Editing Bible (section)

=== Christian Bible ===
{{Main|Biblical canon|List of English Bible translations}}
{{Christianity}}
[[File:Gutenberg Bible scan.jpg|thumb|A page from the [[Gutenberg Bible]]]]
A Christian Bible is a set of books divided into the Old and New Testament that a [[Christian denomination]] has, at some point in their past or present, regarded as divinely inspired scripture by the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]].{{sfn|Johnson|2012|p=374}} The [[Early Christianity|Early Church]] primarily used the Septuagint, as it was written in Greek, the common tongue of the day, or they used the [[Targum]]s among [[Aramaic]] speakers. Modern English translations of the Old Testament section of the Christian Bible are based on the [[Masoretic Text]].{{sfn|VanderKam|Flint|2013|p=87}} The Pauline epistles and the gospels were soon added, along with other writings, as the New Testament.{{sfn|Kelly|2000|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UivDgM0WywoC&pg=PA31 31–32]}}

==== Old Testament ====
{{Main|Old Testament}}
{{Further|Development of the Old Testament canon}}
The Old Testament has been important to the life of the Christian church from its earliest days. Bible scholar [[N. T. Wright]] says "Jesus himself was profoundly shaped by the scriptures."{{sfn|Wright|2005|p=3}} Wright adds that the earliest Christians searched those same Hebrew scriptures in their effort to understand the earthly life of Jesus. They regarded the "holy writings" of the Israelites as necessary and instructive for the Christian, as seen from Paul's words to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:15), as pointing to the Messiah, and as having reached a climactic fulfilment in Jesus generating the "[[new covenant]]" prophesied by [[Jeremiah]].<ref name="Wright">{{harvnb|Wright|2005|p=}}</ref>

The [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Old Testament of the 21st century has a 39-book canon. The number of books (although not the content) varies from the Jewish Tanakh only because of a different method of division. The term "Hebrew scriptures" is often used as being synonymous with the Protestant Old Testament, since the surviving scriptures in Hebrew include only those books.

However, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes 46 books as its Old Testament (45 if Jeremiah and Lamentations are counted as one),<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|120}}</ref> and the Eastern Orthodox Churches recognize six additional books. These additions are also included in the [[Syriac versions of the Bible]] called the ''Peshitta'' and the [[Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon|Ethiopian Bible]].{{efn|name="FUP1970"|Even though they were not placed on the same level as the canonical books, still they were useful for instruction. ... These – and others that total fourteen or fifteen altogether – are the books known as the Apocrypha. {{harvnb|Williams|1970|p=141}}}}{{efn|name="Ewert"|"English Bibles were patterned after those of the Continental Reformers by having the Apocrypha set off from the rest of the OT. Coverdale (1535) called them "Apocrypha". All English Bibles prior to 1629 contained the Apocrypha. Matthew's Bible (1537), the Great Bible (1539), the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishop's Bible (1568), and the King James Bible (1611) contained the Apocrypha. Soon after the publication of the KJV, however, the English Bibles began to drop the Apocrypha and eventually they disappeared entirely. The first English Bible to be printed in America (1782–83) lacked the Apocrypha. In 1826 the British and Foreign Bible Society decided to no longer print them. Today the trend is in the opposite direction, and English Bibles with the Apocrypha are becoming more popular again." {{harvnb|Ewert|2010|p=104}}}}{{efn|name="Wells1911"|"Fourteen books and parts of books are considered ''Apocryphal'' by Protestants. Three of these are recognized by Roman Catholics also as ''Apocryphal''."{{harvnb|Wells|1911|p=41}}}}

Because the canon of Scripture is distinct for Jews, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Western Protestants, the contents of each community's Apocrypha are unique, as is its usage of the term. For Jews, none of the apocryphal books are considered canonical. Catholics refer to this collection as "[[Deuterocanonical books]]" (second canon) and the Orthodox Church refers to them as "[[Anagignoskomena]]" (that which is read).{{sfn|Pace|2016|p=349}}{{Efn|[[Canon of Trent#List|the Canon of Trent]]:{{blockquote|But if anyone receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate edition; and knowingly and deliberately [[contemn]] the traditions aforesaid; let him be [[anathema]].|''Decretum de Canonicis Scripturis'', Council of Trent, 8 April 1546}}}}

