Just for a laugh
A little light relief. The quality and methods of printing over the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were at times rather primitive in comparison to today. This led to many printing errors in them, and although they are not theological or transnational mistakes, they are still is worth a smile, and worth of noting.
UPDATE 11th May 2010
Timothy James van Staden from South Africa has been in touch with our web site and reports his New King James Version leather bound bible produced by Nelson some 30 years ago has the following interesting error. 2 Kings 8:3 "It came to pass, at the end of seven ears ... " This was reported to the publishers who replied that that particular style is no longer in print. Thanks Timothy for your input. Any more ???
The Place Maker Bible
A 16th Century printer had Jesus blessing the “place-makers” instead of “peacemakers.”
The Judas Bible 1611
The edition manages to confuse, of all people, Jesus and Judas, in Matthew 26:36 which read "Then Judas went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
The Wicked Bible 1631
King Charles I ordered 1,000 Bibles from an English printer named Robert Barker. Only after the Bibles were delivered did anyone notice a serious mistake. In One of the Ten Commandments [Exodus 20:14], a very small word was forgotten by the printers. The word "not". This changed the 7th commandment to say Thou shalt commit adultery ! King Charles was not amused by the "Wicked Bible," as the infamous printing mistake was called. He ordered the Bibles recalled and destroyed. Apparently the printer was fined £300 (a considerable sum in those days) and his mistake ruined him financially. Ironically, today a Wicked Bible is very valuable to book collectors; to buy a copy would leave you with little change out of £50,000 as only 11 are known to be in existence today.
The Religious Bible 1637
An error in Jeremiah 4:17 leads God to complain that Jerusalem has been "religious" rather than "rebellious"
The Forgotten Sins Bible 1638
This changes Luke 7:47 to "Her sins which are many, are forgotten" (rather than "forgiven").
The More Sea Bible 1641
This makes the Apocalypse sound damper than has usually been supposed: Revelation 21:1 has been changed to "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 1653
The “Unrighteous Bible” of 1653 used the words, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:9), again deleting the all-important “not inherit.”
The Printers Bible 1702
One funny example of a printers error is Psalm 119:161 in the 1702 edition of the King James Version,. In that edition, instead of saying "princes have persecuted me without a cause" , David complains that "printers have persecuted me without a cause."
The Sin On Bible 1716
In John 8, where it gives us the account of Jesus encountering the adulterous woman, the Scripture in verse 11 should read, Go, and sin no more." The careless printers oversight accidentally inverted the "n" and the "o" in the word "on," so it read, "Go and sin on more."
The fools Bible 1763
By omitting or inverting a particular word or phrase, an entirely different, and sometimes evil connotation has been conveyed. Since these errors are rather easy to detect, the printing and circulation of such editions are promptly stopped, resulting often in very few copies ever making their way into the book buying market. One of the earliest such Bibles was produced during the reign of King Charles I in the 1600’s. In Psalm 14:1 it reads, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is a God.” The crucial omission of “no” before “God” makes a fool out of a believer!
The Denial Bible 1792
A Bible printed in Oxford, England, has the very unusual substitution of the name “Philip” in place of “Peter” as the disciple who denied Jesus in Luke 22:34. Perhaps the print shop or office personnel responsible for that error were doing a bit of daydreaming. In any event, it resulted in a Bible that some collectors consider an interesting addition to their collections.
The Murderer's Bible 1801
This 19th-century faux pas had Mark 7:27 as “Let the children be killed” instead of “filled.”
The To Remain Bible 1805
A proofreader queried a comma in Galatians 4:29 and the editor wrote the words "to remain", meaning that the comma should be left in the text. Instead, the proofreader incorporated the words "to remain" into the text, making the passage read: "he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit to remain, even so it is now".
The Discharge Bible 1806
1 Timothy 5:21 says, "I discharge thee... that thou observe these things", instead of "I charge thee".
The Standing Fishes Bible 1806
Ezekiel 47:10 has "And it shall come to pass that the fishes shall stand on it" instead of "fishers".
The Wife Hater Bible 1810
An 1810 version read, “If any man come to me, and hate not . . . his own wife (instead of life), he cannot be my disciple.”
Ears To Ear Bible 1810
Matthew 13:43 reads "Who hath ears to ear, let him hear" instead of "Who hath ears to hear".
The Camels Bible 1823
Even as recently as 1823 errors were still creeping in. The “Camels Bible” of 1823 took that nickname from a misprint in Genesis 24:61 which reads, “And Rebecca arose, and her camels” instead of “her damsels.” This mistake is easily understandable when you realize that the word “camels” is in fact also found in the same verse. Such errors are attributable to a slip of the eye by the typesetter and an oversight on the part of the proofreader. This was not uncommon during the early years of printing and still occurs, occasionally, even today.
Pay Or Pray Bible 1966
As recently as the 1966 first edition of the Jerusalem Bible, Psalm 122:6 read, “Pay for peace” instead of “Pray.”
William Shakespear’s Name in the KJV
I'm not sure if there's any theological significance in this one so I wouldn't take this one too seriously, but it's kind of neat. William Shakespear was a contemporary of the translation of the King James Bible. It seems that he may have autographed his work in Psalm 46. Using a King James version, go to Psalm 46 and count 46 words from the beginning and you'll find the word "Shake". If you go to the end of Psalm 46 and count 46 words back you'll find the word "Spear". Put them together and you'll get "Shakespear". It is believed that Shakespear was 46 when the King James Version of the bible was written
PSALM 46 (King James Version):
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."
WebMaster's note. If you know of any other funny printer's errors in Bibles please send an email with the details using the "Contact Us" menu item on the right.