Deuterocanonical Writings

The term "deuterocanonical" literally means "second canon." The deuterocanonical books were not included in the traditional Hebrew Scriptures (also known as the Masoretic text). But, they were included in the Septuagint, a Greek translation and expansion of the Scriptures. The Septuagint was an authoritative text in the Hellenistic culture of first centuries CE so it carried weight in the evangelization efforts of the early Church.

At the Council of Trent in 1546, the Roman Catholic definitively listed some of these books as Scripture.

Deutrocanonical books are cited on this web page. Other books like 2 Esdras are cited on the "Intertestament" page.

1 Maccabees

1 Maccabees detailed the historical time line in Palestine from the successful Jewish revolt against Seleucid empire to the rise of the Hasmonean dynasty in Palestine. The time line extended from 170-134 BCE. Since the conquest of the kingdom by Pompey in 63 BCE was not mentioned, most scholars hold it was written between 130-76 BCE. Some speculate the text was a court hagiography authored by a royal scribe. In any case, it provided a valuable source of information during this period. The text is considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

1 Maccabees 11:1

1 Then the king of Egypt gathered together great forces, as the sand which is by the sea shore, and many ships, and sought to make himself master of Alexander’s kingdom by deceit, and to add it to his own kingdom.

1 Maccabees 13:49

Those who were in the citadel at Jerusalem were prevented from going in and out to buy and sell in the country. So they were very hungry, and many of them perished from famine.

1 Maccabees 13:51

51 He entered into it on the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred seventy-first year, with praise and palm branches, with harps, with cymbals, and with stringed instruments, with hymns, and with songs, because a great enemy had been destroyed out of Israel.

Source

"1 Maccabees" World English Bible with Deuterocanonical. EBible.org - read and download the Holy Bible. Web.

2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees paralleled the historical information found in 1 Maccabees from the persecution of the Seleucid Greeks to the Jewish revolt led by the Maccabees and finally to rise of clan as Temple priests. Scholars speculate it was written between 150-100 BCE in Koine Greek. The text is considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

2 Maccabees 2:4-8

4 It was in the writing that the prophet, being warned by God, commanded that the tabernacle and the ark should follow with him,† when he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and saw God’s inheritance. 5 Jeremiah came and found a cave, he brought the tabernacle, the ark, and the altar of incense into it; then he sealed the entrance. 6 Some of those who followed with him came there that they might mark the way, and could not find it. 7 But when Jeremiah learned about that, he rebuked them, saying, "The place shall be unknown until God gathers the people together again and shows mercy. 8 Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen with the cloud, as it was also shown to Moses, also as Solomon implored that the place might be consecrated greatly."

2 Maccabees 10:7

7 Therefore carrying wands wreathed with leaves, and beautiful branches, and palm fronds also, they offered up hymns of thanksgiving to him who had successfully brought to pass the cleansing of his own place.

2 Maccabees 13:4

4 But the King of kings stirred up the anger of Antiochus against the wicked wretch. When Lysias informed him that this man was the cause of all the evils, the king commanded to bring him to Beroea, and to put him to death in the way customary in that place.

Source

“2 Maccabees” World English Bible with Deuterocanonical. EBible.org - read and download the Holy Bible. Web.

Baruch

The Book of Baruch was a text in the prophetic tradition ascriped to Baruch ben Neriah. According to tradition, the author wrote in the shadow of Jeremiah during the Babylonian exile. However, based upon themes and style, many scholars date it during the rise of the Hasmonean dynasty (200-100 BCE). The text is considered Deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

Baruch 4:36-37

36 O Jerusalem, look around you toward the east, and behold the joy that comes to you from God. 37 Behold, your sons come, whom you sent away. They come gathered together from the east to the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God.

Baruch 5:5

Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them.

Source

“Baruch” World English Bible with Deuterocanonical. EBible.org - read and download the Holy Bible. Web.

