Guide · The Psalms · 5 min read

Psalm numbering: Vulgate and Hebrew

Psalm numbers don’t differ between Catholic and Protestant Bibles. They differ between the Greek and Latin tradition and the Hebrew text: from Psalm 10 to Psalm 147 the Greek and Latin number is usually one lower, so the psalm most English Bibles call Psalm 23 is Psalm 22 in the Vulgate numbering Bless uses.

Updated October 20, 2026

Both numberings at a glance

Eight runs cover all 150 psalms. Most of the Psalter sits in the two long runs where the Hebrew number is one higher.

Vulgate1–8Hebrew1–8Same numbers
Vulgate9Hebrew9–10One psalm in the Vulgate, two in the Hebrew
Vulgate10–112Hebrew11–113The Hebrew number is one higher
Vulgate113Hebrew114–115One psalm in the Vulgate, two in the Hebrew
Vulgate114–115Hebrew116Two psalms in the Vulgate, one in the Hebrew
Vulgate116–145Hebrew117–146The Hebrew number is one higher
Vulgate146–147Hebrew147Two psalms in the Vulgate, one in the Hebrew
Vulgate148–150Hebrew148–150Same numbers

Which Bibles use which

Greek and Latin numbering “Psalm 22”

The Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament made before Christ
The Latin Vulgate, including the Clementine Vulgate of 1592
The Douay-Rheims, and the Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)
Bless, and every Scripture page on this site

Hebrew numbering “Psalm 23”

The Hebrew (Masoretic) text
The King James Version and most Protestant Bibles
Most modern Catholic translations, such as the NABRE and the RSV Catholic editions
The Mass readings published by the USCCB

So the line doesn’t run between Catholic and Protestant. Most Catholic Bibles printed in English today use the Hebrew numbers. Bibles translated from the Latin keep the Latin ones.

Why there are two

The Psalms were translated into Greek in the centuries before Christ, in the version called the Septuagint. Its translators divided a few psalms differently from the Hebrew text that later became standard. They read Hebrew Psalms 9 and 10 as one psalm, and Psalms 114 and 115 as one. They split Psalm 116 in two, and Psalm 147 in two.

St. Jerome’s revision of the Latin Psalter from the Greek became the Psalter of the Vulgate, so the Vulgate kept the Greek divisions. Every Bible translated from the Vulgate kept them too. Bibles translated from the Hebrew, from the King James Version of 1611 to most Catholic translations of the last eighty years, follow the Hebrew.

The joins and splits balance out. From Psalm 10 to Psalm 147 the Vulgate number is usually one lower, and the two numberings meet again at Psalm 148:

A Psalm of David. The Lord directs me, and nothing will be lacking to me.

Psalm 22:1 · CPDV

Psalm 22:1 in the Vulgate numbering is Psalm 23:1 in the Hebrew. The CPDV, like the Hebrew, counts the title as part of the first verse.

Verse numbers inside a psalm

Even with the right psalm, the verse numbers can disagree. The Vulgate and the Hebrew both count a psalm’s title, a line like “A Psalm of David”, as verse 1, and a long title can take two verses. The King James Version, the RSV and most Protestant Bibles don’t number the titles at all. So the opening of the Miserere is verse 3 in Bless and in the NABRE, and verse 1 in the RSV:

Be merciful to me, O God, according to your great mercy. And, according to the plentitude of your compassion, wipe out my iniquity.

Psalm 50:3 · CPDV

One more wrinkle. The Douay-Rheims numbers the verses of Psalms 115 and 147 as if they carried on from the psalm before, the way the Hebrew does: Psalm 115 starts at verse 10 and Psalm 147 at verse 12. The CPDV starts both at verse 1, and so do the chapter pages on this site.

At Mass

The Mass reading citations on our Today and calendar pages are printed exactly as the USCCB publishes them, so their psalm numbers are Hebrew. Each citation still links to the psalm in the Vulgate numbering.

Here is one from our calendar. On Monday, November 2, 2026 (The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed), the responsorial psalm is listed as Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6. In Bless that is Psalm 22: Hebrew 23, Vulgate 22.

