Differences between Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, & Protestant Bibles.

The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. That is no surprise. There are 2.1 billion Christians in the world. It is true that this comprises many different denominations. It is also true that as a result of those many different denominations, there are many different types of bibles. So, my article is really about the scope of these different types of bibles. It is also a guide to which bibles are for sale and which you want to purchase for your edification.

Some would say it wise when being a disciple of Christ to be aware of what the different bibles say and how they came to be. Again, this is the scope of this article. However, ultimately, the only way that one can really know is by having copies of the various bibles and reading and comparing them.

Protestant Bible
In the 14^th century, The Old Testament was altered to suit the contents of Judaism instead of the Septuagint which existed at the time of the early Church. The books of the Apocrypha were excluded and published separately. Initially, the King James Version of the bible contained the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha is a direct translation of the Septuagint which was the bible the early Christians used.

The Earliest Bible
The first bible was a combination of the Jewish Septuagint and the books of the New Testament. The Septuagint was written in Greek and was a translation of the Jewish canon.

The Catholic Bible
The Catholic bible includes the original Septuagint as it was in the time of the early church. These include 1^st and 2^ndMaccabees, Baruch, Tobit, Judith, The Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiastus), additions to Esther, the stories of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon which are part of Daniel.

The Greek Orthodox Bible
The Greek Orthodox Bible contains all the above plus 1^st and 2^nd Esdras, the Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and 3^rd Maccabees. The above additional books in the Catholic bible plus these extra books are called the Apocrypha.

How Changes to the Jewish Bible Resulted in Changes to the Christian Bible
In 100 AD, the Jewish scriptures were rearranged to exclude some scripture and include others. It was at this point that Rabbis decided to omit the scriptures that had been written between 170 BC and 70 AD. These were the scriptures that were written in Greek and not in Aramaic. Christians continued to use the version of the Old Testament that included these books until the middle of the 19^th century when the Protestant Church finally eliminated them.

Modern Types of Bibles
Today, there are almost as many bibles are there are different denominations of the Christian faith. Some are incredibly beautiful and even if one wasn’t a believer, the sheer beauty of the book makes it a desirable purchase.

Some are printed in large print so that those who have weak eyesight can read it. Others have updated the language so that what is being said is more easily understood. Still others have interpreted what is being said in order to encourage a certain perspective. There are bibles that specialize in highlighting those verses that cater to women while others have archeological evidence attached to the various geographical locations in the bible.

Translation vs Hermeneutics
As in all ancient books, hermeneutics and translation are at odds. Because language and culture change, it’s easy to mistranslate what is being said. That is where interpretation of translation comes into being. Most bibles are not only translations of the Greek Version, but have a fair degree of interpretation (hermeneutics) attached depending on which denomination the bible will be used for.

Bibles for Sale
Essentially, when studying anything, it is important to have a broad knowledge of the topic. In this case, knowing the contents of all three different versions of the bible - Protestant, Catholic, and Greek Orthodox, will go a long way to strengthening one's knowledge.