Which Bible Should You Buy?

Before comparing labels, you need to understand what a Catholic Bible is: not an anthology of religious texts among others, but the canonical collection of the books the Church recognizes as inspired by the Holy Spirit, containing without error the Word of God addressed to humanity^[12]. This doctrine grounds all the buying criteria below: you do not buy a Bible the way you buy a novel, you receive a text the Church has kept, handed on and authenticated for two thousand years. The article The Bible covers the whole subject (composition, languages, manuscripts, canon); only what helps you choose well is kept here.

The 73 books: the number one Catholic criterion

The Catholic Church recognizes 73 books: 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament^[13]. This list was received in the first centuries, confirmed by the local synods of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), recalled at Florence (1442), then solemnly defined by the Council of Trent at its fourth session, by the decree Sacrosancta of 8 April 1546, in response to the Protestant Reformation which cut out seven books^[14].

These seven books, Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, plus the Greek passages of Esther and Daniel, are called deuterocanonical: formulated into the canon at a second stage, but received and read in the liturgy from the beginning^[15]. Protestant Bibles (Segond, Semeur, Colombe) contain only 66 books and leave these texts out or relegate them: this is the most visible difference between a Catholic Bible and a Protestant Bible, and the first point to check on a back cover. The article Why do Catholics have seven more books? gives the full historical and scriptural case.

In practice: if the table of contents mentions neither Tobit, nor Judith, nor Maccabees, nor Wisdom, nor Sirach, it is not a complete Catholic Bible, whatever title is printed on the cover.

Inspiration and inerrancy: why translation matters

The Catholic faith holds that the books of Scripture, written by human authors freely at work, were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that they teach "without error the truth which God wanted recorded in the sacred Letters for our salvation" (Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum § 11)^[16]. Pius XII, in the encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (30 September 1943), encouraged the study of the original languages, Hebrew and Greek, in order to go back to the inspired text itself^[17].

From this flows the Council's requirement for translations: Dei Verbum § 22 asks that versions of Scripture in vernacular languages be made from the original texts and accompanied by the necessary explanations, with the approval of Church authority^[18]. In other words, a good Catholic Bible is known by three marks: source text (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, not a retranslation of a retranslation), approval (imprimatur or publication by a recognized Catholic publisher) and notes that enlighten instead of misleading.

Church approval: imprimatur and trusted publishers

The Code of Canon Law (1983) states that editions of Sacred Scripture may not be published without the approval of the Apostolic See or the conference of bishops, and that the same applies to translations into vernacular languages (can. 825 § 1)^[19]. In practice, before buying, check for a nihil obstat / imprimatur (name of the censor and of the bishop, with date) or, failing that, the imprint of an established Catholic publisher: Cerf, Mame, Salvator, Parole et Silence, Téqui, Artège, Desclée de Brouwer. A Bible with no mention of approval, sold by an unknown distributor, should raise suspicion: the text may be truncated, the notes slanted, the deuterocanonical books quietly missing.

Latin keeps a reference place: the Vulgate of Saint Jerome (late fourth century), translated directly from the Hebrew, hebraica veritas ("the Hebrew truth"), remained the Bible of the Latin West for fifteen centuries^[20]. Its modern revision, the Neo-Vulgata, was promulgated as the official Latin text by John Paul II with the apostolic constitution Scripturarum thesaurus of 25 April 1979 and serves as a reference for liturgical translations^[21]. A Catholic does not need to read Latin, but it helps to know that the translations recommended here all descend, directly or indirectly, from that treasure.

About twenty complete or partial French translations have appeared over four centuries^[22]. For a Catholic, five deserve a detailed presentation: they are the only ones you can recommend with complete confidence, each with its own profile. The others (older or Protestant) are treated below, briefly, as supplements or as points of contrast.