Well-known psalms, both ways

Well-known psalms by both numbers
Vulgate	Hebrew	Known as · opening words in Latin
1	1	The two waysBeatus vir
2	2	The royal psalm of the Lord’s anointedQuare fremuerunt
21	22	Its first words are Jesus’ cry from the CrossDeus, Deus meus
22	23	The shepherd psalmDominus regit me
41	42	The deer longing for waterQuemadmodum desiderat cervus
50	51	The Miserere, chief of the penitential psalmsMiserere mei, Deus
62	63	Thirst for God at daybreakDeus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo
90	91	Under God’s wingsQui habitat
94	95	The Invitatory that opens the Liturgy of the HoursVenite, exsultemus
109	110	The priest-king, often quoted in the New TestamentDixit Dominus
116	117	The shortest psalm: 2 versesLaudate Dominum, omnes gentes
118	119	The longest psalm: 176 versesBeati immaculati
126	127	Unless the Lord builds the houseNisi Dominus
129	130	Out of the depths, prayed for the deadDe profundis
136	137	By the rivers of BabylonSuper flumina Babylonis

The seven penitential psalms are 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129 and 142 in the Vulgate numbering (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143 in the Hebrew). The Songs of Ascents are 119–133 (Hebrew 120–134).

All 150 psalms

Each number opens the psalm in the CPDV, with the Latin beside it.

Psalms 1–50
Vulgate	Hebrew	Note
1	1	Beatus vir
2	2	Quare fremuerunt
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6	Penitential psalm
7	7
8	8
9	9–10	Hebrew 9 and 10 (10 begins at verse 22)
10	11
11	12
12	13
13	14
14	15
15	16
16	17
17	18
18	19
19	20
20	21
21	22	Deus, Deus meus
22	23	Dominus regit me
23	24
24	25
25	26
26	27
27	28
28	29
29	30
30	31
31	32	Penitential psalm
32	33
33	34
34	35
35	36
36	37
37	38	Penitential psalm
38	39
39	40
40	41
41	42	Quemadmodum desiderat cervus
42	43
43	44
44	45
45	46
46	47
47	48
48	49
49	50
50	51	Penitential psalm · Miserere mei, Deus

Psalms 51–100
Vulgate	Hebrew	Note
51	52
52	53
53	54
54	55
55	56
56	57
57	58
58	59
59	60
60	61
61	62
62	63	Deus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo
63	64
64	65
65	66
66	67
67	68
68	69
69	70
70	71
71	72
72	73
73	74
74	75
75	76
76	77
77	78
78	79
79	80
80	81
81	82
82	83
83	84
84	85
85	86
86	87
87	88
88	89
89	90
90	91	Qui habitat
91	92
92	93
93	94
94	95	Venite, exsultemus
95	96
96	97
97	98
98	99
99	100
100	101

Psalms 101–150
Vulgate	Hebrew	Note
101	102	Penitential psalm
102	103
103	104
104	105
105	106
106	107
107	108
108	109
109	110	Dixit Dominus
110	111
111	112
112	113
113	114–115	Hebrew 114 and 115 (115 begins at verse 9)
114	116	Hebrew 116:1–9
115	116	Hebrew 116:10–19
116	117	Shortest: 2 verses · Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes
117	118
118	119	Longest: 176 verses · Beati immaculati
119	120	Song of Ascents
120	121	Song of Ascents
121	122	Song of Ascents
122	123	Song of Ascents
123	124	Song of Ascents
124	125	Song of Ascents
125	126	Song of Ascents
126	127	Song of Ascents · Nisi Dominus
127	128	Song of Ascents
128	129	Song of Ascents
129	130	Penitential psalm · Song of Ascents · De profundis
130	131	Song of Ascents
131	132	Song of Ascents
132	133	Song of Ascents
133	134	Song of Ascents
134	135
135	136
136	137	Super flumina Babylonis
137	138
138	139
139	140
140	141
141	142
142	143	Penitential psalm
143	144
144	145
145	146
146	147	Hebrew 147:1–11
147	147	Hebrew 147:12–20
148	148
149	149
150	150

Questions

Is Psalm 23 the same as Psalm 22?

Yes. It is one psalm with two numbers: Psalm 23 in Bibles that follow the Hebrew, Psalm 22 in Bibles that follow the Greek and Latin, Bless among them. The same goes for most psalms from 10 to 147.

Is Psalm 51 the same as Psalm 50?

Yes. The Miserere is Psalm 51 in the Hebrew numbering and Psalm 50 in the Vulgate numbering.

Which numbering is the Catholic one?

Neither. Catholic Bibles use both: those translated from the Latin Vulgate keep its numbers, and most modern Catholic translations made from the Hebrew, like the NABRE, use the Hebrew ones, as do the Mass readings published in the United States.

Why does Bless use the Vulgate numbers?

Because its texts come from the Vulgate. The CPDV and the Douay-Rheims were both translated from it, and the Latin Bless shows is the Clementine Vulgate itself. Switching to the Hebrew numbers would set the wrong Latin verse beside the English.

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