Article IV
The Canonical Scriptures
The Church recognizes the Old and New Testaments as the authoritative and undisputed canon of Holy Scripture.
We understand Holy Scripture to consist of the two volumes of the Old and New Testaments, which are canonical books against which no objection can be raised. Their number in the Church of God is as follows.
The Books of the Old and New Testaments
This section provides the complete list of the inspired books that comprise the Old and New Testaments.
In the Old Testament: the five books of Moses; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; the two books of Samuel and two of Kings; the two books of Chronicles, called Paralipomena; the first book of Ezra; Nehemiah; Esther; Job; the Psalms of David; the three books of Solomon—namely, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs; and the four Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.1 Then come the other twelve, the Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. In the New Testament: the four Evangelists, Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, and Saint John; the Acts of the Apostles; the fourteen letters of Saint Paul—Romans, two to the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews; the seven letters of the other Apostles—namely, one by Saint James, two by Saint Peter, three by Saint John, and one by Saint Jude; and finally, the Revelation of Saint John the Apostle.
Read the original Latin
Nous comprenons l'Écriture Sainte aux deux volumes du Vieux et du Nouveau Testament, qui sont livres canoniques, auxquels il n'y a rien à répliquer. Le nombre en est tel en l'Église de Dieu. Dans l'Ancien Testament: Les cinq livres de Moïse, le livre de Josué, des Juges, Ruth, les deux livres de Samuël, et deux des Rois, les deux livres des Chroniques dits Paralipomènes, le premier d'Esdras, Néhémie, Ester, Job, les Psaumes de David, les trois livres de Salomon, savoir: les Proverbes, l'Écclésiaste, et le Cantique; les quatre grands Prophètes: Ésaïe, Jérémie, Ézéchiel, et Daniel. Puis les autres douze petits Prophètes: Osée, Joël, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Michée, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonie, Aggée, Zacharie, Malachie. Dans le Nouveau Testament: les quatre Évangélistes, saint Matthieu, saint Marc, saint Luc, saint Jean; les Actes des Apôtres, les quatorze Épîtres de saint Paul: aux Romains, deux aux Corinthiens, aux Galates, Éphésiens, Philippiens, Colossiens, deux aux Thessaloniciens, deux à Timothée, à Tite, Philémon, aux Hébreux; et les sept Épîtres des autres Apôtres, savoir une de saint Jacques, deux de saint Pierre, trois de saint Jean, et une de saint Jude; enfin l'Apocalypse de saint Jean Apôtre.
Notes
- 1 ↩“Paralipomena” is the older name for the books now generally called Chronicles.
The Belgic Confession companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit