See exactly which books the Septuagint Bible contains, how they are grouped, and which of them other English Bibles leave out.
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Septuagint Bible
The Septuagint Bible: what it contains, and how to read it free.
The Septuagint Bible is the oldest translation of the Hebrew Scriptures ever made — Greek, begun in Alexandria in the third century BC, and a thousand years older than the Hebrew manuscripts most modern Old Testaments are translated from. It is the Bible the Apostles quoted and the Old Testament the Orthodox Church still reads. This page sets out what the Septuagint Bible contains, how its books are ordered, and how it differs from the King James and Hebrew Bibles — and the whole text is free to read, in Brenton's English translation, in Orthodox Christian Prayer Book.
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Understand how the Septuagint Bible differs from the King James and Hebrew Bibles in canon, order, numbering, and wording.
Read the whole Septuagint Bible free in Brenton's English translation — every book and chapter, readable offline, with no account and nothing to unlock first.
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What the Septuagint Bible is
The Septuagint Bible is the Greek Old Testament — the Hebrew Scriptures rendered into Greek in Alexandria between roughly the third and first centuries BC, beginning with the five books of the Law under Ptolemy II Philadelphus. It was made for Greek-speaking Jews who no longer read Hebrew easily, and it became the Bible of the synagogues of the diaspora long before it became the Bible of the Church. Its usual abbreviation, LXX, is the Roman numeral seventy, after the seventy-two elders the Letter of Aristeas names as its first translators.
The books of the Septuagint Bible
The Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The Histories: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–4 Kingdoms (the books called 1–2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings elsewhere), 1–2 Chronicles, 1 and 2 Esdras, Esther with its Greek additions, Judith, Tobit, and 1, 2 and 3 Maccabees. The Poetic and Wisdom books: Psalms including Psalm 151, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, and the Prayer of Manasseh. The Prophets: the Twelve, then Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel with Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and the Song of the Three Holy Children.
How the Septuagint Bible orders its books
The Hebrew Bible is arranged in three parts — Law, Prophets, Writings — and ends with Chronicles. The Septuagint Bible groups its books by kind instead: Law, Histories, Poetry and Wisdom, and Prophets last, so the Old Testament closes looking forward to the coming of Christ. Every Christian Bible since has kept that shape, which is why English Bibles end the Old Testament with a prophet rather than with Chronicles. Within the Prophets the Septuagint places the Twelve before Isaiah, the reverse of the order most English Bibles print.
The Septuagint Bible and the King James Bible
The King James Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew Masoretic Text; the Septuagint Bible was translated from Hebrew manuscripts a thousand years older, and into Greek. The differences show in three ways. The canon: the Septuagint carries Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, the Maccabees, and the Greek portions of Daniel and Esther — books the 1611 King James printed between the Testaments and later editions dropped. The numbering: for most of the Psalter the Septuagint runs one behind, so its Psalm 50 is the King James Psalm 51. And the wording: Isaiah 7:14 reads virgin in the Greek, which is the form Saint Matthew quotes.
Why the Septuagint Bible still matters
The oldest complete manuscripts of the Septuagint — Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus in the fourth century, Codex Alexandrinus in the fifth — are some six hundred years older than the Leningrad Codex of 1008, the oldest complete Masoretic Hebrew Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls settled what that means: among the Hebrew manuscripts found at Qumran are some that agree with the Septuagint precisely where it parts from the Masoretic Text. Where the Greek differs, it is often not a translator's slip but a faithful witness to a Hebrew text older than the one that survived.
Reading the Septuagint Bible in English
The standard English Septuagint Bible is the translation of Sir Lancelot Brenton, published by Samuel Bagster & Sons in 1844 and made directly from the Greek. That is the text in Orthodox Christian Prayer Book, on iPhone and Android, readable offline, with bookmarks and no account to create. The Scripture text is free in full — every book and chapter — while an optional Premium subscription adds narrated audio and study tools on top. Start with the Psalter, then read Genesis and Isaiah, and keep the New Testament open alongside: half the pleasure of the Septuagint Bible is recognising the Apostles' quotations in their original setting.
Inside the app
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Use these tools to read, listen, save progress, and keep a steady Orthodox prayer routine in one place.
The complete Septuagint Bible in Brenton's English translation — the whole text, free
All four divisions included — the Law, the Histories, the Poetic and Wisdom books, and the Prophets
The anagignoskomena in full: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, 1 Esdras, 1–3 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh and Psalm 151
The New Testament alongside it, so the quotations can be read against their source
Works fully offline, with bookmarks, notes, and an auto-saved reading position
Full-text search across the Old Testament, New Testament, and Deuterocanonical books (Premium)
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FAQ
Common questions about Septuagint Bible
What is the Septuagint Bible?
The Septuagint Bible is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, made in Alexandria between roughly the third and first centuries BC. It is the oldest translation of the Old Testament ever produced, the version quoted throughout the New Testament, and the Old Testament of the Orthodox Church.
How many books are in the Septuagint Bible?
There is no single fixed number, because ancient manuscripts and modern editions include slightly different books. The Septuagint Bible always covers four divisions — the Law, the Histories, the Poetic and Wisdom books, and the Prophets — and includes around a dozen books beyond the Protestant Old Testament, among them Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and the Maccabees.
Does the Septuagint Bible include the New Testament?
No. The Septuagint is the Old Testament only — the New Testament was written in Greek some three centuries later and was never part of it. The app includes both, so you can read the Septuagint Old Testament and the New Testament side by side.
What is the difference between the Septuagint Bible and the King James Bible?
The King James Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, while the Septuagint was translated into Greek from much older Hebrew manuscripts. The Septuagint contains additional books, numbers most of the Psalms one behind, orders its books differently, and differs in wording at well-known points such as Isaiah 7:14.
Which books does the Septuagint Bible have that a Protestant Bible does not?
Tobit, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, 1 Esdras, 1, 2 and 3 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and the Greek portions of Daniel and Esther — Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and the Song of the Three Holy Children.
Is the Septuagint Bible Orthodox or Catholic?
The Orthodox Old Testament follows the Septuagint canon most closely. The Roman Catholic canon is similar but not identical — it does not count 3 Maccabees or 1 Esdras among its books, and places Psalm 151 and the Prayer of Manasseh in an appendix. Protestant Bibles print none of them.
Is the Septuagint Bible older than the Hebrew Bible?
The Hebrew Scriptures themselves are older, but the Septuagint is older than any complete Hebrew manuscript that survives. Its great codices date from the fourth and fifth centuries, while the oldest complete Masoretic Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, was written in 1008. Hebrew manuscripts among the Dead Sea Scrolls sometimes agree with the Septuagint against the Masoretic Text.
Can I read the Septuagint Bible in English?
Yes. Sir Lancelot Brenton's translation of 1844, made directly from the Greek, is the standard English Septuagint Bible and is the text used in the app. You can read the whole of it without knowing any Greek.
Is the Septuagint Bible behind a paywall in the app?
No. The app has an optional Premium subscription, but the Scripture text is not part of it — the entire Septuagint Bible is free to read, every book and every chapter. Premium adds the full narrated audio library, Bible search, extra reading plans, offline audio downloads, and cloud sync.
Where can I read the Septuagint Bible for free?
The complete Septuagint Bible is free to read in Brenton's English translation in the Orthodox Christian Prayer Book app for iPhone and Android. Every book and chapter of the Scripture text is free — no subscription, no in-app purchase, and no account needed to read it — and it works offline once the app is installed.
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