By Clement Harrold

October 16, 2025

Most Catholics have had the experience of looking up a psalm, only to discover that the psalm number they’ve been given is different from the one printed in their Bible. This experience can be a source of confusion and frustration, and it raises some obvious questions: Why are there different numbering systems for the psalms? And which system is correct?

Today the more common numbering system is the one based on the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Old Testament. This is the system used by translations such as the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the English Standard Version (ESV), the New International Version (NIV), the King James Version (KJV), and the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE).

In the United States, the Hebrew numbering system is used in both the Mass and the liturgy of the hours. The Hebrew numbering system is also used in the Mass in England and Wales, after the bishops there updated the old Grail translation of the psalms to the Abbey translation in November of last year.

The less common numbering system today is based on the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, and it’s usually found in more traditional Catholic liturgical contexts. The Latin Vulgate follows the Greek numbering system, as does its English translation known as the Douay-Rheims Bible. The Greek system is therefore the basis for how the psalms are numbered in the Traditional Latin Mass. In England and Wales, the Greek system is also still used for the liturgy of the hours, although this will soon change with the introduction of a new translation.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Greek numbering system is the one favored by the Eastern Orthodox churches, whereas Protestants prefer the Hebrew system.

Understanding the Differences

So what exactly is the difference between the Hebrew and Greek numbering systems? Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin offers a succinct explanation:

The answer is that the Hebrew numbering sometimes combines (splices, joins) a psalm that is reckoned as two psalms in the Greek numbering–and visa versa. . . .

The first time the numbering varies is when the Hebrew psalms 9 and 10 are joined as the Greek psalm 9. That causes the Greek numbers to be one less than the Hebrew numbers for most of the book, which is why the Hebrew 23rd psalm gets reckoned as the Greek 22nd psalm.

The same thing happens when the Hebrew psalms 114 and 115 are joined as the Greek psalm 113.

“Oh, no!” you may be saying to yourself. “Now they’re going to be off by two numbers!”

Well, they would be, except the very next Hebrew psalm–116–is divided into two in the Greek numbering, resulting in Greek psalms 114 and 115. So now the Greek numbering is only one psalm behind the Hebrew numbering again.

Whew!

Since both the Hebrew and Greek editions of the book of Psalms both have 150 entries, though, how do they get joined back up again?

That happens when we hit Hebrew psalm 147, which also is divided into the Greek psalms numbered 146 and 147.

With that resolved, the two numbering systems can now march arm-in-arm through the final three psalms: 148, 149, and 150.

The result of all this is that it is only the first eight and final three psalms which agree in numbering. For nearly all of the other psalms, the Greek numbering lags one behind the Hebrew. This can lead to some confusing moments. For example, Psalm 22 in the Greek numbering system is the popular psalm which begins “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” But in the Hebrew numbering system, Psalm 22 is the sorrowful psalm which begins with the words Jesus cites as He hangs upon the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Wikipedia offers a handy chart to help us keep things straight. 

Which System Is Better?

So which numbering system is better: the Hebrew or the Greek? Well, the short answer is: it depends on who you ask! Scholarly arguments can be made for both, and the fading popularity of the Greek numbering system shouldn’t necessarily be taken as evidence of its inferiority.

Since the Hebrew texts which we possess only date back to the Middle Ages, there is an argument to be made that the Greek numbering—based on the third century B.C. translation of the Bible known as the Septuagint—is actually more faithful to the original numbering. For instance, the Greek-Latin tradition accurately identifies Psalm 9 as a single acrostic poem, whereas the Hebrew text incorrectly splits it into two separate psalms.

With that being said, the fact of the matter is that most Christians in the English-speaking world now use the Hebrew numbering system. And for better or worse, the Catholic Church has also been moving in this direction, with newer translations of liturgical texts generally adopting the Hebrew numbering. Given this, it makes sense for Catholics today to employ the Hebrew numbering in their day-to-day lives.

At the same time, it’s good for us to still remain cognizant of the “traditional” Greek numbering system used by the Latin Vulgate. This is especially true for the more well-known psalms. For example, it’s worth knowing as Catholics that the psalm used for the prayers at the foot of the altar in the Traditional Latin Mass is numbered as Psalm 42 in the Latin Vulgate. In the Douay-Rheims translation, Psalm 42 begins: “Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.” In most modern English bibles, however, this is rendered as Psalm 43.

Given the different numbering systems, you’ll sometimes see older Catholic sources give the Hebrew numbering in parentheses: e.g. Psalm 42(43):1. But this also gets confusing because modern translations, including modern Catholic translations, will sometimes do the same thing but in reverse: Psalm 43(42):1. This time it’s the Greek numbering, not the Hebrew numbering, which is in parentheses—just to keep you on your toes!

A Brief Word on Superscriptions

One final thing to be aware of when it comes to the numbering of the psalms is that the numbering of the verses isn’t entirely consistent either. To see why, we need to remember that many of the psalms include what are known as “superscriptions,” which often tell us about the traditional author of the psalm, or about the theme it addresses.

To give a famous example, the Miserere psalm of King David—Psalm 50 in the Greek and Vulgate numbering, Psalm 51 in the Hebrew—bears the superscription: “To the choirmaster. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after had gone in to Bathsheba.” While some translations keep this superscription as a separate heading, others render it part of the actual psalm. The RSV is an example of the former approach, and so the first verse of the psalm is simply “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your merciful love.”

On the other hand, some translations—most notably the NABRE, which is used in Catholic liturgies in the United States—render the superscription as the first verse (or verses) of the actual psalm. In the case of Psalm 51, the superscription takes up two verses, and so it isn’t till verse 3 in the NABRE that you get those opening words from King David: “Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love.”

Given all this, it is not uncommon for the NABRE psalms to be one or even two verses behind other English translations of the psalms.

One final piece of Catholic Bible trivia: the NABRE’s approach to versifying the psalm superscriptions is the same approach taken by the Latin Vulgate, which is used in the Traditional Latin Mass. This means that the NABRE and the Vulgate number the verses in the same way, even though they use different numbering systems for the psalms as a whole!

Further Reading

John Bergsma, Psalm Basics for Catholics: Seeing Salvation History in a New Way (Ave Maria Press, 2018)

About Clement Harrold

Clement Harrold earned his master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2024, and his bachelor’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2021. His writings have appeared in First Things, Church Life Journal, Crisis Magazine, and the Washington Examiner.