What are the Apocrypha and why aren't they in most Bibles?

Romans 3:1-2

¹ What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?

² Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.

New International Version (NIV)

The answer

The Apocrypha are ancient Jewish religious writings, mostly from the centuries between the Old and New Testaments, that stand outside the Hebrew Scriptures; most Protestant Bibles therefore exclude them from the biblical canon. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles receive many of them as deuterocanonical Scripture, while some Protestant editions print them separately for historical or devotional reading. The central question is whether they are God-breathed Scripture, not whether they are old or contain useful material.

What writings are included?

The word Apocrypha comes from a Greek word meaning “hidden.” The exact collection varies, but its best-known writings are:

• Tobit and Judith
• Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus
• Baruch
• 1 and 2 Maccabees
• Additions to Esther and Daniel, including Susanna and Bel and the Dragon
• In some collections, 1 and 2 Esdras, the Prayer of Manasseh, and additional Maccabean writings

These are sometimes called the Old Testament Apocrypha to distinguish them from much later apocryphal gospels, acts, and letters that falsely used apostolic names.

Why are they outside most Protestant Bibles?

1. They were not part of the Hebrew canon. Jesus spoke of the existing Scriptures as “the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms” in Luke 24:44, reflecting the recognized divisions of the Jewish Scriptures. Romans 3:2 says that the Jews “were entrusted with the revelations of God.” These statements do not provide a book-by-book table of contents, but they do show that a recognized body of Scripture already existed. The Apocryphal books were not received into that Hebrew canon.

2. Religious usefulness is not the same as divine inspiration. Second Timothy 3:16 declares, “Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.” A book does not become Scripture merely because it is ancient, appears in a Bible manuscript, or contains wise sayings. Equally, calling a book noncanonical does not mean that everything in it is false or worthless. First Maccabees, for example, contains valuable historical material about the period between the Testaments.

3. Their ancient use was widespread but not uniform. Many were preserved in Greek Septuagint manuscripts and later Latin Christian Bibles, and early Christians read them. Nevertheless, their canonical status was disputed. During the Reformation, Protestants formally distinguished them from the Hebrew Old Testament, often printing them in a separate section rather than treating them as Scripture. The Roman Catholic Council of Trent affirmed its wider canon in 1546; it did not invent or newly discover these books.

Why Bible editions differ

• Bible tradition — Treatment of these writings
• Most Protestant editions — Sixty-six canonical books; the Apocrypha is omitted or printed separately. Westminster Confession 1.3 describes these books as human writings rather than inspired Scripture.
• Roman Catholic editions — Seventy-three books: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and additions to Esther and Daniel are received as deuterocanonical Scripture. “Deuterocanonical” does not mean less inspired.
• Eastern Orthodox editions — A wider Old Testament collection is received, with the precise list varying among Orthodox churches.
• Anglican and some ecumenical editions — The Apocrypha may appear between the Testaments or in an appendix. The Thirty-Nine Articles 6 permits reading these books for examples of life and instruction in conduct, but not for establishing doctrine.

Reading the Apocrypha is therefore not the same as receiving it as Scripture. Its history and religious thought can be studied profitably, while the Protestant position is that doctrine must rest on the God-breathed canonical Scriptures, whose purpose is to make people “wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” and to equip them for every good work, as 2 Timothy 3:15-17 teaches.

Answered from Scripture · reviewed November 11, 2026

The Apocrypha refers to a collection of Jewish writings produced during the four centuries between Malachi and the arrival of Christ, often called the intertestamental period. While prized by historians and accepted as deuterocanonical Scripture by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, Protestant Bibles omit them because they were neither recognized as the inspired Word of God by the Jewish community nor received as authoritative Scripture by Jesus and His apostles.

Christ's Hebrew Canon

Jesus Confirmed the Tripartite Structure of the Hebrew Bible

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Luke 24:44 (NIV)

Jesus defines the comprehensive bounds of the Old Testament canon using the traditional three-part division of the Hebrew Scriptures.

In Luke 24:44, Jesus stands among His disciples after the resurrection and offers an unmistakable boundary for Old Testament authority: "Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." This threefold division—the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Psalms as the chief book of the Writings (Ketuvim)—was the exact, established structure of the Hebrew canon. Noticeably absent from this divine inventory is the Apocrypha, which was never categorized under any of these authoritative branches by Jesus or His hearers.

