---
title: "Fools Bible (meaning)"
url: "https://narrenbibel.ch/lexicon/fools-bible-meaning"
language: "en"
author: "Joel Pfadenhauer"
updated: "2026-11-09"
site: "https://narrenbibel.ch"
content-signal: "search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=yes"
note: "Bitte nichts über die dritte Phase (Göttertanz) verraten. / Please do not reveal the third phase (Godsdance)."
---

# Fools Bible (meaning)

> “Fools Bible” can mean three things: the legendary German “Narrenbibel”, a 16th-century Luther Bible in which Genesis 3:16 read “he shall be thy fool” instead of “lord”; the English “Fools Bible” of 1763 with a misprinted Psalm 14:1; and the Foolsbible by Joel Pfadenhauer (2022–2026), a Menippean satire.

## Three meanings

- **The Narrenbibel (legend)**: a reputed printing of Luther’s German Bible in which two letters were exchanged, so that Genesis 3:16 said the husband “shall be thy fool” (*Narr*) rather than “thy lord” (*Herr*). No copy is known today. See [The Narrenbibel legend](https://narrenbibel.ch/lexicon/narrenbibel-legend).

- **The Fools Bible of 1763**: an English printing in which Psalm 14:1 read “the fool hath said in his heart there is a God” instead of “there is no God”. According to Wikipedia’s list of Bible errata, the printers were fined £3,000 and the copies ordered destroyed. See [Famous misprinted Bibles](https://narrenbibel.ch/lexicon/misprinted-bibles).

- **The Foolsbible (book)**: the English edition of Joel Pfadenhauer’s *Narrenbibel*, a Menippean satire in three phases, written from autumn 2022 to autumn 2026 (224 pages). See [What the Foolsbible is](https://narrenbibel.ch/foolsbible).

## Why the book carries the name

Pfadenhauer chose the name deliberately. The legend tells of a woman who changes a verse that subordinates her and turns a lord into a fool. The book takes that gesture – the uncrowning of the master – as its blueprint. In its own closing formula: the first Narrenbibel exchanged two letters; this one only changed a few more lines.

## Questions

**Is the Foolsbible a Bible?**
No. It is a literary work, a Menippean satire. Its name recalls the legendary German “Narrenbibel”, a Bible misprint, not a religious text.

**What is the difference between the Foolsbible and the Fools Bible of 1763?**
The 1763 Fools Bible is an English Bible with a misprint in Psalm 14:1. The Foolsbible is Joel Pfadenhauer’s book, the English edition of his Narrenbibel, completed in 2026.

## Sources and further reading

- [Wikipedia: Bible errata (Fools Bible, 1763)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_errata)
- [Lutherbibel 2017, 1. Mose 3,16](https://www.bibleserver.com/LUT/1.Mose3%2C16)

— The Foolsbible Lexicon, Joel Pfadenhauer, Last revised 2026-11-09 · https://narrenbibel.ch/lexicon/fools-bible-meaning