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The different Bible versions

There are not several Bibles, but different translations of the same Greek and Hebrew source texts. Changes in language require regular revisions. Catholics include seven deuterocanonical books that are absent from the Protestant canon. The Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation is criticised for its theologically motivated choices.

2 min Bible translations Bible Old Testament New Testament deuterocanonical

The different Bible versions

There are not several Bibles, whether Protestant, Catholic or otherwise. There are different translations, all of which have the same origins: Greek texts for the New Testament and Hebrew texts for the Old Testament.

The contains only the Old Testament.

It is important to note that the so-called New World Translation is subject to criticism, particularly because certain translation choices were made to bring it into line with Jehovah's Witnesses' theology. Some scholars regard these choices as dishonest and indefensible.

The meanings of our words change over time, and some words disappear. It therefore becomes necessary to use terms that readers can understand, hence the successive adaptations.

These are often merely revisions, as we see with the different versions of Louis Segond's or Augustin Crampon's translations. Catholic Christians have added seven further books to their translations, exclusively in the Old Testament. These books are called deuterocanonical or .