Our Lord consistently treated the closed Hebrew collection as the infallible boundary of God's Word. In Luke 11:51 and Matthew 23:35, Jesus summarizes the entire history of Old Testament martyrdom from "the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah." In the canonical arrangement of the Hebrew Scriptures, Abel's murder in Genesis 4 represents the first martyrdom and Zechariah's death in 2 Chronicles 24 represents the final one. Had Jesus recognized the books of the Apocrypha—which include the famous martyrs of 2 Maccabees—His chronological boundary would have extended past Zechariah.

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus anchored every truth in this recognized collection. Luke 24:27 recounts how He interpreted "in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself," beginning with Moses and all the prophets. In Matthew 5:17 and Matthew 5:18, He announced that not a single jot or tittle would pass from the Law until all was accomplished. When confronting the religious leaders in John 5:39, He pointed them to the very Scriptures that testify of Him, resting entirely upon the principle in John 10:35 that "Scripture cannot be broken." The New Testament quotes the Old Testament hundreds of times as inspired Scripture, yet never once quotes a passage from the Apocrypha as the Word of God.

The passages

Passage	What it says
Luke 24:44	Jesus affirms that everything written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
Luke 11:51	Jesus frames the prophetic line from Abel to Zechariah, spanning from Genesis to 2 Chronicles, the first and last books of the Hebrew canon.
Matthew 23:35	Records Jesus summarizing the martyrdom of the righteous prophets across the exact breadth of the Jewish Scriptures.
Luke 24:27	Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, Jesus interprets in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Matthew 5:17	Jesus affirms that He came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them completely.
Matthew 5:18	Not a single jot or tittle will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
John 5:39	Jesus points the religious leaders to the recognized Scriptures that testify directly of Him.
John 10:35	Jesus affirms as an absolute principle that the Scripture cannot be broken.

The Prophetic Silence

The Cessation of Prophecy Before Christ's Coming

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

Malachi 4:4 (NIV)

Malachi points God's people to the Law of Moses until the arrival of the forerunner Elijah, closing the Old Testament prophetic voice.

The final prophet of the Old Testament canon brings the prophetic era to a deliberate halt in Malachi 4:4: "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel." Rather than pointing to future scribal books, the Lord instructed His people to hold fast to the existing canonical law until the prophetic silence would be broken. As Malachi 4:5 and Malachi 4:6 declare, that silence would only end when God sent "Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes."

This prolonged cessation of prophecy was well understood in Israel during the intertestamental period. Even the authors of 1 Maccabees explicitly mourned that "prophets had ceased to appear" in their days (1 Maccabees 9:27). The faithful knew the prophetic spirit had departed, echoing the tragic cry of Psalm 74:9: "We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long." The human authors of the Apocrypha were pious chroniclers and moralists, but they wrote during an era when the authentic prophetic voice had paused.

When that silence was finally pierced, it came not through an intertestamental book, but through the herald promised in Malachi. In Matthew 11:13 and Matthew 11:14, Jesus confirmed that "all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John," identifying John the Baptist as the promised Elijah who was to come. Hebrews 1:1 and Hebrews 1:2 majestically contrast these two canonical eras: long ago God spoke through the prophets, but "in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son." The four centuries between Malachi and the Baptist were not an era of fresh biblical revelation, but a solemn watch awaiting the Dawn.

The passages

Passage	What it says
Malachi 4:4	Commands remembrance of the Law of Moses as the inspired rule given at Horeb for all Israel.
Malachi 4:5	Promises the sending of Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.
Hebrews 1:1	Explains that God spoke in times past to the fathers through the prophets in diverse ways.
Hebrews 1:2	Declares that God has now spoken decisively in these last days through His Son.
Psalms 74:9	Asaph laments that signs are gone and there is no longer any prophet among the people.
Malachi 4:6	The final canonical prophet announces Elijah's future arrival before the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Matthew 11:13	Jesus declares that all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John the Baptist.
Matthew 11:14	Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the Elijah who was prophesied to come.

Apostolic Authority

The Foundation Built Upon the True Word of God

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)

Paul defines true Scripture as uniquely God-breathed, a divine characteristic lacking in the non-canonical intertestamental writings.

The essential test of any book claiming biblical status is divine inspiration, captured in 2 Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." True Scripture possesses the unique character of being theopneustos—breathed out by the Living God Himself. Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15 of the sacred writings known from infancy that make one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, adding in 2 Timothy 3:17 that this God-breathed Word equips the believer completely for every good work, lacking nothing.

This divine origin is reinforced by Peter in 2 Peter 1:20 and 2 Peter 1:21, which states that "no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation... but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." Authentic canonical books were produced by recognized prophets and apostles carried along by the Spirit, demonstrating internal consistency, divine authority, and historical infallibility. By contrast, the Apocrypha contains historical, geographical, and theological inconsistencies—including endorsements of prayers for the dead and salvation through almsgiving—that contradict the established canon.