Books included in the Catholic, Orthodox, Greek, and Slavonic Bibles are: [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]], [[Book of Judith|Judith]], the [[Book of Wisdom|Wisdom of Solomon]], [[Sirach]] (or Ecclesiasticus), [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]], the [[Letter of Jeremiah]] (also called the Baruch Chapter 6), [[1 Maccabees]], [[2 Maccabees]], the [[Additions to Esther|Greek Additions to Esther]] and the [[Additions to Daniel|Greek Additions to Daniel]].{{sfn|Reinhartz|2021|p=19}}

The [[Greek Orthodox Church]], and the Slavonic churches (Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia) also add:{{sfn|Pace|2016|p=350}}
* [[3 Maccabees]]
* [[1 Esdras]]
* [[Prayer of Manasseh]]
* [[Psalm 151]]
[[2 Esdras]] (4 Esdras), which is not included in the Septuagint, does not exist in Greek, though it does exist in Latin. There is also [[4 Maccabees]] which is only accepted as canonical in the [[Georgian Orthodox Church|Georgian Church]]. It is in an appendix to the Greek Orthodox Bible, and it is therefore sometimes included in collections of the Apocrypha.{{sfn|Reinhartz|2021|p=20}}

The [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] also includes:
* [[Psalms 152–155|Psalms 151–155]]
* The [[Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch|Apocalypse of Baruch]]
* [[2 Baruch#The Letter of Baruch|The Letter of Baruch]]{{sfn|McDonald|2021|p=43}}

The [[Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon|Ethiopian Old Testament Canon]] uses [[Book of Enoch|Enoch]] and [[Jubilees]] (that only survived in Ge'ez), [[Meqabyan|1–3 Meqabyan]], [[1 Esdras|Greek Ezra]], [[2 Esdras]], and Psalm 151.{{efn|name="Wells1911"}}{{efn|name="FUP1970"}}

The [[Revised Common Lectionary]] of the [[Lutheran Church]], [[Moravian Church]], [[Reformed Church]]es, [[Anglican Church]] and [[Methodist Church]] uses the apocryphal books liturgically, with alternative Old Testament readings available.{{efn|"In all places where a reading from the deuterocanonical books (The Apocrypha) is listed, an alternate reading from the canonical Scriptures has also been provided."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/rcl_introduction_web.pdf |title=The Revised Common Lectionary |year=1992 |publisher=Consultation on Common Texts |access-date=19 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701230910/http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/RCL_Introduction_Web.pdf |archive-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>}} Therefore, editions of the Bible intended for use in the Lutheran Church and Anglican Church include the fourteen books of the Apocrypha, many of which are the deuterocanonical books accepted by the Catholic Church, plus [[1 Esdras]], [[2 Esdras]] and the [[Prayer of Manasseh]], which were in the Vulgate appendix.{{sfn|Campbell|2000|pp=336–337}}

