Making the Bible known
Our Vision

“A TRANSFORMED PHILIPPINES THROUGH GOD’S WORD”

The BIBLE is manual to life for all Filipinos and in every Filipino home
so that lives are transformed resulting in national righteousness,
economic sufficiency, social peace,
public justice, and God-fearing citizenry.

Our Mission

“MAKING THE BIBLE KNOWN”

We exist to achieve the widest possible
effective and meaningful distribution
of the Holy Scriptures
  • In languages that people understand
  • In media and formats that meet people’s needs, and
  • At prices that people can afford providing everyone the opportunity to pray, give, volunteer and engage with the Word of God.
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Philippine Bible Society, Inc.
890 United Nations Avenue
Ermita, Manila 1000
Philippines
+63 (2) 526-7777

Deuterocanonical Book Overview PDF Print E-mail

TOBIT is about a righteous Jew, Tobit, who is in exile in Niniveh, and Sarah, who is tortured by a demon in Media. God sends the angel Raphael to help both Tobit and Sarah. Tobit's son, Tobias, goes with Raphael to Media, binds the demon, and marries Sarah. The religious value of the book is in the emphasis on both the national and personal faith of Judaism lived out by the central characters.

JUDITH begins with a war against the Jews led by the Assyrian general Holofernes. Judith, a beautiful and pious widow, leaves her besieged village, goes to Holofernes and promises him victory. She then kills him, goes back to her village, and arranges an attack on the Assyrian camp. The Assyrians are defeated and driven out of the country. Judith ranks with Deborah, Esther, and Miriam as a heroine and instrument of God.

ADDITIONS TO ESTHER include a series of passages that add a more religious tone to the book of Esther. They include an episode in which Mordecai saves the life of the king, prayers of both Mordecai and Esther, and a repetition of the heroic acts by which Esther saved her people from persecution.

WISDOM OF SOLOMON teaches that the wicked may seem to prosper, but they face a future judgment. The righteous live forever. The book uses wisdom to help Jews face persecution and resist the temptation of pagan culture.

SIRACH (ECCLESIASTICUS) was written about 180 B.C. in Jerusalem. It is a book about ethics in public life. The true measure of character is in virtue rather than money. It relates wisdom to the Torah and to worship.

BARUCH contains three major sections. One has reflections on repentance after the fall of Jerusalem. Another is a poem on wisdom, and the third offers words of hope in a time of despair and persecution.

LETTER OF JEREMIAH was written in Jeremiah's name in the 4th century B.C. The theme is that idols are not real. The book is designed to help Jews uphold the reality of one God and the emptiness and unreality of idols as they argue with Gentiles.

SONG OF THE THREE JEWS is one of the additions to Daniel. It is a collection of prayers and hymns based on the experiences of the three young men in the fiery furnace. The purpose is to strengthen faith and loyalty to God in times of persecution.

SUSANNA is another of the additions to Daniel. It tells of Daniel's rescue of Susanna, a beautiful young woman who has been falsely accused of adultery, and is a victim of blackmail. The message is how God defends the righteous who calls on Him.

BEL AND THE DRAGON is the last of the additions to Daniel. It is a series of satires and humorous stories directed against idolatry. The point is that only God is God.

1 MACCABEES - First Maccabees is a history of the revolt from the accession of Antiochus IV in 175 to the death of Simon the High Priest in 132. It records the clash between Judaism and Hellenism and is the primary source for the history of the period.

2 MACCABEES - Second Maccabees focuses on the responsibility of the Hellenizers for profaning the temple. It dwells on the deaths of martyrs and develops the idea of the resurrection.