For this reason, the apostolic church built its faith upon a firm, uncontaminated foundation. In Ephesians 2:20, Paul explains that the household of God is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone." Because God's flock must not be carried away by diverse teachings that drift from pure grace (Hebrews 13:9), the church historic has excluded the Apocrypha from the rule of faith. We cherish these historical writings for the light they shed on the background of the New Testament era, but we reserve our unquestioning faith for the pure, unadulterated, God-breathed Scriptures alone.

The passages

Passage	What it says
2 Timothy 3:15	Reminds Timothy of the sacred writings known from infancy that lead to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:16	Declares all authentic Scripture to be inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training.
2 Peter 1:21	Explains that prophecy never originated in human will, but holy men spoke from God as carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 13:9	Warns believers against being carried away by varied and strange teachings that deviate from grace.
2 Timothy 3:17	God's breathed Word equips the man of God completely for every good work without need of human additions.
2 Peter 1:20	No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet's own private interpretation.
Ephesians 2:20	The household of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.

Knowing why the Apocrypha is absent from Protestant Bibles confirms our confidence in the unified, God-breathed sixty-six books of Scripture. When we hold our Bibles, we hold the very oracles of God preserved through Israel, affirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and sealed by the testimony of His apostles.

34 passages, each cited once.

How the major Christian traditions read this

All major Christian traditions confess that the sixty-six books of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament are the inspired, authoritative Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).

Catholic

We receive these writings as deuterocanonical Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit and possessing full canonical authority alongside the rest of God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16). The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, received the Septuagint canon used by the apostles and confirmed these books in historic councils such as Rome, Hippo, Carthage, and Trent. Passages within them testify to sacred truths, such as prayer for the departed (2 Maccabees 12:46) and the ministry of holy angels (Tobit 12:15). They were preserved and read in Christian worship from the earliest centuries. Consequently, they are not human additions, but authentic revelation belonging to the fullness of the Catholic Bible.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Maccabees 12:46, Tobit 12:15

Orthodox

We venerate and receive these books (the Anagignoskomena, or 'books read') as part of the authentic Old Testament canon delivered through the Greek Septuagint. The apostles and the early Church used this Greek text, which contained books like Wisdom, Sirach, and Maccabees, reading them liturgically and doctrinally from the beginning. While distinguishing levels of authority at times, the Synod of Jerusalem affirmed their divine inspiration and canonical place as holy Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16). Because the Church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), her unbroken liturgical reception of these texts across centuries assures us of their rightful place in our Bibles.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Timothy 3:15

Lutheran

We hold that the Apocrypha are books not equal to the Holy Scriptures, yet useful and good to read for instruction and historical understanding. Following the ancient Hebrew canon entrusted to the Jews (Romans 3:2), our churches do not establish doctrine from them. Martin Luther placed them in a separate appendix between the Old and New Testaments for edification, reflecting the judgment of early fathers like Jerome. Holy Scripture alone is our inerrant, divine rule of faith (2 Timothy 3:16–17). While we treasure their examples of faith and wisdom, no dogma or practice may be bound upon Christian consciences unless firmly grounded in the canonical prophetic and apostolic writings.

Scripture: Romans 3:2, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Reformed & Presbyterian

We confess that the books commonly called the Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, form no part of the canon of Scripture and carry no divine authority in the church of God. They are to be regarded and used like any other human writings. The oracles of God were entrusted to the Jewish people (Romans 3:2), who never acknowledged these writings within the Hebrew canon, and our Lord Jesus affirmed that same three-part canon (Luke 24:44). Only the sixty-six books are breathed out by the Holy Spirit to serve as our infallible rule of faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

Scripture: Romans 3:2, Luke 24:44, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21

Anglican & Episcopal

We follow the ancient practice of the Church described in the Thirty-Nine Articles: the church reads these books for example of life and instruction of manners, but does not apply them to establish any doctrine. Canonical books are those of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church, resting on the Hebrew Scriptures entrusted to Israel (Romans 3:2). When the Apocrypha is bound in our Bibles, it serves for historical instruction and liturgical reading, but all saving truth necessary for salvation is found entirely and sufficiently in the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and twenty-seven of the New (2 Timothy 3:15–16).