Judith

The book of Judith told the story of a Jewish widow who employed her beauty and guile to assassinate an enemy general. Some scholars question the historical veracity of the text; instead, they consider it an extended parable or theological novel. Because of the numbers of Hebraisms in the text, many hold it was composed in a Semitic language (Hebrew or Aramaic) then translated into Koine Greek. Since there were parallels between the Assyrian attacks in 732-722 BCE and the revolt against the Seleucid Greeks in the early second century BCE, the book was most likely written around 150 BCE. The text is considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

Judith 2:20

20 A great company of various nations went out with them like locusts and like the sand of the earth. For they could not be counted by reason of their multitude.

Judith 13:18

Then Uzziah said to her, "O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all other women on earth;

Judith 16:17

Woe to the nations that rise up against my people! The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment; he will send fire and worms into their flesh; they shall weep in pain forever.

Source

“Judith” World English Bible with Deuterocanonical. EBible.org - read and download the Holy Bible. Web.

Sirach

Sirach or Ecclesiasticus was a wisdom book penned in Hebrew by Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira between 196-175 BCE. His grandson translated it into Koine Greek around 117 BCE. Ben Sira was a scribe in Jerusalem during the occupation of the Seleucid Empire which strove to impose Hellenistic culture on the local population. In this light, the author addressed the question of religious fidelity and ethical living under such conditions with a series of aphorisms and proverbs. The text is considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

Sirach 18:1

1 He who lives forever created the whole universe.

Sirach 26:29

29 It is difficult for a merchant to keep himself from wrong doing,
and for a retailer to be acquitted of sin.

Sirach 39:29

29 Fire, hail, famine, and death—
all these are created for vengeance.

Sirach 39:30

30 Wild beasts’ teeth, scorpions, adders,
and a sword punish the ungodly with utter destruction.

Source

“Sirach” World English Bible with Deuterocanonical. EBible.org - read and download the Holy Bible. Web.

Tobit

Tobit was a religious novel about a clan living in a hostile Diaspora. Written in the early second century BCE, it described how the righteous (symbolized in the character of Tobit) faced adversity but, in the end, received God’s blessing. Although the story depicted life in eight century BCE Assyria, conditions in the Diaspora argued for a date of composition between 225-175 BCE. The text is considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

Tobit 12:12

12 And now, when you prayed, and Sarah your daughter-in-law, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One. When you buried the dead, I was with you likewise.

Tobit 12:15

15 I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels which present the prayers of the saints and go in before the glory of the Holy One.

Tobit 12:16

16 And they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces; for they were afraid.

Tobit 12:20

20 Now give God thanks, because I ascend to him who sent me. Write in a book all the things which have been done.

Tobit 13:16

16 For Jerusalem will be built with sapphires, emeralds, and precious stones;
your walls and towers and battlements with pure gold.

Tobit 14:6

6 And all the nations will turn to fear the Lord God truly, and will bury their idols.

Source

“Tobit” World English Bible with Deuterocanonical. EBible.org - read and download the Holy Bible. Web.

Wisdom of Solomon

The book of Wisdom or the Wisdom of Solomon was a wisdom book composed in Koine Greek in the early first century CE. The central theme of wisdom and its use of opposites (good vs. evil, mortality vs. immortality) revealed a direct influence of Hellenistic culture on the author.; the figure of “Lady Wisdom” (chapters 6-9) reinforced that influence. Yet, the view of divine intervention also pointed to its Jewish roots. The text is considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

Wisdom of Solomon 16:9

9 For the bites of locusts and flies truly killed them.
No healing for their life was found,
because they were worthy to be punished by such things.

Wisdom of Solomon 18:14

4 For the Egyptians well deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned by darkness,
they who had imprisoned your children,
through whom the incorruptible light of the law was to be given to the race of men.

Wisdom of Solomon 18:15

15 Your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne,
a stern warrior, into the midst of the doomed land.

Source

“Wisdom of Solomon” World English Bible with Deuterocanonical. EBible.org - read and download the Holy Bible. Web