“Child Killers Bible” 1795

6B “Child Killers Bible” with misprint in Mark 7:27. London: Thomas Bensley, 1795. In three volumes. Notes This particular Bible set is notable for a misprint in Mark 7:27 where the word “killed” is in place of the correct word, “filled.” So the verse reads, “But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be killed: for it is not meet to take children’s bread, and cast it unto the dogs.” It is known as the “Child Killers Bible” due to this misprint. The Bible was central to the early history of printing in Europe, beginning most famously with Johannes Gutenberg’s 42-line Bible around 1455, the first major book printed with movable metal type in the West. Early printed Bibles were typically in Latin (the Vulgate) and intended for clergy and scholars, but the Reformation in the 16th century dramatically expanded Bible printing in vernacular languages such as German, English, and French. Advances in printing technology, increased literacy, and religious reform movements made the Bible on