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Bible errata

Throughout history various minor errors have been printed in bibles published throughout the world. Some of the more famous examples have been given their own names. Among them are:

  • "Discharge Bible" 1806: "discharge" replaces "charge" making I Timothy 5:21 read "I discharge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality."
  • "Murderer's Bible" 1801: edition in which "murmurers" is printed as "murderers", making Jude 16 read: "These are murderers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage."
  • "Place-makers' Bible" 1562: the second edition of the Geneva Bible, Matthew 5:9 reads "Blessed are the placemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
  • "Rebecca's Camels Bible" 1823: "camels" replaces "damsels" in one instance, making Genesis 24:61 read "And Rebecca arose, and her camels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebecca and went his way."
  • "Standing Fishes Bible" 1806: "fishes" replaced "fishers" making Ezekiel 47:10 read "And it shall come to pass, that the fishes shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many."
  • "To-remain Bible" 1805: in Galatians 4:29 a editor had written in "to remain" (i.e. stet) in the margin, as an answer to whether a comma should be deleted. The note inadvertently became part of the text, making the edition read "But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit to remain, even so it is now."
  • "Unrighteous Bible" or "Wicked Bible" 1653: a "not" was omitted before the word "inherit", making I Corinthians 6:9 read "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God?..." In addition, Romans 6:13 reads "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of righteousness into sin..." where it should read "unrighteousness".
  • "Vinegar Bible": 1717 the heading to Luke 20 reads "Parable of the Vinegar" instead of "Parable of the Vineyard."
  • "Wicked Bible" or "Adulterous Bible"' 1632: another edition carrying this title omits an important "not" from Exodus 20:14, making the seventh commandment read "Thou shalt commit adultery." The printers were fined £300 (a lifetime's wages) and most of the copies were recalled immediately. Only 11 copies are known to exist today.
  • "Wife-hater Bible" 1810: "wife" replaces "life" in this edition, making Luke 14:26 redundantly read "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."

Fictional Bible errata

  • The "Buggre Alle This Bible" of 1651 appeared in the novel Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. The typesetter replaced Ezekiel 48:5 with a rant complaining about his job. It also has three extra verses at the end of Genesis 3 about the loss of the flaming sword by the angel Aziraphale, added by Aziraphale himself, a character in the novel.


Last updated: 02-10-2005 02:42:50
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55