A NEW edition of the Bible that "makes homophobic interpretations impossible" has been produced by an American priest.

The Queen James Bible is a revision of the King James Bible, and was named in reference to King James VI, said to have been called Queen James because of his relationships with men, which some scholars believe were sexual. Changes have been made to just eight verses, "to prevent homophobic interpretations".

Genesis 19.5, which refers to the siege of Lot's house, has been revised so that the men of Sodom demand to "rape and humiliate" the angelic visitors rather than "know" them.

There are amendments to two passages in Leviticus, a book described as "outdated as a moral code". The editors suggest that both Leviticus 18.22 and 20.13, which describe the "abomination" of man "lying with mankind", were the subject of "translative error" and refer to lying with pagan male prostitutes as a form of pagan idolatry.

Similarly, the editors says that Romans 1.26-27 ("incredibly stretched to support homophobic agendas") do not refer to gay or lesbian sex, but to worshipping pagan idols instead of God.

1 Corinthians 9-10, which refers to the "effeminate", and "abusers of themselves with mankind", is translated as condemning the "morally weak" and the "promiscuous".

"No Bible is perfect, including this one," the editors said. "We wanted to make a book filled with the word of God that nobody could use to incorrectly condemn God's LGBT children, and we succeeded."