Christianity’s Holy Book Bible, has many versions circulated these days. The original version was written in Hebrew as well as in Greek.
These original manuscripts were translated into different languages over time. Primarily to make it easy for people to read.
The Original Bible had the Old and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in Greek.
The Old Testament had 46 books, and the New Testament had 27 books.
While translating it into different languages, a few versions missed the original manuscripts as they were also unavailable.
Key Takeaways
- The Catholic Bible contains additional Deuterocanonical books not found in the King James Bible.
- The King James Bible is a Protestant translation known for its poetic language and influences on the English-speaking world.
- The Catholic Bible uses the Septuagint as its Old Testament source, while the King James Bible relies on the Masoretic Text.
Catholic Bible vs. King James Bible
The difference between the Catholic Bible and King James Bible is Catholic Bible imbibes the original version of the Holy book that contains 46 books of the Old Testament and 27 Books of the New Testament. Whereas the King James Bible includes translations of the old and new testaments, it lacks the 7 Apocrypha’s, making it 39 Old Testament books.
The Catholic Bible, as we say, it is the actual Christian Bible. Further, it contains both the old and new Testaments.
Additionally, it has Vulgate too. The King James Version of the Bible is a translated English Version of the Bible.
I ordered King James; it was carried out in the 17th Century.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Catholic Bible | King James Bible |
|---|---|---|
| Term/ Meaning | Catholic Bible is the general term for a Christian Bible. | King James Bible is one of the versions of the Bible available in Christianity. |
| Number of Books | Catholic Bible has 46 books of the Old and 27 books of the New Testament. | King James Bible has 39 books of the Old and 27 books of the New Testament. |
| Apocrypha | Catholic Bible has Apocrypha in it. | King James Bible does not have Apocrypha Contained in it. |
| Translation Period | Catholic Bible is the first translation of the canon scriptures to Latin. | King James Bible is the English translation of the canon scriptures. |
| Completeness | Catholic Bible is considered complete as it contains all the scriptures in Hebrew and Greek. | King James’ Bible is written in English. However, it does not have the deuterocanonical books and misses out on Apocrypha. |
What is Catholic Bible?
Catholic Bible is the Holy book of the Christians that contains 73 books of the Canon Scripture.
The Canon Scriptures are the Christianity-recognized Holy scriptures as authoritative.
The Catholic Bible was made by referring to the Canon Scriptures. The scriptures were in Hebrew and Greek.
At this juncture, it is better to understand a Jargon used in Christianity
Deuterocanonical Books: These are scriptures written in Greek which is translated from the original Hebrew Structure.
They belong to the Old Testament. These are recognized and approved only by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian Church.
The Catholic Bible not only has 73 books but also includes the Deuterocanonical books.
These were extant in the Old Testament in ancient times.
Catholic Bible can also be considered the version built based on Catholic Canon Law. These laws were made by the authorities of the Catholic Church then.
The rules and regulations direct Christians to follow the activities of the Church.
The Latin version of the Catholic Bible is considered to be the direct translation of the canon scriptures.
It is called the Vulgate and was observed to be translated in the 4th Century AD. Any translation of the Catholic Bible after that happened from Vulgate.
However, it is still considered that the author wrote the Catholic Bible, and the Church believes it strongly.
What is King James Bible?
The King James Bible is the translation of the Christian Bible into the English Language.
It is the authorized version of the Holy Book, published in 1611 AD.
The task of translation began in 1604 under the order of King James I.
This version of the Bible misses out on the seven books on Apocrypha, which must be present between the Old and the New Testament.
King James Version of the Bible is the third English translation of the Christian Bible. The earlier versions were the Great Bible and the Bishops’ Bible.
These two versions had specific problems which the Puritans raised.
Puritans: They were the people who belonged to the 16th century.
They were Protestants and wanted to clear all the problems with Catholic influence from the Church of England.
With this effect, King James I called for a Hampton Court Conference in 1604.
The decision to make another English version of the Christian Bible was completed.
A total of 47 people did the translation. They were divided into six panels for the task to be carried out effectively.
Main Differences Between Catholic Bible and King James Bible
- The main difference between the Catholic Bible and King James Bible is the general term that the bible holds that Christians use. It is the name given to the Holy book by many people. At the same time, King James Bible is one of the many versions available worldwide.
- Catholic Bible contains all the Old Testament and New Testament Canon scriptures. It also includes the seven books of Apocrypha. The King James Bible does not contain all the books that were initially present and used to make the Catholic Bible.
- The Catholic Bible contains the Apocrypha, whereas the King James Bible is devoid.
- Catholic Bible is the first translation of the original canon scriptures to Latin, while King James Bible is the English translation.
- Catholic Bible is considered complete, while King James Bible misses out on many aspects. Also, the King James version has high-sounding English, which was later required to change.
- https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/95b2/d0b072c4b503ef7d8da540cd462f10985e29.pdf
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/44209579
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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