The [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] Churches use most of the books of the Septuagint, while [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches usually do not. After the [[Protestant Reformation]], many Protestant Bibles began to follow the Jewish canon and exclude the additional texts, which came to be called ''[[apocrypha]]l''. The Apocrypha are included under a separate heading in the [[King James Version]] of the Bible, the basis for the [[Revised Standard Version]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NETS: Electronic Edition |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/ |publisher=Ccat.sas.upenn.edu |date=11 February 2011 |access-date=13 August 2012 |archive-date=29 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110729150550/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="toccolours" style="width:75%; margin:auto; clear:center; text-align:left; font-size:85%;" cellspacing="0"
|- style="vertical-align:bottom; font-weight:bold;"
| style="border-bottom:2px groove #aaa; "| The Orthodox <br />Old Testament{{sfn|McLay|2003|pp=3–4}}{{efn|The canon of the original Old Greek LXX is disputed. This table reflects the canon of the Old Testament as used currently in Orthodoxy.}}
| style="border-bottom:2px groove #aaa; "|Greek-based<br /> name
| style="border-bottom:2px groove #aaa; "|Conventional<br /> English name
|-
!colspan=3|Law
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Γένεσις}} || Génesis || Genesis
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἔξοδος}} || Éxodos || Exodus
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Λευϊτικόν}} || Leuitikón || Leviticus
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἀριθμοί}} || Arithmoí || Numbers
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Δευτερονόμιον}} || Deuteronómion || Deuteronomy
|-
!colspan=3|History
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς Nαυῆ}} || Iêsous Nauê || Joshua
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Κριταί}} || Kritaí || Judges
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ῥούθ}} || Roúth || Ruth
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Βασιλειῶν Αʹ{{efn|{{lang|grc|Βασιλειῶν}} (Basileiōn) is the genitive plural of {{lang|grc|Βασιλεῖα}} (Basileia).}}}} || I Basileiōn || I Samuel
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Βασιλειῶν Βʹ}} || II Basileiōn || II Samuel
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Βασιλειῶν Γʹ}} || III Basileiōn || I Kings
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Βασιλειῶν Δʹ}} || IV Basileiōn || II Kings
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Παραλειπομένων Αʹ}} || I Paraleipomenon{{efn|That is, ''Things set aside'' from {{lang|grc|Ἔσδρας Αʹ}}.}} || I Chronicles
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Παραλειπομένων Βʹ}} || II Paraleipomenon || II Chronicles
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἔσδρας Αʹ}} || I Esdras || 1 Esdras
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἔσδρας Βʹ}} || II Esdras || Ezra–Nehemiah
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Τωβίτ}}{{efn|Also called Τωβείτ or Τωβίθ in some sources.}} || Tōbit || Tobit or Tobias
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἰουδίθ}} || Ioudith || Judith
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἐσθήρ}} || Esther || Esther with additions
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Μακκαβαίων Αʹ}} || [[I Maccabees|I Makkabaion]] || 1 Maccabees
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Μακκαβαίων Βʹ}} || [[II Maccabees|II Makkabaion]] || 2 Maccabees
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Μακκαβαίων Γʹ}} || [[III Maccabees|III Makkabaion]] || 3 Maccabees
|-
!colspan=3|Wisdom
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ψαλμοί}} || [[Psalms|Psalmoi]] || Psalms
|-
| style="text-indent:2em"|{{lang|grc|Ψαλμός ΡΝΑʹ}} || [[Psalm 151|Psalmos 151]] || Psalm 151
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Προσευχὴ Μανάσση}} || [[Prayer of Manasseh|Proseuchē Manassē]] || Prayer of Manasseh
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἰώβ}} || Iōb || Job
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Παροιμίαι}} || [[Book of Proverbs|Paroimiai]] || Proverbs
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἐκκλησιαστής}} || [[Ecclesiastes|Ekklēsiastēs]] || Ecclesiastes
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἆσμα Ἀσμάτων}} || [[Song of Songs|Asma Asmatōn]]|| Song of Solomon or Canticles
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Σοφία Σαλoμῶντος}} || [[Wisdom of Solomon|Sophia Salomōntos]] || Wisdom or Wisdom of Solomon
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Σοφία Ἰησοῦ Σειράχ}} || [[Book of Sirach|Sophia Iēsou Seirach]]|| Sirach or Ecclesiasticus or Wisdom of Sirach
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ψαλμοί Σαλoμῶντος}} || [[Psalms of Solomon|Psalmoi Salomōntos]] || Psalms of Solomon{{efn|Not in Orthodox Canon, but originally included in the Septuagint.<ref>{{cite web |title=NETS: Electronic Edition |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/ |website=ccat.sas.upenn.edu |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110729150550/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/ |archive-date=29 July 2011}}</ref>}}
|-
!colspan=3|Prophets
|-
!style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Δώδεκα}} || Dōdeka (The Twelve) || Minor Prophets
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ὡσηέ Αʹ}} || I Osëe || Hosea
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ἀμώς Βʹ}} || II Amōs || Amos
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Μιχαίας Γʹ}} || III Michaias || Micah
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ἰωήλ Δʹ}} || IV Ioël || Joel
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ὀβδίου Εʹ}}{{efn|Obdiou is genitive from "The vision ''of'' Obdias", which opens the book.}} || V Obdiou || Obadiah
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ἰωνᾶς Ϛ'}} || VI Ionas || Jonah
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ναούμ Ζʹ}} || VII Naoum || Nahum
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ἀμβακούμ Ηʹ}} || VIII Ambakoum || Habakkuk
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Σοφονίας Θʹ}} || IX Sophonias || Zephaniah
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ἀγγαῖος Ιʹ}} || X Angaios || Haggai
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| {{lang|grc|Ζαχαρίας ΙΑʹ}} || XI Zacharias || Zachariah
|- style="text-indent:2em"
| Μαλαχίας ΙΒʹ || XII Malachias || Malachi
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἠσαΐας}} || Ēsaias || Isaiah
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἱερεμίας}} || Hieremias || Jeremiah
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Βαρούχ}} || Barouch || Baruch
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Θρῆνοι}} || Thrēnoi || Lamentations
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἐπιστολή Ιερεμίου}} || [[Letter of Jeremiah|Epistolē Ieremiou]]|| Letter of Jeremiah
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Ἰεζεκιήλ}} || Iezekiêl || Ezekiel
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Δανιήλ}} || Daniêl || Daniel with additions
|-
!colspan=3|Appendix
|-
| style="text-indent:1em"|{{lang|grc|Μακκαβαίων Δ' Παράρτημα}} || [[IV Maccabees|IV]] [[4 Maccabees|Makkabaiōn]] Parartēma || 4 Maccabees{{efn|Originally placed after 3 Maccabees and before Psalms, but placed in an appendix of the Orthodox Canon.}}
|}