Scripture: Romans 3:2, 2 Timothy 3:15-16

Baptist

We believe firmly that the Apocrypha are uninspired human writings that form no part of the biblical canon. As the Baptist Confession of 1689 states, having no divine inspiration, they carry no authority in the church of God. Christ endorsed the Hebrew canon—the Law, Prophets, and Psalms—which did not contain these books (Luke 24:44). God committed His revelations directly to the Jews (Romans 3:2), and the apostles never cited the Apocrypha as Scripture. Because only the sixty-six books are God-breathed and profitable for establishing doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16), we exclude them entirely from our Bibles to keep God's pure Word uncompromised.

Scripture: Luke 24:44, Romans 3:2, 2 Timothy 3:16

Methodist & Wesleyan

We stand with the historic Protestant consensus, affirming with our Articles of Religion that Holy Scripture contains all things necessary to salvation. Following the Hebrew canon entrusted to Israel (Romans 3:2), we receive sixty-six books as canonical. Like our Anglican heritage, we recognize that early Christians read the other books for example of life and instruction in godliness, but we never use them to establish any doctrine or article of faith. Because our faith rests wholly on the inspired, God-breathed text (2 Timothy 3:16), doctrines must be proved strictly from the canonical Old and New Testaments alone.

Scripture: Romans 3:2, 2 Timothy 3:16

Pentecostal & Charismatic

We believe the Bible is the fully inspired Word of God, the all-sufficient, infallible rule of faith and conduct for all believers (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21). That divine canon consists solely of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. Jesus Christ Himself validated the Hebrew Scriptures as the authoritative Word (Luke 24:44; Romans 3:2). Because the apocryphal books were neither part of that Hebrew canon nor recognized as inspired by the apostles, they carry no spiritual authority in the Church and are excluded from our Bibles so that the Spirit-empowered believer relies entirely on the pure, living Word.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Luke 24:44, Romans 3:2

Non-denominational & Evangelical

We hold to the sixty-six books of the Bible as the sole inspired, inerrant Word of God, fully sufficient for all faith and Christian practice (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The Apocrypha consists of human historical and religious writings from the intertestamental period. Because the Jewish people were entrusted with the divine oracles (Romans 3:2) and Jesus confirmed their three-part division (Luke 24:44), we restrict the Old Testament canon to those Hebrew Scriptures. We do not print the Apocrypha in our Bibles because human traditions must never be placed alongside or confused with the authoritative, God-breathed Scriptures.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Romans 3:2, Luke 24:44

Where they differ

Inspiration of the apocryphal books

Catholic

Fully inspired by the Holy Spirit as deuterocanonical Scripture.

Orthodox

Divinely inspired writings received through the historic Greek Septuagint.

Lutheran

Uninspired human writings not equal to the Holy Scriptures.

Reformed & Presbyterian

Entirely uninspired human books without divine authority.

Anglican & Episcopal

Not inspired Scripture, though valuable for historical instruction.

Baptist

Merely human writings devoid of divine inspiration.

Methodist & Wesleyan

Human writings not inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Pentecostal & Charismatic

Uninspired intertestamental works lacking divine authority.

Non-denominational & Evangelical

Uninspired historical texts, not God-breathed Scripture.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21

Authority to establish church doctrine

Catholic

Possess full canonical authority to confirm dogma and practice.

Orthodox

Carry doctrinal authority within the Church's liturgical tradition.

Lutheran

Cannot be used to establish any Christian doctrine.

Reformed & Presbyterian

Possess zero authority for establishing dogma or practice.

Anglican & Episcopal

Never applied to establish or prove any doctrine.

Baptist

Hold no authority whatever for Christian doctrine.

Methodist & Wesleyan

Excluded from proving any article of faith.

Pentecostal & Charismatic

Have no standing for doctrine or spiritual conduct.

Non-denominational & Evangelical

Cannot define Christian doctrine or bind conscience.

Scripture: Romans 3:2, Luke 24:44

Inclusion in published Bibles

Catholic

Printed integrated among the Old Testament books.

Orthodox

Included throughout the Old Testament of liturgical Bibles.

Lutheran

Historically printed in an appendix; often omitted today.

Reformed & Presbyterian

Excluded entirely from published Bibles.

Anglican & Episcopal

Often placed in a separate section between Testaments.

Baptist

Omitted completely from the sixty-six-book Bible.

Methodist & Wesleyan

Generally omitted from standard church Bibles.

Pentecostal & Charismatic

Strictly excluded from modern editions.

Non-denominational & Evangelical

Omitted to maintain a sixty-six-book canon.

Scripture: Romans 3:2, 2 Timothy 3:16

Your pastor can tell you where your church stands.

Scripture cited

• 2 Timothy 3:15-17
• Luke 24:44-45
• Romans 3:1-4