Does the World English Bible include the Apocrypha?

The World English Bible is an ecumenical project that includes books included in Bibles in many denominations. The main 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are recognised as Scripture by all true Christians. There are also books considered to be part of, depending on which book and who you ask, Deuterocanon, Apocrypha, and Pseudepigrapha. The Deuterocanon/Apocrypha books are included in the printed editions marked “Ecumenical” but not in the printed editions marked “Old and New Testaments”.

The following books and parts of books are recognised as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the Roman Catholic, Greek, and Russian Orthodox Churches: Tobit, Judith, Esther from the Greek Septuagint, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (also called The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach), Baruch, The Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees. In this edition, The Letter of Jeremiah is included as chapter 6 of Baruch. Three of those books come from parts of Daniel found in the Greek Septuagint, but not the Hebrew Old Testament: The Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. These three are included in Daniel (Greek), in context, as they make more sense that way.

The following books are recognised as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches, but not the Roman Catholic Church: 1 Esdras, The Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and 3 Maccabees. Note that 1 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh are also in an appendix to the Latin Vulgate Bible.

The Slavonic Bible includes 2 Esdras, but calls it 3 Esdras. This same book is in the Appendix to the Latin Vulgate as 4 Esdras.

An appendix to the Greek Septuagint contains 4 Maccabees. It is included for its historical value.

Amongst Christian denominations and amongst individual Christians, opinions vary widely on the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha, as do the collective names they give them. Many regard them as useful in gaining additional understanding of the Old and New Testaments and the hand of God in history, even if they don’t give them the same status as the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. They are included here in support of the churches and individuals who read them and use them, as separate from, but frequently used with, the core canon of the 66 books of the Holy Bible.