Elvis Presley’s Bible sells at auction for $120K
The Bible that once belonged to iconic American singer and actor Elvis Presley was sold at auction for $120,000 after 23 bids.
Presley was one of rock music’s dominant performers from the mid-1950s until he died in 1977 and is often dubbed the "king of rock 'n' roll."
The late artist's Bible, which is the World Edition version and started at a bid of roughly $30,000 before getting a final $120,000 bid from an anonymous individual last weekend, includes marks from Elvis highlighting his favorite verses, according to GWS Auctions.
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The Bible has the name "Elvis Aaron Presley" embossed in gold on the bottom right cover, and it contains a number of bookmarked pages and underlined passages.
One of the underlined passages is Job 31:24-26, which states: "If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand has gotten much; If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness."
He also highlighted Genesis 1:31, which says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
Another verse he highlighted was Isaiah 29:19, which states, “The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”
The Bible was auctioned along with a handwritten letter from Elvis’ cousin, Patsy Presley, according to the auction house.
The letter states in part: "Shortly after Elvis' passing my uncle Vernon (Elvis' dad) and I went up into Elvis' bedroom at Graceland to organize and pack many of his personal belongings. This Holy Bible was one of three that Elvis had on his night table. After packing them Uncle Vernon had me take them home for safe keeping and eventually gave them to me."
Elvis' stepbrother, Billy Stanley, who wrote a memoir titled, The Faith of Elvis: A Story Only a Brother Can Tell, said the late singer was "a Bible-carrying Christian."
"He carried the Bible with him everywhere he went," Stanley recalled in a 2022 interview with The Christian Post. "One of the things that always amazed me is when he read the Bible to my brothers, he would sometimes act out the part as he was reading the Bible. You don't forget those Sunday school lessons."
Stanley said at the time that he felt compelled to write a book about Presley's faith because his stepbrother's faith wasn't something the mainstream media ever put on display despite how important it was to him.
Stanley also told Fox News Digital that his brother was inspired by Gospel music.
“A lot of people don’t realize that after every show, he would unwind by singing gospel songs until the sun came up,” Stanley said. “He was in touch with the Lord. A lot of people said, ‘Well, he did this and that.’ [But] we all fall short. We’re all human."
“As Christians, most of us live under a magnifying glass. Well, Elvis lived under a microscope because he was a big star. It was tough. But the way I like to put it is … [he] had the devil on one shoulder and God on the other. And there was a constant battle going on in his head.”
Nicole VanDyke is a reporter for The Christian Post.
