How Thomas Jefferson created his own Bible... after taking a razor blade to parts of the gospels he did not agree with



Despite being the author of the Declaration of Independence, that didn't stop Thomas Jefferson taking liberties with someone else's work.

The third president of the United States detested some passages of the Bible so much that he decided to make his own version.

The abridged version was known as The Jefferson Bible and has been painstakingly restored by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.



Sacred text: The third president of the U.S. cut out passages of the Bible - including sections about the Resurrection and Holy Ghost - which he felt could not be supported by reason

Well-versed: The Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC has restored Thomas Jefferson's edited version of the Bible

A new edition of the Jefferson Bible was published by Tarcher this month while the Smithsonian exhibition goes on until May.

Particular passages didn't sit too comfortably with Jefferson - including miracles such as the virgin birth, the resurrection and ascension.



So in 1820, following his two terms as president, Jefferson took a razor blade to six other volumes and patched together his favourite passages before having it bound.

Editorial control: Thomas Jefferson took a razor blade to six versions of the Bible to tell his version of Jesus' life

Entitled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, containing 84 pages, it leaves out key moments to the Christian faith - including the holy ghost and holy trinity.

The Smithsonian said Jefferson left out the passages which he believed to be ' contrary to reason'.

Jefferson drew from all four gospels of the New Testament in Greek, Latin, French and English to tell the story of Jesus' life.

The original book had the passages laid out in four columns and handwritten notes in the margins before the pages were bound into a red Moroccan leather cover.

The experts at the Smithsonian Institute had the difficult job of rebinding the book after each page, which had become fragile with age, had become torn from the inner binding.

The leafs were cleaned using a fine goat hair brush before extremely light Japanese paper was applied with surgical tools to repair tears in the sheets.



Each page was pored over with a microscope and given chemical treatments to help it be preserved for the long-term.

Multiple Japanese paper linings were added to the spine of the sewn book. The resewn text was then aligned inside the cover.

The Jefferson Bible will be placed in a long-term storage unit without oxygen and in complete darkness for its protection.



Thomas Jefferson is a founding father of the United States and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, the charter of American liberties. He served as president from 1801 - 1809.

He was strongly influenced by European figures of the Enlightenment including John Locke, Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton.



Jefferson had six children although only two survived to adulthood. His wife Martha Wayles Skelton died after they had been married for ten years and he remained a widower until his death on July 4, 1826, aged 83 - on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.



The Jefferson Bible was never published as it was intended to be for his own, private religious reading.



The book stayed in Jefferson’s family until the Smithsonian’s librarian purchased it from Carolina Randolph, Jefferson’s great-granddaughter, in 1895.

Rewriting religion: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as put together by Thomas Jefferson - and the level of detail that went into its restoration (right)



Easy does it: The book from 1820 has been carefully taken apart, repaired and put back together at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC

Preservation: After the exhibition finishes, the book will be kept in a dark room free from moisture







