The Jerusalem Bible is the first complete Catholic Bible translated into English from the original languages. Previously, Catholic Bibles had been translated from the Latin Vulgate, itself a translation. The Jerusalem Bible is a Catholic Bible, however, and the Apocrypha are included, not segregated but scattered throughout. For a Protestant, the text of the Jerusalem Bible should be interesting because of its tendency to include what other translations leave out. Passages that have been found to have been added to Scripture are included in the Jerusalem Bible, at times even with a note stating that the best sources omit the passage. The tendency is to include more questionable text than the RSV.

The study notes, well documented and helpful, are the most useful aspect of the Jerusalem Bible. While the notes are clearly Catholic, they are generally non-dogmatic in nature, and represent a fair representation of the text.