A rare edition of the Holy Bible from the 17th century is up for auction and is expected to go for almost $20,000, thanks to its notorious misprint that reads: “Thou shalt commit adultery.”
The so called “Wicked Bible” was in print for about a year before the error was noticed and the printers were fined and had their printing license removed. Here is more about the history from the book’s auction listing:
The Wicked Bible, also referred to as the ‘Adulterous’ or ‘Sinners’ Bible’, was published under the direction of the royal printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas. When the printing error was discovered, about a year later, Barker and Lucas were summoned by order of King Charles I to the Star Chamber, where they were found guilty, fined £300 and deprived of their printing license. The entire impression of 1,000 copies was at once called in and the majority cancelled and burned. The number known to remain is certainly small: ESTC lists 9 copies and 5 have appeared at auction in the post war period.