==== New Testament ====
{{Main|New Testament}}
{{See also|Development of the New Testament canon|New Testament apocrypha|Antilegomena|Language of the New Testament}}{{Further|Category:New Testament content}}
[[File:Marinus Claesz. van Reymerswaele 002.jpg|thumb|''St. Jerome in His Study'', published in 1541 by [[Marinus van Reymerswaele]]. [[Jerome]] produced a fourth-century [[Latin]] edition of the Bible, known as the Vulgate, that became the [[Catholic Church]]'s official translation.]]
The [[New Testament]] is the name given to the second portion of the Christian Bible. While some scholars assert that Aramaic was the original language of the New Testament,<ref name="Erbes">{{cite web |last1=Erbes |first1=Johann E. |title=The Aramaic New Testament: Estrangelo Script: Based on the Peshitta and Harklean Versions |url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1646&context=auss |website=digitalcommons.andrews.edu |publisher=American Christian Press |access-date=10 April 2022 |pages=259–260 |date=1984 |archive-date=12 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612205218/https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1646&context=auss |url-status=live }}</ref> the majority view says it was written in the vernacular form of Koine Greek. Still, there is reason to assert that it is a heavily Semitized Greek: its syntax is like conversational Greek, but its style is largely Semitic.{{sfn|Wallace|1996|pp=25–29}}{{efn|"The New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the Greek of daily conversation. The fact that from the first all the New Testament writings were written in Greek is conclusively demonstrated by their citations from the Old Testament ..." {{harvnb|Aland|Aland|1995|p=52}}}}{{efn|"How came the twenty-seven books of the New Testament to be gathered together and made authoritative Christian scripture? 1. All the New Testament books were originally written in Greek. On the face of it this may surprise us." {{harvnb|Hunter|1972|p=9}}}} Koine Greek was the [[lingua franca|common language]] of the western Roman Empire from the [[Conquests of Alexander the Great]] (335–323 BCE) until the evolution of [[Byzantine Greek]] ({{circa|600}}) while Aramaic was the language of [[Jesus]], the Apostles and the ancient Near East.<ref name="Erbes"/>{{efn|"This is the language of the New Testament. By the time of Jesus the Romans had become the dominant military and political force, but the Greek language remained the 'common language' of the eastern Mediterranean and beyond, and Greek ..." {{harvnb|Duff|Wenham|2005|p=xxv}}}}{{efn|"By far the most predominant element in the language of the New Testament is the Greek of common speech which was disseminated in the East by the Macedonian conquest, in the form which it had gradually assumed under the wider development ..." {{harvnb|Blass|Thackeray|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=akD7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 2]}}}}{{efn|"In this short overview of the Greek language of the New Testament we will focus on those topics that are of greatest importance for the average reader, that is, those with important ..." {{harvnb|Aune|2010|p=61}}}} The term "New Testament" came into use in the second century during a controversy over whether the Hebrew Bible should be included with the Christian writings as sacred scripture.{{sfn|Barton|1998|pp=3, 4, 7}}

It is generally accepted that the New Testament writers were Jews who took the inspiration of the Old Testament for granted. This is probably stated earliest in {{Bibleverse|2Tim|3:16|9|2 Timothy 3:16}}: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God". Scholarship on how and why ancient Jewish–Christians came to create and accept new texts as equal to the established Hebrew texts has taken three forms. First, priest and biblical scholar [[John Barton (theologian)|John Barton]] writes that ancient Christians probably just continued the Jewish tradition of writing and incorporating what they believed were inspired, authoritative religious books.{{sfn|Barton|1998|p=2}} The second approach separates those various inspired writings based on a concept of "canon" which developed in the second century.{{sfn|Barton|1998|pp=3–8}} The third involves formalizing canon.{{sfn|Barton|1998|pp=8–11}} According to Barton, these differences are only differences in terminology; the ideas are reconciled if they are seen as three stages in the formation of the New Testament.{{sfn|Barton|1998|pp=11, 14–19}}

