## Instructions

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Welcome About the Definitions Concordance Instructions Why the Douay‑Rheins Version? Acknowledgments Bible Book Names Compared Some Proper Names Compared Psalm Numbers Compared Esther Chapters Compared Differences with Printed Bibles See Color Choices Finding and Reporting Errors Contacting the Software Author

### Welcome

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Welcome! I hope you like this free software! It includes
• The Douay-Rheims version of the Bible (Why this version?)
• The notes by Bishop Richard Chanoller
• The cross-references between verses
• Brief definitions of Bible words that may be unfamiliar
• A complete concordance. (What's a concordance?)
To find a given verse: From the main page, simply click or tap the name of the book, then the chapter number, and then the verse number. I find this much faster than thumbing through a printed Bible.
The notes by Bishop Challoner, and the text to which they refer, are in this color. See Gen. 1:16 for an example. Cross-references between verses are in this color; you can click or tap on them. To see an example, note that Rom. 5:3 and James 1:3 reference each other. If you're running this software on your own computer rather than online, you can change the colors used for the notes and for the cross-references.
Words that are linked to definitions are in the same color as the cross-references; you can click or tap on them, too. This should save you much time looking up the definitions of unfamiliar words. To see an example, see the word kine in Gen. 41:26. (More information about the definitions appears below.) I didn't underline the links because I feel that underlined words would be distracting when you're reading the Bible.
To return to where you were after clicking or tapping on a link, use the back button on your Web browser. If you prefer, you can hold Shift while clicking on a link to open a new browser window. In that case, simply close the new window to return to where you were.
Instructions for the concordance appear below.
This software is free, and I'm placing it in the public domain (with no warranty). Please give copies to anyone who would like to have the software. If you make improvements, or have any suggestions or comments, I'd love to hear from you.
If you ever want to uninstall this software, simply delete the folder containing these files.

### About the Definitions

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To make the Douay-Rheims Bible a little less difficult for you to read, I looked up the meanings of words (other than proper names) that are obsolete, or that I thought might be unfamiliar, to save you the trouble of doing so. I don't pretend that this will make the Bible easy to understand, as the Bible is difficult and mysterious even for scholars! However, I hope that this feature of the software will alleviate one difficulty in reading the Douay-Rheims Bible.
Words such as kine in Gen. 41:26 are linked to brief definitions. Simply click or tap on the word to see the definition. To return to where you were after clicking or tapping on a link, use the back button on your Web browser. If you prefer, you can hold Shift while clicking on a link to open a new browser window. In that case, simply close the new window to return to where you were.
I've included pronunciations (in square brackets) only for words where there is likely to be a question of pronunciation. For example,
draught [DRAFT] n. all the fish caught in the net
To keep the definitions as brief as possible, I didn't begin the definitions of verbs with the word to, nor the definitions of nouns with the article a:
blaze v. make public
buffle n. buffalo
However, I've occasionally used the article a to mean one kind of. For example, the definition
bittern n. a bird
doesn't say that bittern means bird, but rather that a bittern is one kind of bird, and that, in my opinion, a more detailed definition (giving the features of bitterns that distinguish them from other birds) isn't needed for purposes of reading the Bible.
Some words have an ordinary, familiar meaning and also an unusual meaning. A well-known example is know, which occasionally means "have sexual intercourse with." This word (or some form of it like knew, known, knowledge, etc.), appears 1857 times in the numbered verses of the Bible and 90 times elsewhere (such as in the notes). In only 17 of these 1947 instances (e.g., Gen. 4:1) does the word have its unusual meaning. For such words, I've examined each occurrence and linked to a definition only those instances where I believe the word has its unusual meaning. It would be very distracting, for example, if every occurrence of know (or some form of it) were linked to a definition!
For such words, where only some instances are linked to a definition, I've placed the phrase sometimes means before the definition. For example:
know v. sometimes means: have sexual intercourse with
sleep v. sometimes means: die, be dead
However, if the unusual meaning of a word occurs in only one verse, I've cited the verse instead of using the phrase sometimes means:
blood n. (1 Mac. 6:34 only) juice
cheek n. (Ex. 12:22 only) door side post
A few unfamiliar words are defined directly in the sacred text (e.g., mamzer in Deut. 23:2), or in the notes by Bishop Challoner (e.g., bruchus in the note to Ps. 104:34). My providing definitions of these words would be superfluous. However, where these words appear elsewhere without a definition, I've indirectly linked those appearances to the place where the word is defined. See, for example, the word bruchus in Lev. 11:22.
For words that have multiple definitions (e.g., testimony), the definitions appear in no particular order.
To avoid committing copyright infringement in supplying definitions, I used a variety of dictionaries (see Acknowledgments), and tried to paraphrase the definitions wherever possible.
Browse the Definitions.

### What's a Concordance?

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A concordance lets you look up any word that appears in the Bible, listing all the verses that contain that word. This can help you find a passage. The concordance in this free software also lets you look up several words, listing all the verses that contain all of those words.
To start the concordance, click or tap here or click or tap "Concordance" on the main page. Then, at the prompt "Word to search for (Enter to end)," type the words you're looking for, one at a time. Simply hit Enter when you're finished.
Suppose, for example, that you want to find the parable of the mustard seed by listing all the verses containing the word mustard. At the prompt, type mustard and hit Enter. You learn that mustard is found in five verses. Since this is the only word you're looking for, simply hit Enter when the prompt reappears. You now see the five references. Clicking or tapping any one of the references will open a new browser window and show that verse in context. To return to the list of references, simply close the new window.
You can also look up several words. For example, suppose that you vaguely remember Jesus inviting someone to give to the poor and have treasure in heaven. You'd like to find that passage. At the prompt, type give and press Enter. You learn that give is found in 1123 verses, so you must narrow the search. Type poor. You learn that only 14 verses contain both give and poor, but you'd like to narrow the search even further. Type treasure and learn that only three verses contain all three words. You've now narrowed the search sufficiently, so simply hit Enter to see the three references. Again, clicking or tapping any reference will open a new browser window and show that verse in context. To return to the list of references, simply close the new window.
This concordance is exhaustive, which means that it indexes every word in the numbered verses of the Bible. (It doesn't index the chapter headers, notes, etc.)
For purposes of this software, words can contain letters, hyphens, and apostrophes. Sons and son's are two different words. Sixty-six is one word.

### Why I Chose The Douay-Rheims Version

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The Douay-Rheims is a Catholic Bible, which was translated from the Latin Vulgate in 1582 and 1609. Although modern-English translations of the Bible may be easier to read, in my opinion the Douay-Rheims is the most accurate English translation available. St. Jerome, who lived about A.D. 345-420, produced the Latin Vulgate when Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were all living languages, well known to him. The Douay-Rheims is an accurate English translation from the Latin Vulgate.
I tried to make the Douay-Rheims Bible a little less difficult to read by linking unfamiliar words to brief definitions.
The Douay-Rheims Bible in this software (and printed Douay-Rheims Bibles today) contain some revisions to the text made by Bishop Richard Challoner (1691-1781) when he consulted early Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. He also added notes, which I feel are indispensable! The Bible is difficult reading, and it contains apparent contradictions that require authoritative clarification. For example:

> God said, "I shall harden his [Pharao's] heart" (Ex. 7:3), but Pharao "hardened his own heart" (Ex. 8:15). This is one reason why some people believe in free will and others do not.
> Similarly, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30), but "...the Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). This apparent contradiction obviously requires explanatory notes.
> Finally, "For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law" (Rom. 3:28), but, "Do you see that by works a man is justified ; and not by faith only ?" (James 2:24) This apparent contradiction is a source of endless controversy among Christians.

Certainly God doesn't expect me, with no formal training, to resolve difficult issues like these without help from those more knowledgeable than I! Authoritative interpretation of His holy word is absolutely necessary. That's why I feel that the notes added to the Douay-Rheims Bible by Bishop Challoner are indispensable.
Another reason why I prefer the Douay-Rheims version is that some of the notes by Bishop Challoner seem to warn against less accurate translations found in other versions of the Bible. See, for example, the notes to 1 Cor. 7:9, Heb. 11:21, and Matt. 3:2.
Fortunately, Douay-Rheims Bibles (with the notes by Bishop Challoner) are not copyrighted, and therefore I can make this software available to you for free.
There are also Douay-Rheims Bibles with extensive notes by Fr. George Haydock (1774-1849). To the best of my knowledge, however, these Bibles are all copyrighted. Therefore, the notes by Fr. Haydock are not included in this software.

