Douay-Rheims (Challoner), American Edition 1899 DRB

Catholic
Old Testament source: Latin Vulgate
New Testament source: Latin Vulgate
Catholic (73 books)
Formal (word for word)
1899
Public domain

At a glance

Language: English
Tradition: Catholic — The historic English Catholic Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate; this edition carried the approbation of Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore.
Church approval: Yes — 1899 edition 'published with the approbation of His Eminence James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore'.
Old Testament source: Latin Vulgate — Latin Vulgate (Clementine), 'diligently compared with the Hebrew, Greek and other editions'.
New Testament source: Latin Vulgate — Latin Vulgate.
Canon: Catholic (73 books) — Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch (incl. Letter of Jeremiah), 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Greek additions to Esther and Daniel (inline)
Style: Formal (word for word)
Year: NT Rheims 1582, OT Douai 1609-10; revised by Bishop Richard Challoner 1749-52; this is the 1899 American (John Murphy, Baltimore) edition.
Translators: English College at Douai/Rheims (Gregory Martin and colleagues); revised by Bishop Richard Challoner
Reading level: Archaic, Latinate English.
Verse numbering: Latin Vulgate
Licence: Public domain
Text source: eBible.org (engDRA)

Notes

Psalms follow the Greek/Latin numbering.

About

The traditional English Catholic Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate at Rheims (1582) and Douai (1609-10) and revised by Bishop Challoner in the 1750s. This 1899 American printing bore Cardinal Gibbons' approval. It includes the 73-book Catholic canon.

Strengths

Church-approved Catholic edition
Includes the deuterocanonical books in their place
Vulgate tradition shared with the Western Fathers

Things to know

Translation of a translation (Latin), not of Hebrew/Greek directly
Archaic English
Some book names and numbering differ (e.g. 1-4 Kings, Paralipomenon, Vulgate psalm numbers)
The annotations in printed editions are probably not included in the eBible file

Not yet verified

That eBible's engDRA is textually identical to CrossWire's DRC title page edition: SOURCE NOT VERIFIED (both describe the 1899 American edition)

Profile checked 2026-10-17.

Books in this edition (73 books)

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit O C (P), Judith O C (P), Esther, 1 Maccabees O C (P), 2 Maccabees O C (P), Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon O C (P), Sirach O C (P), Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch O C (P), Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

Not in this edition: 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras (4 Ezra), Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, Odes

Letters show which canons include a book: O Orthodox, C Catholic, P Protestant (in brackets: printed as Apocrypha or in an appendix).

Publisher's statement

Douay-Rheims 1899
The Holy Bible in English, Douay-Rheims American Edition of 1899, translated from the Latin Vulgate
Public Domain
Language: English
Dialect: archaic American
Translation by: English College, Douai
This Public Domain Bible text is brought to you courtesy of eBible.org.
Help support free Bible access at https://eBible.org/give.php .
2022-11-03

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