Cambridge University have opened a previously unseen section of their library archives to public display that includes a collection of rare religious texts.
The exhibition is centred on the King James Bible of 1611, which is widely regarded by literary experts as the most influential English book ever written.
However, the display will also include a copy of the 1631 edition of the Bible in which the word "not" was accidentally omitted from one of the commandments reading ‘Thou shall commit adultery.” The omission earned a public rebuke from the Archbishop of Canterbury for its printers. This particular translation became known as the ‘Wicked Bible’ and was mostly destroyed with only a handful surviving to this day.
Other bibles on display include the Gutenberg Bible of 1455, which is the first printed bible, Henry VIII's enormous Great Bible and an ancient 11th century psalter.
Author and journalist Adam Nicolson launched the exhibition and in his opening address described the King James Bible as ''the great national text''.
He said: ''The King James Bible is the most influential book in the English language. For almost 300 of its 400 years it was the core of English consciousness and the touchstone of the culture.
''For those years it became the great national text, a national shrine, the one umbrella under which the whole country could gather.
''It gathered all the best from the translations of the 16th century and winnowed them, sifting out what was good, coining new phrases where these were better.
''The King James Bible is the most marvellous polishing job in the history of English and nothing I have ever seen brings that home more clearly than this exhibition.''