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The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims

The original Douay-Rheims, the Rheims New Testament of 1582 and the Douay Old Testament of 1609–1610, the first complete English Catholic Bible, faithfully set from the first printing. Read each chapter in the original 1609 spelling or lightly modernized, toggle between the two and only the spelling changes. All 75 books are here.

This is the original translation, not the later Challoner revision (1749–1752) that nearly every modern “Douay-Rheims” in print and online reproduces. About this edition →

Text last corrected 5 October 2026. What has changed →

Old Testament

The Law
GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomy
Historical
JosueJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Kings1 Samuel2 Kings2 Samuel3 Kings1 Kings4 Kings2 Kings1 Paralipomenon1 Chronicles2 Paralipomenon2 Chronicles1 EsdrasEzra2 EsdrasNehemiahTobiasTobitJudithEsther
Wisdom
JobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesCanticle of CanticlesSong of SongsWisdomEcclesiasticusSirach
The Prophets
IsaiasIsaiahJeremiasJeremiahLamentationsBaruchEzechielEzekielDanielOseeHoseaJoelAmosAbdiasObadiahJonasJonahMicheasMicahNahumHabacucHabakkukSophoniasZephaniahAggeusHaggaiZachariasZechariahMalachiasMalachi
Machabees
1 Machabees2 Machabees

New Testament

Gospels & Acts
MatthewMarkLukeJohnActs
Epistles
Romans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJude
Apocalypse
ApocalypseRevelation

Appendix

The Prayer of Manasses and the Third and Fourth Books of Esdras, printed in the 1610 Douay after the canonical books, because they are not received into the Canon of Divine Scriptures by the Catholic Church, yet extant in most Latin Bibles.

The Prayer of ManassesThe Third Book of EsdrasThe Fourth Book of Esdras

Front matter & prefaces

The 1582/1609 edition’s own front matter, presented as printed.

The Old Testament (1609–1610)
Title PageThe ApprobationPreface to the ReaderThe Marks Used in This EditionThe Summe of the Old TestamentOf Moyses the Author of the Five First BookesThe Second Part of the Old Testament: Historical BooksThe Second Tome Title Page (1610)A Briefe Note Concerning the Gradual PsalmesThe Argument of the Sapiential BooksThe Prologue upon EcclesiasticusThe Argument of the Prophetical BooksThe Argument of the Twelve Lesser PropheciesTo the Curteous Reader
The New Testament (1582)
The New Testament Title PageThe Preface to the New TestamentThe Censure and ApprobationThe Summe of the New TestamentThe Bookes of the New Testament
Interludes: the ages of the world
The First Age of the WorldThe Second Age of the WorldThe Third Age of the WorldThe Fourth Age of the WorldThe Fifth Age of the WorldThe Sixth Age of the World
Back matter: the tables & apparatus

The reference matter that closes each Testament: the lectionaries, the table of controversies, the explication of hard words, the errata, and the closing approbations. In the Old-Testament lectionary, each reading links to its chapter.

The Old Testament (1609–1610)
Proemial Annotations upon the Booke of PsalmesThe Argument of the Bookes of IeremieA Brief Recapitulation of this Strange and Sacred HistorieA Table of the Epistles (Old Testament)An Historical Table of the TimesA Particular Table (the alphabetical index)Faults Escaped in the PrintingThe Censure of the Old Testament
The New Testament (1582)
The Summe and Order of the Evangelical HistorieThe Summe of the Actes of the ApostlesOf the Other Apostles, with the Apostles CredeThe Argument of the Epistles in GeneralA More Ample Declaration of the Sense of 1 Corinthians 14A Table of the Epistles and GospelsAn Ample and Particular Table of ControversiesThe Explication of Certain WordsFaults Corrected, and the Colophon
The Mass Readings: Epistle & Gospel for the whole year, each linked to its chapter →