The Bible de Jérusalem (Jerusalem Bible): the classic for study

The Bible de Jérusalem (Jerusalem Bible) is the work of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, run by the Dominicans: under the impetus of Fr Thomas-Georges Chifflot, literary director at Cerf, and Fr Roland de Vaux, 43 fascicles appeared from 1948 to 1955, then the single volume in 1956, followed by a revised and expanded edition in 1973, reprinted ever since (notably in 1998)^[23]. It is the most widely used Catholic Bible in France and an international classic, adapted in English as the Jerusalem Bible.

Its distinctive mark: introductions and notes among the richest in the French language, written by the best specialists of the time, with an elegant and precise translation. For decades, it was the Bible found on the desks of seminaries, chaplaincies and Bible groups. Points to keep in mind: the notes and introductions bear the mark of mid twentieth century historical critical exegesis (late datings, source hypotheses). Read the last section of this article on that point. For serious study with a strong critical apparatus, it remains the first choice, in its large bound edition as in its pocket formats.

"Access to Sacred Scripture must be widely open to Christians." Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum § 22^[24]

The TOB: the revised ecumenical translation

The Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (TOB) (Ecumenical Translation of the Bible) was a world first: more than a hundred Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox specialists translating together, with the initial edition in 1975, published by Cerf and Bibli'O (the French Bible Society)^[25]. The 2010 edition, fully revised (text and notes), was an editorial and ecumenical event: it adds six additional deuterocanonical books used in the liturgy of the Orthodox Churches, 3 and 4 Esdras, 3 and 4 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh and Psalm 151, at the initiative of the Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute^[26].

The TOB suits especially the reader who wants a modern and fluent language, excellent ecumenical notes and a spirit of dialogue with other Christians. It contains all 73 Catholic books (plus the clearly marked Orthodox supplements). As with the Jerusalem Bible, its introductions partly reflect the hypotheses of contemporary exegesis: read them with discernment (see the last section). In a study or pocket edition, it is an excellent first purchase.

The Bible Crampon (Crampon Bible): the traditional language

The Bible Crampon (Crampon Bible), named after Canon Auguste Crampon (1826-1894), is the great French Catholic translation from around the turn of the twentieth century: translated from the original texts, with the Latin Vulgate alongside, equipped with introductions and notes, it was published by Desclée, and its reference edition is dated 1923^[27]. Its language is more classical, more solemn than recent translations. It is the Bible French Catholics read before the Council, and the one many older spiritual authors still quote.

It is recommended to readers attached to the traditional language of prayer, to those who want to recover the formulations learned long ago, and to lovers of a translation from before the boldest historical critical revisions. It exists in reprints (notably from Desclée de Brouwer and Téqui) and also circulates in digital form. Reading it takes a little familiarity with classical French, but it rewards the reader with great beauty.

"Thy word is a lamp to my steps and a light to my path." Psalm 118 (119), 105, a verse that every Bible worthy of the name must let you pray^[28]

The Bible Osty (Osty Bible): the precise work of a lone translator

The Bible Osty (Osty Bible), published by Seuil in 1973, is the work of a single man: the priest and exegete Émile Osty, with notes by Joseph Trinquet, a large volume of about 2,600 pages^[29]. To translate the whole Bible alone is a daunting task. Osty brought to it a demand for literalness and precision that appeals to readers attentive to the letter of the Hebrew and Greek text. Less widely distributed than the Jerusalem Bible or the TOB, it remains a reference for those who want to compare translations: owning an Osty alongside a Jerusalem Bible gives two complementary views on every difficult passage.

The Bible de Sacy (Sacy Bible): the classic of the Grand Siècle

The Port-Royal Bible, known as the Bible de Sacy (Sacy Bible), after Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy (1613-1684), gave the New Testament in 1667 (printed in Amsterdam), then the complete Bible translated between 1657 and 1696 by the Port-Royal team, with the participation of Blaise Pascal, Robert Arnauld d'Andilly, Pierre Nicole and Pierre Thomas du Fossé^[30]. It is the first great Catholic Bible in modern French, in admirable language, but translated from the Latin Vulgate rather than from the Hebrew and Greek originals, following the method of its time, before Divino Afflante Spiritu. Today it is bought for its literary beauty and heritage value (fine reprints), not as a sole study Bible: for precise work, prefer a translation made from the originals, as Dei Verbum § 22 asks^[31].

