Errors printed in Bibles
Some Bibles have been given special names because of a typographical error or peculiarity of vocabulary.• The “Bug” Bible
• The “Placemakers” Bible
• The “Treacle” Bible
• The “He” Bible
• The “Repetitive” Bible
• The “Basketball” Bible
• The “Mistaken Identity” Bible
• Other misprints in the 1611 KJV
• The “Wicked” Bible
• The “More Sea” Bible
• The “Unrighteous” Bible
• The “Printer’s” Bible
• The “Sin On” Bible
• The “Vinegar” Bible
• The “Sting” Bible
• The “Fool” Bible
• The “Denial” Bible
• The “Murderer’s” Bible
• The “Lions” Bible
• The “To Remain” Bible
• The “Discharge” Bible
• The “Standing Fishes” Bible
• The “Idle Shepherd” Bible
• The “Ears to Ear Bible”
• The “Wife-hater” Bible
• The “Large Family” Bible
• The “Camels” Bible
The “Bug” Bible
The Coverdale Bible of 1535 has been called the “Bug” Bible because of its translation of Psalm 91:5 : “Thou shalt not need to be afrayd for eny bugges by night.”
The “Placemakers” Bible
The second edition of the Geneva Bible, published in 1562 has been given the name the “Placemakers” Bible because it printed: “Blessed are the placemakers” instead of “peacemakers” in Matthew 5:9 .
The “Treacle” Bible
The Bishop’s Bible of 1568 was also known as the “Treacle” Bible on account of Jeremiah 8:22 being printed: “Is there no tryacle in Gilead?” instead of “Is there no balm in Gilead?”
The “He” Bible
The first edition of the KJV is often called the “He” Bible because of the printing error that occurred at Ruth 3:15 . Here, it reads “he went into the city” instead of “she went into the city.” The corrected edition is sometimes referred to as the “She” Bible.
The “Repetitive” Bible
The 1611 King James Version duplicates part of Exodus 14:10 so that the following was printed: “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.” [Exodus 14:10 ] Today’s versions now correctly read: “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.” [Exodus 14:10 ]
The “Basketball Bible”
The very first edition of the Authorized Version is the “Basketball” Bible because it speaks of “hoopes” instead of “hookes,” Exodus 38:11 , which were used in the construction of the Tabernacle.
The “Mistaken Identity” Bible
More than one edition of the KJV was printed in 1611. The first printing of the 1611 edition of the King James Version, correctly prints Matthew 26:36 as: “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane…” However, in the second printing of the 1611 edition Matthew 26:36 now reads: “Then cometh Judas with them unto a place called Gethsemane…”
Other misprints in the 1611 KJV
Other misprints in the 1611 edition included:
Leviticus 13:56 , where “the plaine be” was printed instead of “the plague be.”
In Ezra 3:5 the printer repeated the word “offered.”
The running head over the fourth chapter of Micah reads “Joel” instead of its correct name of Micah.
“He” is used instead of “ye” in Ezekiel 6:8 .
In Ezekiel 24:7 , the text should read, “She poured it not upon the ground.” It was printed without the word “not.”
The “Wicked” Bible
In a 1631 edition of the King James Bible, in Exodus 20 verse 14, the word “not” was left out. This changed the 7th commandment to read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Most of the copies were recalled immediately and destroyed on the orders of Charles I. But there are 11 copies still remaining. They are known as the “Wicked” Bible. The Bible museum in Branson, Missouri, has one copy of the “Wicked Bible”. The printer was fined heavily for his mistake. The “Wicked” Bible is also known as the “Adulterous” Bible.
The “More Sea” Bible
The 1641 edition of the KJV printed Revelation 21:1 as: “the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was more sea,” instead of “…there was no more sea.”
The “Unrighteous” Bible
The word “not” was also left out in the 1653 edition of 1 Corinthians 6:9 which was printed: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God” instead of “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The “Printer’s” Bible
In a 1702 edition of the Bible Psalm 119:161 substituted the word “printers” for “princes” to give the phrase: “printers have persecuted me.”
The “Sin On” Bible
In the 1716 King James Version John 8:11 should read: “Go, and sin no more.” However, the printer accidentally inverted the “n” and the “o” in the word “on,” so it read, “Go and sin on more.”
The “Vinegar” Bible
The heading in Luke 20 of the 1717 version of the Bible is printed “Parable of the Vinegar” instead of “ Parable of the Vineyard.”
The “Sting” Bible
At Mark 7:35 a 1746 edition of the KJV printed: “And straightway his ears were opened, and the sting of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain” instead of: “And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.”
The “Fool” Bible
The printer of the 1763 KJV was ordered to pay ◙3,000 for his inadvertent printer’s error which he made in Psalm 14:1 . There he printed: “the fool hath said in his heart there is a God,” instead of: “the fool hath said in his heart there is no God.” As soon as this error was spotted all copies of this Bible were suppressed.
The “Denial” Bible
In the so-called “Denial” Bible, an edition of the KJV printed in 1792, the name Philip is substituted for Peter as the apostle who would deny Jesus in Luke 22:34 .
The “Murderer’s” Bible
In 1801, the following two errors crept into a printed Bible.
Jude 1:16 should read, “These are murmurers, complainers.” But the “Murderer’s” Bible reads: “these are murderers.”
Mark 7:27 should read: “But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.” Instead of “Let the children first be filled,” the “Murderer’s” Bible read, “let the children first be killed.”
The “Lions” Bible
The 1804 KJV edition became known as the “Lions” Bible on account of one of its two memorable printer’s errors. In 1 Kings 8:19 it printed: “…but thy son that shall come forth out of thy lions…” instead of “but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins.”
The other error in this Bible occurs at Numbers 35:18 . This verse inadvertently read: “The murderer shall surely be put together” instead of “the murderer shall surely be put to death.”
The “To Remain” Bible
The 1805 edition of the KJV has the words “to remain” inserted in the middle of Galatians 4:29 : “he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit to remain, even so it is now.” A proofreader queried the comma after the words “the Spirit”. The editor penciled in the words “to remain” and the printed version included those two words in the verse.
The “Discharge” Bible
In 1 Timothy 5:2 , the “Discharge” Bible, the KJV printed in 1806, reads: “I discharge thee … that thou observe these things,” instead of “I charge thee.”
The “Standing Fishes” Bible
The 1806 KJV is also known as the “Standing Fishes” Bible because at Ezekiel 47:10 it printed: “And it shall come to pass, that the fishes shall stand upon it” instead of “ And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it.”
The “Idle Shepherd” Bible
The 1809 KJV edition replaces the sentence in Zechariah 11:17 : “Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock!” with the phrase: “Woe to the idle shepherd that leaveth the flock!”
The “Ears to Ear” Bible
The 1810 edition of the KJV prints Matthew 13:43 as: “Who hath ears to ear, let him hear,” instead of: “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
The “Wife-hater” Bible
The 1810 Bible is also known as the “Wife-hater” Bible because at Luke 14:26 it reads: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own wife also, he cannot be my disciple,” instead of “his own life.”
The “Large Family” Bible
The 1820 edition of the KJV became known as the “Large Family” Bible because at Isaiah 66:9 it printed: “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cease to bring forth?” instead of “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?”
The “Camels” Bible
At Genesis 24:61 the 1823 edition of the KJV printed, “Rebekah arose, and her camels,” instead of “Rebekah arose, and her damsels.”
