There are two slightly different methods to dividing all the verses contained in the Book of Psalms up into 150 different psalms. For want of better terms, I’ll call them the Greek method and the Hebrew method. Older Catholic Bibles, such as the Latin Vulgate Bible and the English Douay-Rheims Bible, use the Greek method. Protestant Bibles and most newer Catholic Bibles, such as the New American Bible, use the Hebrew method. Some newer Catholic Bibles, such as the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, use both Hebrew and Greek methods, giving many psalms a double designation, such as Psalm 97 (96). For more info on these two methods see the article on “
Psalms” in the
Catholic Encyclopedia.
So, for example, “Psalm 97 (96)” would mean those verses designated “Psalm 97” according to the Hebrew method and “Psalm 96” according to the Greek method.