Behind the middle Nut
Famous misprinted Bibles
In short
The best-known Bible misprints are the Printers Bible (1612), the Wicked Bible (1631, “Thou shalt commit adultery”), the Vinegar Bible (1717) and the Fools Bible (1763, Psalm 14:1). The German Narrenbibel, with “fool” instead of “lord” in Genesis 3:16, belongs to this family but survives only as a legend.
A comparison
| Name | Year | Passage | Error | Documented |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printers Bible | 1612 | Psalm 119:161 | “Printers” for “Princes have persecuted me” | yes |
| Wicked Bible | 1631 | Exodus 20:14 | “not” omitted: “Thou shalt commit adultery”; fine of £300 | yes |
| Vinegar Bible | 1717 | Heading of Luke 20 | “Parable of the Vinegar” for “Vineyard” | yes |
| Fools Bible | 1763 | Psalm 14:1 | “there is a God” for “there is no God”; fine of £3,000 | yes |
| Narrenbibel | 16th c. | Genesis 3:16 | “Narr” (fool) for “Herr” (lord) | no (legend) |
Omission versus substitution
Most famous misprints are omissions: a word drops out and the sense flips. The Narrenbibel is different. Nothing is missing; two letters are exchanged so precisely that the story reads as an intervention, not an accident. That is why it has outlived its own evidence.
In 2026 Joel Pfadenhauer gave the name to his book, a Menippean satire in three phases, published in English as the Foolsbible.
Questions
What is the Wicked Bible?
A 1631 printing of the King James Bible that omitted “not” from the seventh commandment. The printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas were fined £300 and most copies were destroyed.
What was the Fools Bible of 1763?
An English Bible in which Psalm 14:1 read “the fool hath said in his heart there is a God”. According to Wikipedia’s list of Bible errata, the printers were fined £3,000.