet Explorer 6 must be installed on system (does not need to be primary browser). Sound card and speakers are needed for audio.' Macintosh ??: OS X 10.3+. Sound card and speakers are needed for audio.

Catholic Family Bible - Black $79.95 The Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (the Ignatius Bible ), the text used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is now available for the first time as a deluxe Family Bible. This beautiful translation known for its accuracy, readability, and fidelity to tradition, is now printed in large, easy-to-read type, with over 180 full-color illustrations, and many special features including a 16 page Family record on laminated paper; Old Master illustrations of Old Testament heroes and prophets; a ???pilgrimage in pictures??? to important Shrines and the Holy Land; Full color sections with art and meditations on the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross; 48 inspiring pages on the Life of Christ as painted by the Old Masters; Study aids"including a 256 page Biblical Dictionary and Concordance; Deluxe side-sewn binding and beautifully gold-gilded page edges, and much, much more! This extra-large size, glorious Bible with a cushioned, gold-stamped cover will last for generations! Now with the RSV-CE text and this superb quality you'll have a Bible that is sure to speak for generations"clearly and elegantly.

Catholic Family Bible - Ivory $79.95 Revised Standard Version The Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (the Ignatius Bible ), the text used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is now available for the first time as a deluxe Family Bible. This beautiful translation known for its accuracy, readability, and fidelity to tradition, is now printed in large, easy-to-read type, with over 180 full-color illustrations, and many special features including a 16 page Family record on laminated paper; Old Master illustrations of Old Testament heroes and prophets; a ???pilgrimage in pictures??? to important Shrines and the Holy Land; Full color sections with art and meditations on the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross; 48 inspiring pages on the Life of Christ as painted by the Old Masters; Study aids"including a 256 page Biblical Dictionary and Concordance; Deluxe side-sewn binding and beautifully gold-gilded page edges, and much, much more! This extra-large size, glorious Bible with a cushioned, gold-stamped cover will last for generations! Now with the RSV-CE text and this superb quality you'll have a Bible that is sure to speak for generations"clearly and elegantly.

Catholic Study Bible: Hebrews $9.95 Based on the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition, this volume leads readers through a penetrating study of The Letter to the Hebrews , using the biblical text itself and the Church's own guidelines for understanding the Bible. Ample notes accompany each page, providing fresh insights and commentary by renowned Bible teachers Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, as well as time-tested interpretations from the Fathers of the Church. These helpful study notes make explicit what the Letter to the Hebrews often assumes. They also provide rich historical, cultural, geographical, and theological information pertinent to the Letter. ' The Ignatius Study Bible also includes Topical Essays, Word Studies, and Charts. Each page includes an easy-to-use Cross-Reference Section. Study Questions are provided for the Letter to the Hebrews. These can deepen your personal study of God's Holy Word. There is also an introductory essay covering questions of authorship, date, destination, structure, and themes. Outlines of the Letter and a map are also included. '