The Wicked Bible

In 1631, English royal printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas published an edition of the Bible that would come to be nicknamed “The Wicked Bible.” You see, after publication, a printing error was discovered in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20: the word “not” had mistakenly been omitted from verse 14, so that it read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” The authorities fined Barker and Lucas, revoked their licenses, and ordered that the entire edition be recalled and destroyed. Only a handful of copies are known to have survived.

We chuckle at the “Wicked Bible,” of course, because we know that a lot of people would prefer it if Exodus 20:14 really did say that. But we also know that even many who call themselves Christians don’t need an altered Bible to convince themselves that God really doesn’t mind so much if they commit adultery, or lie, or steal, or gossip. And, if we’re honest, we know how powerful a temptation this can be for us.

The challenge in every generation is to believe and live out what the Scriptures say, not what we might wish them to say. That goes for sexual morality and for countless other matters in which our own inclinations might run up against the teaching of God’s word. Remember Jesus’ words: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

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