The first complete English Bible authorised for Catholic use — a careful translation from Jerome's Latin Vulgate that remained the standard English Catholic Bible for nearly four centuries.
The Douay-Rheims Bible was produced by English Catholic exiles in France during the Counter-Reformation. The New Testament was translated at the English College in Rheims and published in 1582; the Old Testament followed from the same college's seminary at Douai in 1609–1610. Both halves were translated from the Latin Vulgate rather than from Hebrew and Greek, in line with the Council of Trent's endorsement of the Vulgate as the authoritative biblical text.
Between 1749 and 1752, Bishop Richard Challoner produced an extensive revision that updated the English style, removed some Latinisms, and adjusted the text against the original languages. The Challoner revision became the standard "Douay-Rheims" most Catholic readers actually encountered, and continued in use until the mid-20th century — when newer translations like the Confraternity Bible (1941), the Jerusalem Bible (1966), and the New American Bible (1970) gradually replaced it.
The text included in this app is the 1899 American edition of Challoner's revision, fully in the public domain.
Translated from the Latin Vulgate rather than directly from Hebrew/Greek — making it a useful comparison point for Catholic theological terminology and for the deuterocanonical books (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 & 2 Maccabees) which most Protestant Bibles omit.
Contains the full 73-book Catholic canon, including the deuterocanonicals and additions to Esther and Daniel.
Vocabulary preserves Latin-derived theological terms ("supersubstantial bread" in the Lord's Prayer; "charity" rather than "love" in 1 Corinthians 13).
Hand-picked verses that demonstrate how the DRB renders well-known passages.
Bibles that share lineage, philosophy, or canonical structure with the DRB — open any to read its history.
The complete 1611 King James Bible — the same authoritative translation as the standard KJV, with the fourteen apocryphal books restored between the Old and New Testaments.
The most influential English Bible in history — formal, rhythmic, public-domain prose used by Christians for over four hundred years.
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