The first stage was completed remarkably early if one accepts {{ill|Albert C. Sundberg|de}}'s view that "canon" and "scripture" are separate things, with "scripture" having been recognized by ancient Christians long before "canon" was.{{sfn|Barton|1998|pp=9–11, 17–18}} Barton says [[Theodor Zahn]] concluded "there was already a Christian canon by the end of the first century", but this is not the canon of later centuries.{{sfn|Barton|1998|p=3}} Accordingly, Sundberg asserts that in the first centuries, there was no criterion for inclusion in the "sacred writings" beyond inspiration, and that no one in the first century had the idea of a closed canon.{{sfn|Barton|1998|pp=9–11}} The gospels were accepted by early believers as handed down from those Apostles who had known Jesus and been taught by him.{{sfn|Kelly|2000|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UivDgM0WywoC&pg=PA4 4]}} Later biblical criticism has questioned the authorship and dating of the gospels.

At the end of the second century, it is widely recognized that a Christian canon similar to its modern version was asserted by the church fathers in response to the plethora of writings claiming inspiration that contradicted [[orthodoxy]]: ([[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]]).{{sfn|Barton|1998|p=7}} The third stage of development as the final canon occurred in the fourth century with a series of [[synod]]s that produced a list of texts of the canon of the Old Testament and the New Testament that are still used today. Most notably the [[Synod of Hippo]] in 393 CE and that of ''c''. 400. Jerome [[Bible translations into Latin|produced a definitive Latin edition]] of the Bible (the [[Vulgate]]), the canon of which, at the insistence of the Pope, was in accord with the earlier Synods. This process effectively set the New Testament canon.

New Testament books already had considerable authority in the late first and early second centuries.{{sfn|Barton|1998|p=14}} Even in its formative period, most of the books of the New Testament that were seen as scripture were already agreed upon. Linguistics scholar [[Stanley E. Porter]] says "evidence from the apocryphal non-Gospel literature is the same as that for the apocryphal Gospels{{snd}}in other words, that the text of the Greek New Testament was relatively well established and fixed by the time of the second and third centuries".{{sfn|Porter|2011|p=198}} By the time the fourth century Fathers were approving the "canon", they were doing little more than codifying what was already universally accepted.{{sfn|Barton|1998|p=15}}

The New Testament is a collection of 27 books{{sfn|Mears|2007|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m2Lz7iwklhAC&pg=PA439 438–439]}} of 4 different [[genres]] of Christian literature ([[Gospels]], one account of the [[Acts of the Apostles]], [[Epistles]] and an [[Apocalyptic literature|Apocalypse]]). These books can be grouped into:

The [[Gospel|Gospels]] are narratives of Jesus's last three years of life, his death and resurrection.
* [[Synoptic Gospels]]
** [[Gospel of Matthew]]
** [[Gospel of Mark]]
** [[Gospel of Luke]]
* [[Gospel of John]]

The [[Acts of the Apostles (genre)|narrative literature]] provides an account and history of the very early Apostolic age.
* [[Acts of the Apostles]]

The [[Pauline epistles]] are written to individual church groups to address problems, provide encouragement and give instruction.
{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Epistle to the Romans]]
* [[First Epistle to the Corinthians]]
* [[Second Epistle to the Corinthians]]
* [[Epistle to the Galatians]]
* [[Epistle to the Ephesians]]
* [[Epistle to the Philippians]]
* [[Epistle to the Colossians]]
* [[First Epistle to the Thessalonians]]
* [[Second Epistle to the Thessalonians]]
{{Div col end}}

The [[pastoral epistles]] discuss the pastoral oversight of churches, Christian living, doctrine and leadership.
{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[First Epistle to Timothy]]
* [[Second Epistle to Timothy]]
* [[Epistle to Titus]]
* [[Epistle to Philemon]]
* [[Epistle to the Hebrews]]
{{Div col end}}

The [[Catholic epistles]], also called the general epistles or lesser epistles.
{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Epistle of James]] encourages a lifestyle consistent with faith.
* [[First Epistle of Peter]] addresses trial and suffering.
* [[Second Epistle of Peter]] more on suffering's purposes, Christology, ethics and eschatology.
* [[First Epistle of John]] covers how to discern true Christians: by their ethics, their proclamation of Jesus in the flesh, and by their love.
* [[Second Epistle of John]] warns against [[docetism]].
* [[Third Epistle of John]] encourage, strengthen and warn.
* [[Epistle of Jude]] condemns opponents.
{{Div col end}}

The [[apocalyptic literature]] (prophetical)
* [[Book of Revelation]], or the Apocalypse, predicts end time events.

Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodox currently have the same 27-book New Testament Canon. They are ordered differently in the [[Slavonic translations of the Bible|Slavonic tradition]], the [[Syriac versions of the Bible|Syriac]] tradition and the Ethiopian tradition.{{sfn|Flinn|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gxEONS0FFlsC&pg=PA103 103]}}

==== Canon variations ====
===== Peshitta =====
{{Main|Peshitta}}
The Peshitta ({{langx|syc|ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ}} ''or'' {{lang|syc|ܦܫܝܼܛܬܵܐ}} ''{{transliteration|syc|pšīṭtā}}'') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac tradition]]. The consensus within biblical scholarship, although not universal, is that the Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into [[Syriac language|Syriac]] from [[biblical Hebrew]], probably in the 2nd century CE, and that the New Testament of the Peshitta was translated from the Greek.{{efn|"The Peshitta Old Testament was translated directly from the original Hebrew text, and the Peshitta New Testament directly from the original Greek" {{harvnb|Brock|1988|p=[https://archive.org/stream/TheBibleInTheSyriacTradition/BrockTheBibleInTheSyriacTradition#page/n7/mode/2up 13]}}}} This New Testament, originally excluding certain [[Antilegomena|disputed books]] ([[2 Peter]], [[2 John]], [[3 John]], [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]], [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]), had become a standard by the early 5th century. The five excluded books were added in the [[Harklean Version]] (616 CE) of [[Thomas of Harqel]].{{efn|name="Bromiley1995"|"Printed editions of the Peshitta frequently contain these books in order to fill the gaps. D. Harklean Version. The Harklean version is connected with the labours of Thomas of Harqel. When thousands were fleeing Khosrou's invading armies, ..." {{harvnb|Bromiley|1995|p=976}}}}<ref name="Erbes"/>

===== Catholic Church canon =====
The canon of the Catholic Church was affirmed by the Council of Rome (382), the Synod of Hippo (393), the Council of Carthage (397), the Council of Carthage (419), the Council of Florence (1431–1449) and finally, as an article of faith, by the Council of Trent (1545–1563) establishing the canon consisting of 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament for a total of 73 books in the Catholic Bible.{{sfn|Rüger|1989|p=302}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent |url=http://www.bible-researcher.com/trent1.html |website=www.bible-researcher.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805122857/http://www.bible-researcher.com/trent1.html |archive-date=5 August 2011}}</ref>{{efn|The Council of Trent confirmed the identical list/canon of sacred scriptures already anciently approved by the [[Synod of Hippo]] (Synod of 393), [[Council of Carthage (397)|Council of Carthage, 28 August 397]], and [[Council of Florence|Council of Florence, 4 February 1442]];<ref>{{cite web |title=Council of Basel 1431–45 A.D. Council Fathers |url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum17.htm |website=Papal Encyclicals |language=en |date=14 December 1431 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424112748/http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum17.htm |archive-date=24 April 2013}}</ref> – [[Bull of Union with the Copts]] ''seventh paragraph down''.}}

===== Ethiopian Orthodox canon =====
{{Main|Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon}}
The canon of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] is wider than the canons used by most other Christian churches. There are 81 books in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible.<ref name="Ethiopian">{{cite web |url=http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/canonical/books.html |title=The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church |publisher=Ethiopianorthodox.org |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105112040/http://ethiopianorthodox.org/english/canonical/books.html |archive-date=5 November 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to the books found in the [[Septuagint]] accepted by other Orthodox Christians, the Ethiopian Old Testament Canon uses [[Book of Enoch|Enoch]] and [[Jubilees]] (ancient Jewish books that only survived in [[Ge'ez language|Ge'ez]], but are quoted in the New Testament),{{sfn|Reinhartz|2021|p=19}} [[1 Esdras|Greek Ezra]] and the [[Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra|Apocalypse of Ezra]], 3 books of [[Meqabyan]], and [[Psalm 151]] at the end of the [[Psalter]].{{efn|name="Wells1911"}}{{efn|name="FUP1970"}} The three books of Meqabyan are not to be confused with the books of Maccabees. The order of the books is somewhat different in that the Ethiopian Old Testament follows the Septuagint order for the Minor Prophets rather than the Jewish order.<ref name="Ethiopian" />