The Story of Our King James Bible

The First Edition

Robert Barker• The son of Queen Elizabeth’s

printer• The only authorized printer• Paid £4000.00

– At a time that £20 per year was a good income

– So, about 200 years worth of good income

• Helped pay for it by selling shares of his business to 2 other printers

2 large (11X16) editions were printed in 1611

• They became known as the “he” and “she” Bibles

• Based upon Ruth 3.15– The Hebrew says, “…he went

into the city.”– The context suggests “…she

went into the city.”• The first edition said “he,”

and the second edition said “she.”

• Words that are italicized in our edition were actually a smaller font in 1611

• They used the Old English “thorn” (y—but has the “th” sound), which is actually used to contract words (it’s why we say “Ye old ice cream shop”)

• It contained 36 pages of genealogies, maps, and an almanac

There were some printing errors• About 350 in total• “And” appears as “aud”

28 times• The second edition (“she

bible” also printed Judas instead of Jesus in Matthew 26.36 (so it’s also called “the Judas Bible”).

• Only Barker and his 2 partners printed the KJV until 1629

• The Geneva Bible was printed until 1616, and the Bishop’s Bible until 1619

• Barker’s financial mismanagement caused him to surrender his rights to his 2 partners (1617-1619)

• He tried to recover a portion of his rights (1619)

• By 1630 one partner had died and the other been imprisoned

• In 1631, disaster struck:• Exodus 20.14 omitted the

word “not,” thus giving us the “adulterers bible,” or “wicked bible.”

• And the same edition (deliberately?) misprinted Deuteronomy 5.24

• Barker was arrested, and heavily fined

• All copies were ordered destroyed

• Barker spent the rest of his life in debtors prison

These errors were the result of• Primitive printing methods• Haste• Possible sabotage by

printing competitors