#115: “In the history of printing, several early English Bibles are famous not so much for their workmanship or their beauty as for their textual idiosyncrasies. A few famous examples, much sought after by rare-Bible collectors, are: The Breeches Bible (1560)--so named because it states that Adam and Eve “sewed fig tree leaves together and made themselves breeches.”; The Bug Bible (1551)--so named because of an incorrect translation of a line in the Ninety-first Psalm. The line “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night” reads “Thou shalt not be afraid of any buggies by night.”; The Treacle Bible (1568)--so named because it uses the word “treacle” for “balm” in the line ‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’”
True, but inaccurate years.
The Breeches Bible was actually published in 1579, and the more accepted translation for breeches is “coverings”. The KJV has “aprons”.
The Bug Bible’s error shows up in three editions: Myles Coverdale’s 1535 translation; the Great Bible in 1539 and Matthew’s Bible in 1551. The exact line, from Psalms 91:5, reads, “Thou shall not nede to be afrayed for eny bugges by night”. “Bugge” meant spectre or ghost in Middle English.
The Great Bible’s 1549 translation, the Treacle Bible, rendered Jeremiah 8:22 as, “Is there no tryacle in Gilead?”. In early modern English, treacle could mean a cure-all as well as molasses, so many modern Bible translations have “balm” or “medicine” instead of treacle.
On a side note, the “Sinner’s Bible” translated Exodus 20:14 as, “Thou shalt commit adultery,” omitting an important “not”. The printers were fined, and only eleven copies of this Bible exist today.
And that's it for the Bible category! This category won't show up again in the next volume.