### Acknowledgments

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The text of the Douay-Rheims Bible (along with the notes by Bishop Challoner) was taken from two sources on the Internet: http://www.drbo.org and http://www.catholicfirst.com/bibledrv.html. (The second link is no longer active.) I tried to correct any errors in these sources (e.g., due to imperfect Optical Character Recognition) by comparing the sources with each other and with printed Douay-Rheims Bibles. Several printed Bibles were used; the following is the Imprimatur from the principal one:
IMPRIMATUR:
James Cardinal Gibbons
Archbishop of Baltimore
September 1, 1899
To avoid committing copyright infringement in supplying definitions of unfamiliar words, I used a variety of dictionaries, and tried to paraphrase the definitions wherever possible. The following dictionaries were consulted in preparing the brief definitions in this online Bible:
1. American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828. (Reproduced by Foundation for American Christian Education, San Francisco, CA, 2000.)
2. American Heritage® College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, New York, 2004.
3. Collins English Dictionary, Fifth Edition, HarperCollins Publishers, Ltd., London, 2000.
4. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, MA, 2005.
5. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc., New York, NY, 1999.
6. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, MA, 2003.

### Names of the Books of the Bible Compared

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Because the Douay-Rheims Bible was translated from the ancient Latin Vulgate, the names of some of the books differ from the names in the King James Version and in more modern Catholic versions. Also, Catholic Bibles contain seven books of the Old Testament not found in Protestant Bibles. The following table may prove helpful to those not already familiar with the Douay-Rheims Version:
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE:
(Italics denote the Protestant Apocrypha.)
KING JAMES: DOUAY-RHEIMS:
Genesis Genesis
Exodus Exodus
Leviticus Leviticus
Numbers Numbers
Deuteronomy Deuteronomy
Joshua Josue
Judges Judges
Ruth Ruth
1 Samuel 1 Kings
2 Samuel 2 Kings
1 Kings 3 Kings
2 Kings 4 Kings
1 Chronicles 1 Paralipomenon
2 Chronicles 2 Paralipomenon
Ezra 1 Esdras
Nehemiah 2 Esdras
Tobit Tobias
Judith Judith
Esther 1-10 \ Esther
Esther 11-16 /
Job Job
Psalms Psalms
Proverbs Proverbs
Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon Canticle of
Canticles
Wisdom of Wisdom
Solomon
Ecclesiasticus Ecclesiasticus
Isaiah Isaias
Jeremiah Jeremias
Lamentations Lamentations
Baruch Baruch
Ezekiel Ezechiel
Daniel \
Song of the |
Three |
Children > Daniel
Susanna |
Bel and the |
Dragon /
Hosea Osee
Joel Joel
Amos Amos
Obadiah Abdias
Jonah Jonas
Micah Micheas
Nahum Nahum
Habakkuk Habacuc
Zephaniah Sophonias
Haggai Aggeus
Zechariah Zacharias
Malachi Malachias
1 Maccabees 1 Machabees
2 Maccabees 2 Machabees
Matthew Matthew
Mark Mark
Luke Luke
John John
Acts Acts
Romans Romans
1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians
Galatians Galatians
Ephesians Ephesians
Philippians Philippians
Colossians Colossians
1 Thessalonians 1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy 1 Timothy
2 Timothy 2 Timothy
Titus Titus
Philemon Philemon
Hebrews Hebrews
James James
1 Peter 1 Peter
2 Peter 2 Peter
1 John 1 John
2 John 2 John
3 John 3 John
Jude Jude
Revelation Apocalypse
NOTE: In modern Catholic Bibles, the names of the books are the same as in the King James Bible and the Protestant Apocrypha, except as follows:
KING JAMES: MODERN CATHOLIC:
Song of Song of Songs
Solomon
Wisdom of Wisdom
Solomon
Ecclesiasticus Sirach
NOTES:
In some Bibles, Jeremiah and Lamentations are counted as one book.
In some Bibles, Sirach is called The Wisdom of Ben Sira.
In some Bibles, the two books of Maccabees follow Esther rather than Malachi.

### Some Proper Names Compared

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Besides the differences in the names of the books of the Bible, some other proper names in the Douay-Rheims Bible differ from the names in other versions of the Bible. The most important of these are as follows:
SOME PROPER NAMES IN THE BIBLE:
KING JAMES: DOUAY-RHEIMS:
Apollos Apollo
Barak Barac
Bath-sheba Bethsabee
Deborah Debora
Elijah Elias
Enoch Henoch
Gideon Gedeon
Hagar Agar
Hezekiah Ezechias
Ishmael Ismael or
Ismahel
Judah Juda
Leah Lea
Nebuchadnezzar Nabuchodonosor
Nimrod Nemrod
Noah Noe
Pharaoh Pharao
Rehoboam Roboam
Sarah Sara
Uriah Urias
Zacharias Zachary

### Numbering of the Psalms Compared

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In the Douay-Rheims Version, the Psalms are numbered differently from most other versions of the Bible, although their total number is still 150. For example, Psalm 23 in most Bibles corresponds to Psalm 22 in the Douay-Rheims version. The following table may be helpful:
NUMBERING OF THE PSALMS:
MOST BIBLES: DOUAY-RHEIMS:
1-8 1-8
9-10 9
11-113 10-112
114-115 113
116 114-115
117-146 116-145
147 146-147
148-150 148-150
There's more information in the note after Ps. 9:21 and in the headers to Psalm 113, Psalm 115 and Psalm 147.