The official liturgical translation: the text of the Mass

Since 2013, there has been a Bible of its own kind: the official liturgical translation, coordinated by Fr Henri Delhougne, a Benedictine of Clervaux, with some 70 exegetes and linguists over about fifteen years, published by Mame and Cerf^[32]. It is the text that French speaking Catholics hear at Mass (readings, psalms) since it came into use: a translation designed to be proclaimed aloud, clear and rhythmic. Buying it as a volume (with explanatory notes) means finding at home exactly the words heard on Sunday, a precious help for preparing or continuing the liturgy. The readings of the day are also available free of charge on liturgical websites (AELF), but nothing replaces the complete volume for continuous reading.

All five are Catholic and complete (73 books): choosing among them is a matter of language and use, not of orthodoxy.

People do not buy the same Bible at twenty to discover the Gospel, at forty to prepare a catechism class, or as a gift for a child making First Communion. Here are the most common situations, with the matching recommendation.

A first purchase: discovering the Bible

For a first Bible, the TOB in a pocket edition or the Bible de Jérusalem in a compact format is recommended: accessible language, abundant but not overwhelming notes, moderate price, 73 books guaranteed. Start with a Gospel, Mark (the shortest) or Luke, then Acts, a few Psalms and Genesis, before moving on to continuous reading. The article How to read the Bible as a Catholic? offers a complete method, and the one on The spiritual sense of Scripture teaches how to read beyond the letter.

"The Church forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures." Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 133, quoting Saint Jerome^[33]

Study and going deeper

For study (preparing a talk, leading a group, checking a quotation), a large study edition is needed: the Jerusalem Bible in large format or the TOB with complete notes, with introductions to each book, maps, chronological tables and an index. The ideal is to own two translations (for example Jerusalem plus Crampon, or TOB plus Osty) to compare delicate passages: where translations diverge, it is the original text that speaks, and the notes explain why. The Dead Sea manuscripts and the Septuagint shed light on these variants, and the article on The manuscripts of the Bible explains the transmission of the text.

Pocket, travel and daily reading

For daily reading (on the train, on holiday, at adoration), choose a pocket New Testament or a compact Bible: the TOB and the Jerusalem Bible exist in sturdy small formats, and the liturgical New Testament fits anywhere. A small Bible that you open is better than a large one admired on a shelf. Many readers keep two volumes: the large one at home, the small one in a bag.

Giving as a gift: baptism, Communion, wedding

For giving (adult baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, wedding), aim for a fine bound edition: Jerusalem or TOB in a quality binding, possibly with gilt edges, with the recipient's name and the date inscribed. Add a bookmark and, for a young person, a short handwritten dedication with a verse, for example:

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Gospel according to Saint Matthew, 24, 35^[34]

Children and young people

For children, do not offer the complete volume right away: start with a children's Bible (faithful illustrated stories, from Catholic publishers: Mame, Téqui, Salvator jeunesse), then, around age 10 to 12, a New Testament in simple language, and finally the complete Bible. The standard remains the same: stories faithful to the text, beautiful illustrations without sentimentality, and the publisher's imprimatur.

Not everything called a Bible in French is Catholic. Three cases call for discernment: Protestant Bibles (useful as supplements, insufficient as a main Bible), Jewish translations (rich, but without the New Testament) and sectarian editions (to be avoided).

