Differences Between the Catholic and 1611 Bibles

It might seem difficult to believe that Catholicism and Protestantism both fall under the same belief system: Christianity. Let’s discover the differences between the Catholic Bible and the King James 1611 Bible.

Terminology

The King James 1611 Bible was the original iteration of the King James Version, which was published in 1611. King James I of England wanted to correct mistakes in the language and in the historical accuracy of the Catholic Vulgate and the other Bibles that had followed it to make the King James Version a supreme piece of literature for that era. It remains one of the greatest works of English literature in history. The Middle English prose marked a defining moment for Protestant Christianity.

Canon

One of the greatest feuds between the Catholics and Protestants was in determining what should be canon. The apocrypha and pseudepigrapha would be reinstituted and cast out of the Catholic Bible several times. However, if you were to find an original 1611 Bible for sale, you might discover all the apocryphal works. Christian Protestants consider these supplemental reading and prequels of certain biblical narratives—but not necessarily canon.

Origin Stories

Another significant source of friction between the Catholics and the Protestants was translation. The original translation of the Catholic Bible was Latin, which in turn was a translation of Hebrew. On the other hand, the King James 1611 Bible and every other Protestant Bible come from Greek translations. So there has been much debate over which books are truer to the original Hebrew text, as both translations have striking differences.

These are the main differences between the Catholic Bible and the 1611 Bible. We could go on all day about the other minor differences, but this piece was aimed at providing the most remarkable things that make both books so unique.