### Esther Chapters and Verses Compared

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In Catholic Bibles, the book of Esther contains six chapters not found in Protestant Bibles. Furthermore, the chapters and verses of Esther in modern Catholic Bibles are labeled quite differently compared to those in the Douay-Rheims Version. The following table may be helpful:
THE BOOK OF ESTHER:
MODERN
CATHOLIC: DOUAY-RHEIMS:
1-9 1-9
10:1-3 10:1-3
F:1-10 10:4-13
- 11:1
A:1-11 11:2-12
A:12-17 12:1-6
B:1-7 13:1-7
C:1-11 13:8-18
C:12-30 14:1-19
- 15:1
B:8-9 15:2-3
D:1-16 15:4-19
E:1-24 16:1-24

### Differences with Printed Bibles

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There are a few differences between this online Bible and printed Douay-Rheims Bibles (with the notes by Bishop Challoner).
In this software, I've standardized the references to verses. For example, references in the printed Bibles usually have a period and a space between the chapter number and the verse number (e.g., "Acts 14. 14"). Here, I've used the more standard colon (e.g., "Acts 14:14").
A few of the notes in the printed Bibles contain Greek words (in Greek letters) that aren't reproduced here. For example, in this online Bible the note to Eph. 3:15 reads
15 All paternity. Or, the whole family. God is the Father, both of angels and men ; whosoever besides is named father, is so named with subordination to him.
The printed Bibles show a Greek word (in Greek letters) after the word family.
A few of the notes refer to British currency in some printed Bibles and to U.S. currency in others. In such cases, I've combined the two versions of the notes. An example is the note to Matt. 18:24.
The software shows verse numbers in red to make it easier to find a desired verse on the screen. Also, in this software all verses are numbered, while printed Bibles don't number verse 1 of each chapter. For example, Gen. 18:1 looks about like the following in the printed Bibles:
AND j the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day.
j A. M. 2017. Ante C. 1897 ; Heb. 13. 2.
In this online Bible, the above verse appears as follows:
1 And j the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day.
j A. M. 2017, Ante C. 1897, Heb. 13:2
(Note that A. M. means Anno Mundi, in the year of the World, and Ante C. means Ante Christum, year before Christ).

### Finding and Reporting Errors

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Needless to say, I would very much appreciate your bringing to my attention any errors that you might discover in this software. The following information may help you find errors:
The text of the Douay-Rheims Bible (along with the notes by Bishop Challoner) was taken from two sources (see Acknowledgments). I tried to correct any errors in these sources (e.g., due to imperfect Optical Character Recognition) by comparing the sources with each other and with printed Douay-Rheims Bibles. Of course, it's entirely possible that some errors escaped me.
From a printed Douay-Rheims Bible, I manually typed the dates and the cross-references between verses, marked the text that appears in italics, and marked the text that's referenced by the notes. Obviously, anything that I've done manually would be a good place to look for errors.
Attempting to provide brief definitions of unfamiliar words is probably the part of this endeavor for which I'm the least qualified, and where I can most use your help. (Click or tap here for more information about the definitions.) Although I wanted to save readers of the Douay-Rheims Bible the trouble of looking up the meanings of words, I've had no formal training in the Bible or theology, and the only language I know is American English. Therefore, it's very likely that some of the definitions can and should be corrected or improved. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated! Also, I had to use my own judgment in deciding which words might be unfamiliar to you. If you'd like to see a word added to this dictionary, please tell me. Please do likewise if you feel that a word should be removed from this dictionary, because most people already know its meaning and you find its links distracting. Finally, for words like sleep that have an ordinary meaning and also an unusual meaning (die, be dead), I tried to link to a definition only those instances where the word has its unusual meaning. However, I could easily have erred in deciding which occurrences of such words have their unusual meanings. If you know of any such errors, please inform me.
Thanks very much for your help!

### Contacting the Software Author

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My name is John Herro. To reduce the amount of spam that I receive, I change my email address periodically. However, you can always find my latest email address and current postal address at www.bible73.com.
Please send me your comments, questions, and suggestions! Thank you!
God bless you and yours,
- John Herro
2026-Apr-27