Church History · 1582 and 1609

The Douay Rheims Catholic Bible

English Catholic scholars in exile in France published the Rheims New Testament in 1582 and the Douay Old Testament in 1609 to 1610. Translated from the Latin Vulgate, it was the first complete Catholic Bible in English.

Read it in the Bible: Luke 1:28 John 17:20-23 2 Timothy 3:14-17

The Douay Rheims Bible is the first complete Catholic Bible in English. The New Testament was published in 1582 in Reims, France, and the Old Testament followed in two volumes in 1609 and 1610 in Douai, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. It was made by English Catholic scholars living in exile, and it was translated from the Latin Vulgate, the official Bible of the Catholic Church. In a revised form, it remained the standard English Bible for Catholics for almost 200 years.

Who Made the Douay Rheims Bible?

When Elizabeth I became queen in 1558 and restored the Protestant Church of England, it became very hard to be Catholic in England. Priests could be arrested, and many Catholics left the country. In 1568 an English priest named William Allen founded the English College at Douai to train priests for England.

The main translator was Gregory Martin, a gifted Oxford scholar who knew Hebrew and Greek well. He reportedly translated about two chapters a day, and Allen and Richard Bristow checked his work. Because of unrest in the Netherlands, the college moved to Reims in 1578. That is why the New Testament says Rheims and the Old Testament says Douay. The college moved back to Douai in 1593.

Why Did Catholics Make an English Bible?

By the 1570s England was full of Protestant Bibles, especially the Geneva Bible with its Reformed notes. The Catholic exiles wanted English Catholics to have a faithful translation of their own, with notes explaining Catholic teaching. The preface said plainly that they did not think every lay person needed to read the Bible on their own, but that in such a time it was helpful, with good guidance.

The Old Testament was finished early, but the exiles were too poor to print it. It waited almost 30 years before it finally came out in 1609 and 1610.

Why Translate From the Latin Vulgate?

The Vulgate was translated mostly by Saint Jerome around AD 400 and had been used in the Western church for over a thousand years. The Council of Trent had declared it the authentic Latin text for the church's teaching. The translators argued the Vulgate was older than most Greek manuscripts then available, and that Jerome had worked from even older copies.

They did check the Hebrew and Greek, but they followed the Latin very closely, sometimes word for word. That gave the Douay Rheims a strong Latin flavor. Some of its words seemed strange in 1582, like prescience and evangelize, but many of them are normal English now. Books also had Latin names, like Paralipomenon for Chronicles and the Apocalypse for Revelation.

How Is the Douay Rheims Different From Protestant Bibles?

The Douay Rheims includes the deuterocanonical books, such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch and 1 and 2 Maccabees, mixed in with the rest of the Old Testament as in the Vulgate. Protestants call these books the Apocrypha. Its notes explain Catholic teaching on the sacraments, the church and tradition.

Some differences in wording are famous. In Luke 1:28 the Douay Rheims has the angel greet Mary as full of grace, from the Latin gratia plena. Most Protestant Bibles translate the Greek as favored.

The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28

Both are honest attempts to render a rich Greek word that speaks of God's grace given to her. You can see how Bibles in different traditions compare on the How It Was Translated page on this site.

Did the King James Translators Use the Douay Rheims?

Yes, more than people expect. The Rheims New Testament was printed side by side with the Bishops' Bible by a Protestant scholar named William Fulke, who wanted to refute it. Ironically, that made it easy for the King James translators to consult. Scholars have found a number of Rheims words and phrases that made their way into the King James New Testament.

What Is the Challoner Revision?

Between 1749 and 1752 an English bishop named Richard Challoner revised the Douay Rheims. He made the English smoother, often closer to the King James style, and shortened the notes. Most Bibles sold today as the Douay Rheims are really Challoner's revision. It was the main Catholic Bible in English until the 1900s, when new Catholic translations such as the Confraternity Bible, the Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible appeared.

Why It Matters for You Today

The story of the Douay Rheims is a reminder that Catholics and Protestants alike wanted English speakers to hear God's Word. They argued fiercely about how to translate it and what it meant. But in the end they borrowed from each other, and English Bibles are richer for both.

that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:21

Reading a Bible from another tradition is a good way to see your own more clearly. It may even give you a new word or two to love.

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Questions People Ask

What is the Douay Rheims Bible?

It is the first complete Catholic Bible in English, translated from the Latin Vulgate by English Catholic scholars in exile. The New Testament came out at Reims in 1582 and the Old Testament at Douai in 1609 and 1610.

Who translated the Douay Rheims Bible?

The main translator was Gregory Martin, an Oxford scholar at the English College founded by William Allen. Allen and Richard Bristow helped revise and annotate his work.

Is the Douay Rheims older than the King James Bible?

Yes. The Rheims New Testament of 1582 came out 29 years before the King James Version, and the complete Douay Rheims was finished in 1610, one year before the King James Bible of 1611.

Is the Douay Rheims still used today?

Yes, mainly in Bishop Richard Challoner's revision of 1749 to 1752. Some traditional Catholics prefer it, though most Catholic churches now use newer translations.

Sources

← The Geneva Bible: The First Study Bible The First Baptist Church →

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