Which books are in the Catholic Bible but not the Protestant Bible?
Seven: Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch, plus longer versions of Esther and Daniel. That is why Catholic Bibles list 73 books (46 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New) and most Protestant Bibles list 66 (39 and 27). Catholics call the seven “deuterocanonical”; most Protestants call them the Apocrypha. Everything else is shared.
Updated November 2026 · Book list checked against the USCCB online Bible · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible (public domain)
Tuesday night, two Bibles on one table
Two neighbors agree to read the Bible together on Tuesdays. One grew up Catholic, one goes to a Baptist church. The first week, one flips past a book called Tobit and the other says, “That's not in mine.” For about ten minutes it feels like they own different books.
Then they count. Every book in the Baptist Bible is in the Catholic one. The New Testament is identical. The difference is seven Old Testament books and some extra chapters in Esther and Daniel. They had 66 books in common and had been arguing about 7.
So they start with Ruth, which both Bibles share, and save Tobit for the week they are curious. In Ruth 1 they find the line both traditions love:
World English Bible“where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16
Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Jewish Bibles compared
Catholic
46 Old Testament + 27 New. Includes the seven deuterocanonical books and longer Esther and Daniel.
Protestant
39 Old Testament + 27 New. Some editions print the Apocrypha in a separate section.
Orthodox
The Catholic books plus others such as 1 Esdras and 3 Maccabees. Exact lists vary between Orthodox churches.
Jewish Tanakh
The same contents as the Protestant Old Testament, counted and ordered differently.
Different counts, mostly the same pages.
How to study together in 3 steps
- Pick a shared book. Any of the 66 works. Short narrative books like Ruth and Jonah are easy wins.
- Read the same translation. Different wordings spark debates that are really about translation, not belief.
- Label the differences. When a question splits along tradition lines, write it down as “traditions differ” and keep reading. Come back to it on purpose.
Wayfold labels every note the same way: In the text, History, Interpretation, Traditions differ, or Debated. We built it like that so a Catholic and a Protestant can read the same screen without either feeling corrected.
Catholic and Protestant Bible questions
Why does the Catholic Bible have more books than the Protestant Bible?
The difference is in the Old Testament. Catholic Bibles follow the longer list of books found in Greek Jewish Scripture used by many early Christians; most Protestant Bibles follow the shorter Hebrew list kept by Judaism. Catholics see the longer list as received and affirmed by the Church; Protestants generally see the Hebrew list as the original Old Testament.
What are the deuterocanonical books?
“Deuterocanonical” means “second canon”: the Catholic name for Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch, plus the Greek additions to Esther and Daniel. “Second” refers to when their place was settled, not to lower authority in Catholic teaching.
Are the Apocrypha and the deuterocanonical books the same thing?
Mostly. Protestants usually call these books the Apocrypha. Protestant editions that print an Apocrypha section often add a few more writings, such as 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh, which are not in the Catholic Old Testament.
Is the New Testament the same in Catholic and Protestant Bibles?
Yes. Both have the same 27 books, from Matthew to Revelation.
Did Protestants remove books from the Bible?
It depends who you ask, and both answers have a history. Reformers in the 1500s set these books apart as useful but not Scripture, and early Protestant Bibles, including the 1611 King James Version, still printed them in a separate section. The Catholic Council of Trent in 1546 formally confirmed them as Scripture. Later Protestant printings usually left the section out.
Can Catholics and Protestants do a Bible study together?
Yes, and easily: pick a book both Bibles share (all 66 Protestant books are in Catholic Bibles too), read the same translation, and mark any question where your traditions read the passage differently instead of debating it mid-study.
Which Bible does Wayfold use?
The World English Bible, quoted word for word. You can choose the Protestant Bible (66 books) or the Catholic Bible (73 books) in the app.
Who this is not for
If you want a theological case for one canon over the other, this page will disappoint you on purpose; read the official teaching of your own church and a careful scholar from the other side. And if you mainly want to study Tobit or Maccabees, Wayfold has no study course for them yet.
The seven books, and the two longer ones
The answer key to the game at the top, with one line on each book.
- Tobit
- A family story: a devout exile who goes blind, his son Tobias's journey, and the angel Raphael who travels with him.
- Judith
- A widow who saves her besieged town from the general Holofernes.
- 1 Maccabees
- A history of the Jewish revolt against Seleucid rule in the second century before Christ, the events behind Hanukkah.
- 2 Maccabees
- A parallel account centered on the temple and on faithful martyrs. Its passage on prayer for the dead (12:43-46) is one reason it comes up in Catholic and Protestant discussions.
- Wisdom
- Also called the Wisdom of Solomon: reflections on wisdom, justice and life after death, written in Greek.
- Sirach
- Also called Ecclesiasticus: a long collection of proverbs and teaching by Jesus ben Sira.
- Baruch
- Attributed to Jeremiah's scribe. In Catholic Bibles its last chapter is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- Esther (longer)
- In both Bibles. Catholic Bibles include Greek additions, such as prayers of Mordecai and Esther.
- Daniel (longer)
- In both Bibles. Catholic Bibles include the Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Young Men in chapter 3, Susanna (chapter 13), and Bel and the Dragon (chapter 14).
Get Wayfold free and start with a book you share
Ruth and Jonah are free, with printable leader guides. Choose the 66-book or 73-book Bible in the app.
Wayfold on the App Store. Updated November 2026.
Related
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- Best Bible study method for small groups: 4 compared on one passageSOAP, inductive, Discovery Bible Study or question-and-proof? All four worked on Jonah 1:1-3, with prep time and the group each one suits.
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- Christmas words in the Bible, explainedImmanuel, Magi, manger, the heavenly host: 14 Christmas words in the Bible explained in plain English, with the verse and the original word.