Copy of Bible found in New Zealand with a mistake that encouraged adultery. The 'immoral' Bible, printed in 1631, became famous for omitting the word 'not' in the seventh commandment, causing it to instruct believers to 'commit adultery', according to The Guardian..

In total, thousands of copies of this test were printed, which became known as the " The mistake was discovered only a year later. After that, the printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas were summoned to King Charles I, they were tried, accusing them of careless execution.. They were stripped of their printing license and fined ?300 which they had to pay for many years, though it was later rescinded. Most of the texts were destroyed, about 20 pieces remained in circulation..

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Periodically, copies of the Sinners' Bible were put up for auction, mainly in the UK and the USA.. However, the new find is the first time such a Bible has been discovered in the Southern Hemisphere, according to data from the University of Canterbury..

The university learned about the existence of this copy in 2018, but kept the find secret, which allowed researchers to study it, as well as take conservation measures..

A copy of the Bible was given to Chris Jones, an assistant professor of medieval studies at the university, by his former student.. According to her, her family bought the book two years earlier at the sale of the property of the deceased.. The late owner was British bookbinder Don Hampshire, who moved to Christchurch from the UK in 2009.. According to Jones, Hampshire never told anyone that he owned a copy of the Sinners' Bible..

A student told Jones that she thought she had gotten her hands on the Adulterers' Bible, but he didn't believe her.. “This is not some ordinary thing that you bring into the office just after visiting the Christchurch sale.. But I looked at it and thought, “Wow, that’s exactly what my former student was talking about, it’s the Sinners Bible.”. I was shocked,"

He added that copies of this edition of the Bible are known to exist in Britain, Ireland and Canada.. “Australia claims that such a Bible is kept there, but this is not true,” he adds..

The discovery of the book prompted Jones to learn more about the history of the creation of the Bible and why the mistake was made.. There is a version that the typo could be deliberate sabotage by a competing printer. But Jones thinks it's not.. In his opinion, printers simply saved on editors.

The path of the copy of the Bible before it arrived in New Zealand remains a mystery.

Usually such books contain many genealogies, dates, places, as well as birth and death records.. But this copy of the Sinners' Bible contains only one illegible name.

The book was found in relatively poor condition: the cover was missing, the pages were covered in water, and some were completely missing.. However, this Bible has other features as well.. It is one of the few copies with more decorative red and black ink, and a more complete version than other copies discovered..