Protestant Bibles: Segond, Semeur and Others

The Segond Bible, Old Testament 1874, complete Bible 1880, posthumous revision of 1910 which remains the most widespread among French-speaking Protestants, is a serious translation in fine language^[35]. Its heirs (the revised Segond known as the "Colombe" 1978, the Nouvelle Bible Segond 2002, Segond 21 in 2007) and its competitors (Bible du Semeur (The Sower Bible), 1999, in contemporary language; Bible en français courant (Bible in Current French), 1987) are genuinely useful for comparing wordings^[36]. But they contain only 66 books: Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch are missing, which means that a Catholic who owned only these would be deprived of part of the Scripture received by his Church and proclaimed at Mass. They may therefore be consulted as supplements, never as a main Bible.

The Chouraqui Bible: A Valuable Jewish Supplement

The translation by André Chouraqui (Jewish, 20th century), which does include the New Testament, seeks to convey the wordplays and etymologies of Hebrew: it recovers flavours lost in current translations^[37]. For a reader who already owns a Catholic Bible, it is a flavourful supplement, especially on proper names and Hebrew roots. But it remains the work of a single translator outside the Catholic tradition, without imprimatur: it should be taken neither as a first Bible nor as an authority.

The New World Translation: To Be Avoided

The Traduction du Monde Nouveau (New World Translation), the Bible proper to the Jehovah's Witnesses, must be explicitly ruled out as a main Bible: produced by a movement that denies the divinity of Christ, it alters the passages that establish it, the prologue of Saint John ("the Word was God", Jn 1, 1) becomes "the Word was a god" there, and it follows an amputated Protestant canon^[38]. A Catholic who receives it (door to door, as a gift) should get rid of it or keep it only as a document, never for prayer.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Gospel according to Saint John, 1, 1 (the verse every faithful translation must render without weakening it)^[39]

Digital Options: AELF, Apps and Audio

The readings of the day (official liturgical translation) are freely available on AELF websites and many apps: this is an excellent daily supplement, not a replacement, since reading on a screen tires the eyes, scatters attention and offers neither the notes nor the continuous reading of a printed volume^[40]. Audio Bibles (notably the Crampon read aloud) serve the visually impaired, drivers and tired readers. The golden rule for digital tools: check that the app really offers a complete Catholic translation (Jerusalem, TOB, Crampon, liturgical) and not a 66-book Segond by default.

Buying is one step; checking and maintaining are two others. Before paying, or just after receiving a gift, check four points, and equip your reading with a few lasting habits.

Four Checks at the Bookstore

1. The table of contents lists 73 books: Tobit, Judith, 1-2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch present, with the Greek supplements to Esther and Daniel.
2. Approval appears somewhere: imprimatur, nihil obstat, or the name of a recognized Catholic publisher (Cerf, Mame, Salvator, Téqui, Artège, Parole et Silence, Desclée de Brouwer).
3. The notes are doctrinally sound: leaf through the introduction to one Gospel and to Genesis, notes that deny miracle or historicity on principle should raise a flag (see next section).
4. The object suits its use: paper that does not let ink show through, a binding that opens flat, readable type, maps and an index for study, acceptable weight for carrying around.

Format, Paper and Binding: The Physical Object Matters

A Bible is a book kept for decades: material quality is no luxury. Thin but opaque paper ("Bible paper"), stitching rather than simple gluing for large volumes, soft cover for a bag and hard cover for a shelf, gilt edges for presentation editions, sewn cloth bookmarks: these are what distinguish a Bible that ages well from a volume that falls apart in three years. Study editions add colour maps, chronological tables, a glossary and a concordance (index of passages). Prices range roughly from about ten euros (pocket) to several dozen (bound study edition): giving a Bible remains one of the finest Christian gifts at a low price.

"Blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates on his law day and night!" Psalm 1, 1-2 (the programme of every biblical life)^[41]

The Spiritual Sense: Reading with the Church

Owning all 73 books is not enough: they must be read as the Church reads them, in the light of Christ, within the living Tradition, with the help of the notes and, for difficult passages, of a priest or a Bible group. The article The Spiritual Sense of Scripture explains the four senses of Scripture (literal, allegorical, moral, anagogical); the one on How the Bible Was Formed tells how the Church received this treasure; those on The Canon of the Old Testament and The Canon of the New Testament detail each list.

"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me." Gospel according to Saint John, 5, 39 (Christ, the centre of all Catholic reading)^[42]

The Bibles bought today, Jerusalem, TOB, and their notes, were prepared at a time when part of contemporary exegesis proposed late datings and revised attributions: Moses presented as not the author of the Pentateuch, Isaiah divided into several authors from different centuries, Daniel dated to the Maccabean period, the Gospels detached from the apostles to whom tradition attributes them. These hypotheses appear in many introductions and notes of current editions, sometimes stated as certainties^[43].

Yet these theses, however learned, remain hypothetical reconstructions, with weaknesses the Catholic reader should know in order to read the notes with discernment.

Often Circular Datings

Part of contemporary exegesis dates a prophetic book after the events it announces, on the grounds that a precise prophecy cannot precede the facts: Daniel "must" date from the Maccabean period because it describes with precision persecutions several centuries later. The reasoning assumes what it claims to prove (that supernatural prophecy is impossible) and turns this philosophical presupposition into a "scientific result"^[44]. Likewise, many datings of the supposed editorial layers of the Pentateuch rest on one another: A is late because B is, B because C is, with no independent external anchor. These are circular datings, not measurements.

The Argument from Silence and the Fragments

A book is sometimes declared not to have existed at a given time because no preserved manuscript attests it before a certain date: this is the argument from silence, especially fragile for antiquity, where almost all writing materials have perished. Before 1947, it was claimed that the Hebrew biblical texts were only stabilized late; the discovery of the Dead Sea manuscripts (1947-1956), about a thousand years older than the medieval copies, showed a remarkable stability of the transmitted text, notably in the great Isaiah scroll^[45]. Archaeology regularly punishes hasty verdicts: it confirms, it should never be used to deny by default.

Tradition as Witness, Not as Suspect

Against these reconstructions, Catholic reading sets positive witnesses: the Mosaic attribution of the Pentateuch received by Judaism and by the New Testament itself (Christ speaks of "Moses" as author); the unity of Isaiah attested by the Qumran scroll (a single book, copied in one piece) and by Sirach, which praises Isaiah as a single prophet; the apostolicity of the Gospels guaranteed by Papias, Irenaeus and the whole patristic chain of the 2nd century; the unbroken liturgical use of the deuterocanonical books in the early Church^[46]. Tradition is not a pious rumour to be treated as suspect on principle: it is a chain of testimonies fifteen centuries older than the theories that challenge it.

Reading the Notes as a Catholic: A Practical Rule

In practice, faced with a note claiming that a passage was "added late" or that a book is "not by" its traditional author, apply three questions: (1) is this a manuscript fact (an attested variant) or a redaction hypothesis? (2) does the reasoning assume the impossibility of miracle or prophecy? (3) what do the ancient witnesses say (Fathers, liturgy, magisterium)? If the answers reveal an interpretive hypothesis dressed up as certainty, receive it as such, one school opinion among others, and keep the traditional attribution, which is defensible and received. This is exactly the method the magisterium recommends: welcome critical methods for what they contribute (language, literary genres, context), without surrendering to them judgment on the inspiration and truth of the text^[47].

"The interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God willed to manifest by means of their words." Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum § 12^[48]

• The Bible: the hub article, 73 books, languages, manuscripts, canon, inspiration.
• Why Do Catholics Have Seven More Books?: the case for the deuterocanonical books.
• The Spiritual Sense of Scripture: reading beyond the letter, with the Church.
• How Was the Bible Formed?: how the Church received this treasure.
• How to Read the Bible as a Catholic: method of reading and prayer.
• The Catholic Interpretation of the Bible: the magisterial rules of interpretation.
• The Septuagint: the Greek Bible of the apostles and the Fathers.
• The Vulgate: Saint Jerome and the Latin Bible of the West.
• The Manuscripts of the Bible: how the text has come down to us.
• The Qumran Manuscripts: the Dead Sea and the stability of the text.