The Biblia Sacra et Ultra includes the entire 2024 edition of The Complete Apocrypha®, with brand new and freshly revised translations of the Sibylline Oracles (13 books), Epistles of King Abgar and Jesus, Epistle of the Apostles, both of Justin Martyr’s Apologies, Melito’s Apology to Marcus Aurelius and a book of his other extant writings, Athenagoras’ A Plea for the Christians, the three books of Theophilus’ Apology to Autolycus, Hippolytus’ Discourse on Hades, and additional Psalms found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, making the 2024 edition by far the largest single-volume collection of apocryphal and early, extra-biblical Judeo-Christian writings ever assembled (most of which originates from before AD 200). But the collection is now massively expanded, to include literally hundreds of additional works, including all the contemporary-English translations of the works of Josephus and Eusebius that comprise Ancient HistoriaTM, and hundreds of apocryphal epistles, gospels, Acts, and gnostic works, including material up through the Middle Ages. This library of apocryphal works is not Scripture but is the definitive collection of very early extra-biblical writings in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
The Complete Apocrypha®, Ancient HistoriaTM, and the additional printed works of the Biblia Sacra et Ultra follow many of the same translation principles and formatting practices as the Literal Standard Version of The Holy Bible (LSV), published in 2020. You can consult the preface and introduction to the LSV for more information about the translation and formatting style of this edition. In general, this collection is a highly literal, word-for-word (formal equivalence) translation, formatted with justified text blocks in the manner of the original manuscripts. The caesura mark is used in lieu of line breaks in poetic portions of the text, except in the Oracles which were written in hexameter and here in English have every fifth line numbered. Unlike the LSV Bible, the Tetragrammaton is not used (except in a handful of specific cases that demand its use), but where a reference to the Divine Name is likely, the all-uppercase title LORD can be found for distinction.
Opinions of the apocryphal works vary, but they generally fall into either of two extremes: the first is the view that these works are inherently heretical because of their absence from the Protocanon and must be censored and condemned at all costs; the second is the view that traditional religious authorities, Jewish and Christian alike, are responsible for a massive coverup of divine revelation by excluding many of these texts from the canon, and that these works should be regarded as hidden Scripture. Both views are a sort of knee-jerk reaction to a more nuanced reality. On the one hand, we can have total confidence in the protocanonical 66 books of the Bible, and the deuterocanonical books have always held a sort of secondary or “limbo” status. The Muratorian Canon of the 2nd century demonstrates as much, and early collators and translators like Jerome fought against the full inclusion of the Deuterocanon. Even in the early years of the Reformation we see a hesitancy toward these texts—Luther did not consider these works equal to Scripture (although he did consider them worthy of study); likewise, the 1611 King James Version consigned the intertestamental Deuterocanon to an essentially appendix status, demoted with the title Apocrypha (“hidden” or “obscure” writings).
There are good reasons not to consider these texts equal to Scripture: first, they are scarcely if ever quoted in the protocanonical books, and the handful of possible quotations and allusions are highly controversial. Second, the Old Testament and intertestamental apocryphal texts appear to have been written much later than the 39 protocanonical books (and often in Greek rather than Hebrew); likewise, the apocryphal New Testament texts and Apostolic Fathers are generally thought to have been written decades, even many decades, after the core 27 books of the New Testament. Third, manuscripts are scarcer and show much greater historical redaction than the protocanonical books. Fourth, a number of the supposed pseudepigraphical works show a tendency toward perfectionist soteriology (i.e., an aversion or ignorance toward the Old and New Testament system of atoning, substitutionary sacrifice and the imputation of righteousness). And fifth, some of the narratives describe very fanciful and exaggerated descriptions that generally seem out-of-sync with the biblical tradition—Abraham conversing with death personified, Jacob’s sons utilizing superpowers to conquer Canaan, Solomon binding demons to build the Temple, Isaiah flying through and describing each level of Heaven, and so forth.
On the other hand, there is little doubt the biblical writers had at least some familiarity with these texts or perhaps the oral traditions on which they were based: Jude seemingly quotes from Enoch; Paul mentions names found only in some of the apocryphal literature; Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), a festival established according to the accounts found in 1 and 2 Maccabees. The debate over the Apocrypha often belies simpler conclusions: some apocryphal texts are simply historical accounts (e.g., Maccabees); other apocryphal texts were not necessarily written to add to Scripture, but rather as entertaining stories—fictions even—in a similar vein to what contemporary Jewish and Christian writers do; still others may contain kernels of primordial oral traditions harkening back to real sayings and accounts between God and man. The apocryphal books are not to be revered as Scripture, but they do help us understand the history, traditions, and thinking at the time much of the Bible was written.
This edition is based on and greatly expands the bestselling 2018, 2022, and 2024 editions (© 2022 and 2024), featuring, in addition to the complete Holy Bible, hundreds of apocryphal and ancient Judeo-Christian books, creeds, and early secular writings that attest to the Bible’s authenticity. This is the largest Apocrypha collection ever published; it includes all of the deuterocanonical books, the Apostolic Fathers, many of the key early Christian writings, the Oracles, and most known pseudepigraphal works. Introductions are included with all apocryphal works, containing useful information on narrative, context, date of composition, and theological relevance.
LANGUAGES AND DATES OF COMPOSITION: Like the Bible, which was originally composed in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the apocryphal works were also likely written in those languages. However, there are not always extant manuscripts in those languages remaining, so the translation-base, in addition to Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, also includes Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic), Coptic, Ethiopic, Latin, and Slavonic. Secular scholarship generally assigns most of the works in this collection to the 3rd century BC through the 3rd century AD, although some works likely underwent considerable medieval redaction, including the Testament of Solomon and the Book of Jasher. The Biblia Sacra et Ultra also includes many works from the Early Middle Ages.
LONGEST AND SHORTEST BOOKS: The Book of Jasher, also called Sefer haYashar, while containing fewer chapters than 1 Enoch (91 vs. 108), is the longest book in this complete collection by far (available via access key). It is a midrash exploring biblical history in great detail, from the creation of mankind all the way to the death of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan. A contemporary translation of the Merneptah Stele (circa 1208 BC), which positively identifies Israel as existing during the period of the Judges, is the shortest work in this collection.