Difference between DRV and KJV

century153 · #1 Jun 14, '12, 5:16 am

Does anyone know the answer to why the DRV or any Catholic Bible for that matter has different chapter and verse numbers sometimes especially in the Book of Psalms than the KJV or any protestant bible? This upsets me because if I am studying or reading a Bible with anyone like my non-catholic friends and family it is impossible to know if I am getting the chapter and verse they are reading or quoting. I find this very annoying -- since I am a stickler for reading the catholic version but I have several protestant bibles because of this problem. Your thoughts.................

rotlex · #2 Jun 14, '12, 6:08 am

It is rather simple actually. It has to do with the difference between the Greek and Hebrew texts. A decent explanation can be found here:

http://www.bookofhours.org/psalms/to...comparison.htm

For reference, most Catholic Bibles, NAB, NABRE, RSV etc. will use the numbering you are used to. To my knowledge, the only one that uses the Greek is the DR. All others will be numbered as your "protestant" versions.

century153 · #3 Jun 15, '12, 8:37 pm

I have the New American Catholic Bible and I have had certain instances especially in the Psalms where the numbers and chapters do not match against say the KJV or NKJV. Like I said, I don't care but when I am comparing with someone who uses the others it becomes a problem. I'm going to try to check it and give you specifics. I just think its annoying but what happens is, I have resorted to using the NKJV along with my NAB Catholic Edition ( which I prefer). Thanks for you answer. L

**Zooey** · #4 Jun 18, '12, 3:30 am

At the time when the DRV & the KJV were being translated, the chapter & verse numbers were still being developed. The result is that folks used the numbering system of the manuscripts that *they* had at hand when they were doing their work.
But it can be annoying. My observation is that newer translations are being done according to a system that puts the #s in accord with one another.
In the meantime, I have taken a finely sharpened pencil & "re-numbered" my DRV so that *I* can compare versions with greater ease.

century153 · #5 Jun 19, '12, 6:23 am

Duuuhhhh!!! What's WRONG with me? I should have thought about that ..............thanks for the tip!