Study & reference

The Ethiopian Bible

The books the Ethiopian canon preserved that regular Bibles leave out: Enoch — quoted word for word in Jude 14-15 —, Jubilees, 4 Baruch, the Ascension of Isaiah, and the fifteen deuterocanonical books. Full text, from public-domain sources.

Exclusive to the Ethiopian canon

What about the three Meqabyan?

1, 2 and 3 Meqabyan ("Ethiopian Maccabees") are part of the Ethiopian canon, but they are not the Maccabees of Catholic Bibles: Judas Maccabeus and the Hasmonean dynasty never appear — they are distinct narratives and teachings (an idolatrous king named Tseerutsaydan, martyrs awaiting the resurrection) that share the name only by accident of translation.

Why aren't they here yet? Because no complete English or Spanish translation with a free license exists anywhere: the versions circulating online derive from modern copyrighted translations, and we do not publish texts without rights. When a free translation exists — or we can legally produce one from the Ge'ez — we will add them.

Deuterocanonical books

Tobit

14 chapters

A tale of faithfulness in the Assyrian exile: pious Tobit, his son Tobias, the angel Raphael, and prayer heard.

Judith

16 chapters

The widow who saved Israel: faith, cunning, and the head of Holofernes.

Esther (Greek)

10 chapters

The Greek Esther with the additions the Hebrew lacks — including the prayers of Esther and Mordecai where the Name does appear.

Wisdom of Solomon

19 chapters

Hellenistic wisdom attributed to Solomon: the persecuted righteous one, immortality, and the critique of idolatry.

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

51 chapters

The great wisdom book of Yeshua ben Sira (~180 BC): proverbs, trades, friendship, and the praise of the fathers — from Enoch to Nehemiah.

Baruch

6 chapters

Confession and comfort from exile, attributed to Jeremiah's scribe. Chapter 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah against idols.

1 Maccabees

16 chapters

The history of the Maccabean revolt against Antiochus: the Temple rededication behind Hanukkah (John 10:22).

2 Maccabees

15 chapters

The same era told with theological emphasis: the martyrdom of the seven brothers and the explicit hope of resurrection.

1 Esdras

9 chapters

The Greek Esdras (Ethiopic 2 Izra): return from exile and the contest of the three guards — "truth is strongest."

2 Esdras (4 Ezra)

16 chapters

The apocalypse of Ezra (Izra Sutuel in Ethiopia): seven visions on evil, God's justice, and the Son rising from the sea.

Prayer of Manasseh

1 chapter

The repentance plea of Judah's most wicked king — fifteen verses of pure teshuvah (2 Chronicles 33:12-13).

Psalm 151

1 chapter

David's psalm "outside the number" about Goliath — also found in Hebrew among the Dead Sea Scrolls (11Q5).

3 Maccabees

7 chapters

The persecution of Egypt's Jews under Ptolemy Philopator and their miraculous deliverance in the hippodrome.

4 Maccabees

18 chapters

A philosophical discourse on devout reason mastering the passions, illustrated with the Maccabean martyrs.

Daniel (Greek)

14 chapters

The complete Greek Daniel with the additions: the Song of the Three Young Men in the furnace, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon.

These texts are offered for study and historical reference: the Ethiopian Church holds them canonical; other traditions do not. We publish only public-domain editions (R.H. Charles, J.R. Harris, World English Bible, Santa Biblia libre) and our own translations are released under CC BY-SA 4.0.